It looks like I’m going to be housebound for the rest of the winter.
As someone who is too cheap to either have the driveway plowed or buy a snowblower, I rely on our two ancient but trusty shovels whenever the time comes to do battle with the white stuff. One shovel is stationed on the front porch; the other stands guard out back. Pressing them into service has become a bit more tiring as I’ve grown older, but I've had the strength - and the vanity - to get the job done.
Until now, that is.
The Wall Street Journal reports that American hospitals “treat on average about 11,500 injuries and medical emergencies a year related to shoveling snow, according to a study in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine that analyzed data from 100 emergency departments from 1990 to 2006.”
The study says shoveling “places extraordinary demands on the cardiovascular system and can raise heart rates above recommended upper limits after only two minutes,” according to the news story. “Freezing temperatures also constrict peripheral blood vessels, further stressing the heart.”
Exertion, slips and falls, heart attacks, poorly designed shovels - they’re all part of the mix.
As if all that isn’t bad enough, here’s the kicker: “Researchers said their findings underestimate the number of injuries and medical emergencies associated with snow shoveling because only cases treated in emergency departments were included.”
So, no shoveling (too dangerous), no plowing (too costly) and no snowblower (ditto). That leaves only one option.
“Hello, Tim Hortons? I’d like you to deliver a dozen glazed doughnuts, please. And make that a daily order. Here’s my address . . . .”
As someone who is too cheap to either have the driveway plowed or buy a snowblower, I rely on our two ancient but trusty shovels whenever the time comes to do battle with the white stuff. One shovel is stationed on the front porch; the other stands guard out back. Pressing them into service has become a bit more tiring as I’ve grown older, but I've had the strength - and the vanity - to get the job done.
Until now, that is.
The Wall Street Journal reports that American hospitals “treat on average about 11,500 injuries and medical emergencies a year related to shoveling snow, according to a study in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine that analyzed data from 100 emergency departments from 1990 to 2006.”
The study says shoveling “places extraordinary demands on the cardiovascular system and can raise heart rates above recommended upper limits after only two minutes,” according to the news story. “Freezing temperatures also constrict peripheral blood vessels, further stressing the heart.”
Exertion, slips and falls, heart attacks, poorly designed shovels - they’re all part of the mix.
As if all that isn’t bad enough, here’s the kicker: “Researchers said their findings underestimate the number of injuries and medical emergencies associated with snow shoveling because only cases treated in emergency departments were included.”
So, no shoveling (too dangerous), no plowing (too costly) and no snowblower (ditto). That leaves only one option.
“Hello, Tim Hortons? I’d like you to deliver a dozen glazed doughnuts, please. And make that a daily order. Here’s my address . . . .”
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