A friend of mine was trying teach a lady how to cast a fishing pole. The next thing we knew, he had lodged the fish hook into the hood of the ladies sweatshirt, so we thought. My buddy cut the leader line attached to the hook to get it unstuck from the hood. As he was wiggling the hook to free it from the hood, the lady passed out. Bystanders started trying to assist the lady to a sitting position, but she was out cold. Having been a fire/rescue crew cheif in the military, I instructed everyone to back away from the situation. I had bystanders place a backpack under her head and one under her feet. Upon closer examination, the hook was lodged three-quarters of an inch into the scalp along her skull. Fully conscious at this time, I informed the lady that I was going to have to remove the hook from her scalp. She consented. I reached for my Leatherman Wave, using the wire cutters, I cut off the eye of the hook. I then used the pliers to grab onto the shank of the hook and while rotating the hook away from the scalp, I pushed the hook gently through the skin until I could feel the point against my finger-tip. I continued to push the hook untiI the the barb was exposed. I then grabbed the exposed point of the hook and pulled the hook through her scalp. The lady was left with two minor wounds (entrance and exit) and one heck of a fish story.

- Mike A.

Washougal, WA