What started as just a typical day of construction work for Mike Poulsen of Cody quickly turned into a serious medical emergency when a framing nail punctured his abdomen. 

Poulsen, who works in construction and is the owner of Alpine Botanica, which specializes in geothermal greenhouses, was helping a longtime friend do some framing on his house when the accident happened on Feb. 5.

“We were just assembling a wall,” he said. “I’ve done the same motion with a nail gun about 100,000 times, but it hit a pine knot or a piece of metal behind the wood and it bounced and recoiled.”

The gun was on the automatic fire setting, which allows it to drive a nail every time the safety tip makes contact with the work surface. When the gun recoiled it bounced into his chest and the nail shot out and punctured his liver. 

“I didn’t really realize what had happened until I tried to take a breath and couldn’t really inhale,” he said. “I lifted up my shirt and saw it.”

Poulsen quickly found his friend, who rushed him to the ER at Cody Regional Health. After what felt like “just a few minutes” in the trauma bay, he was taken to surgery where he was operated on by Dr. Rebecca Deal. 

“Dr. Deal did such a wonderful job and the entire staff at Cody Regional Health was absolutely amazing,” he said. “She said that I was really lucky that it missed the gallbladder and any major vasculature.”

Poulsen is currently resting at home but is sidelined from all physical labor for at least one month as he heals. Used to spending most of his time outdoors between his job and other activities, Poulsen said he is going stir crazy.

Before starting his business, Poulsen was an EMT for a time and has been an active member of Park County Search and Rescue since 2017, providing critical skills as a member of the swiftwater and high angle rescue specialty teams.

To make matters worse, Poulsen was without insurance at the time of the accident after Mountain Health Co-op ceased coverage for Wyomingites at the end of December. 

“I was in a state of limbo and hadn’t solidified a plan with a new company,” he said. “So of course — I swear it’s Murphy’s Law — something just happens. It was this running joke as an EMT that everyone’s just one accient away from bankruptcy. But I never thought it would be me on the end of it.”

Now a GoFundMe to support his recovery has been established by fellow search and rescue volunteer Bill Brown, who hopes it will help out with Poulson’s  medical bills. Nearly $7,000 has been raised to date. 

“He is always one of the first to show up for a call, and is always at our weekly training, helping out however he can,” Brown said. “Mike has also helped many of his teammates with their own personal projects, he’s just a solid dude. He’s an amazing person and we’re lucky he’s part of our family here at PCSAR. I sincerely hope the fundraiser helps out with what will likely be some pretty large bills.”

Poulsen said he was surprised when he learned about the fundraiser. He would much rather be on the giving end, but said the outpouring of support has inspired him. 

“You give a lot being a volunteer, so to see a community that you serve come together like that, I was just awestruck at the kindness and the love,” he said.