Andy, you have been so so lucky lad.
It brings to mind, for those who were on the 'old' model boat forum, a topic that we all once discussed. I believe the topic was entitled, 'Let the young ones learn by mistakes or something like that' where it was discussed about the younger generation being soft and should be allowed to experiment with different things. I am going to mention Kayem here, cos Kayem was there as well. The topic originally came about while they were pouring molten lead into the bottom of a fibre glass yacht. I remember saying then it could be dangerous, because sometimes air gets trapped inside the fibre glass moulding when its been laid up. This air expands and obviously it has nowhere to go, and if its close to the surface, it literally blows the lamination apart causing the molten lead to splatter all over the place.
I am wondering if this is something that has happened to you, Andy. Not necessarily air, but a little bit of dampness trapped.
Will not dwell on the subject too much, its one of those things where you count your lucky stars, and pick six numbers for the lottery - because by hell you are one lucky person.
Hope you are not in too much pain my friend. Get well soon. It will heal, but you will have a scar.
aye
john e
bluebird