PLYMOUTH, Minn. - Pat Schottler enjoys the thrill, speed and rush of water skiing. But a recent adventure on Medicine Lake sent the Plymouth man to the emergency room. Turns out, he came a little too close to one of the water's inhabitants.
Schottler said the day after water skiing, he woke up and noticed a large bruise on his leg along with five perfectly aligned puncture wounds. He said he assumed he hit a stick while skiing. He wiped the blood from his leg and went out for another ride that evening. A few days later, his leg was bruised and in pain.
The 35-year-old didn't consider the bruise to be an indication of something more serious until his wife, Julie, encouraged him to visit the emergency room.
"Sunday morning, he woke up and crumbled to the ground when he tried to walk on his leg," she said.
Based on his symptoms, the Schottlers said the doctor ordered an X-Ray of his leg.
"They thought he may have broken his fibula," Julie Schottler said. "Little did we know that the X-Ray would show no broken bones but some sort of foreign object embedded in his leg."
Pat Schottler says that foreign object was something he never expected.
"They successfully removed four pieces of fish fin from my leg. The longest one was almost three fourths of an inch," he said. "I wish this story had a manlier conclusion. I was hoping it would be a musky or a pike but turns out it is a probably a bluegill."
Schottler says the surgeon told him the surgery was one of the most difficult he had ever performed. Schottler said several medical professionals who treated him requested a picture of his X-Ray.
Schottler said he now has a blood clot in his leg, which is a common side effect after surgery. He can't get back on the water until next summer. His children, ages 5 and 7, affectionately call their dad "fish man."
And Pat Schottler is fine with that.
