Dr. Vandyk was on duty when a woman appeared at the triage area. She had wedged a folded towel between her legs, it was covered in blood. Immediately we thought that she was having a miscarriage and hurried her back to the gynecology examination room.

She was pale and looked like she’d lost a lot of blood. We started an infusion of fluids after we’d established an I.V. site. Another nurse got her into the stirrups waiting for the doctor to examine her.

As we worked, she started to tell her strange story. She said that she and her boyfriend were hiking and decided since the weather was so beautiful outside; they would have sex in the woods. Making a huge pile of leaves, they disrobed and quickly got down to business. When they had finished, for some unknown reason, the boyfriend slipped a knife into her vagina and cut her. They quickly dressed and left the woods. He became afraid when she started to bleed heavily and brought her to the emergency room for care.

Dr. Vandyk came in and examined her.  Her vagina was filled with blood, clots, dirt, leaves, and small twigs. The amount of debris inside her vagina required that she be taken to the operating room to do the extensive amount cleaning and debridement necessary before her laceration could be repaired.

After her surgery, she was admitted to our hospital for I.V. antibiotics to prevent an infection. She had a Foley catheter inserted to allow the area to stay dry, clean, and start to heal before she was discharged several days later.

We never learned whether or not she wanted to prosecute the boyfriend or whether stayed with him after she was discharged.