Aug 22: They were very nice in the ER....

I'd been procrastinating, kept meaning to post. I've been very tired with working the extra shifts, although it's helping out financially. It's been great being in the hospital a little, catching up with people and a change from the office, but it definitely tires me out more. When I get home it's all I can do to feed myself and the cats, do a couple minimal things and get ready for work the next day (gluten free = packing lunch every day). While on the whole I'm still feeling better than a few months ago, this has put me back to not doing much more than minimal functioning. Weekends are trying to catch up, resting up. So posting has gotten neglected. I was going to make it up by being particularly newsy, but....

Not quite sure how this happend, but I cut my right hand today. At gas station, getting out of car, fingers somehow got into the opening where the pin goes through when you close the door (Nader pin) and guess what? The edges of that are pretty sharp. Felt the skin ripping, lots of blood. Middle and ring finger. Across the middle joint on the middle finger, which is more of a problem. Controlled the bleeding, filled the tank (hey, I was already there!), drove myself to the hospital (only a block, fortunately) and announced myself to the ER. They didn't seem impressed by the words "cut" and "coumadin", but they didn't have many patients so it wasn't too long. Very nice and efficient PA stitched me up. Five over the joint on the ring finger, only one on the ring finger. Full thickness, but didn't hit tendons or bone. Have to wear splint for 12 days on middle finger so the joint doesn't move, only for a few days on the ring finger.

The PA warned me about the pain for the lidocaine injections before the stitching, so I really braced myself, because I remembered from years ago that it was pretty bad. But hardly any pain, didn't even flinch. She looks at me and says "Wow, you must have a really high threshold for pain." Well, it's all relative--the sternum was hurting way more by then.

I will admit that there were a few seconds when I felt like crying, not because it was so terrible by itself, but because it was one more thing to cope with. But then I started thinking that it could have been much worse, even a mm deeper would have been very bad. And it's the same finger as the knuckle I hurt a couple weeks ago, so having the splint on it decreases movement there, which should help it heal a little faster. And I can still use my thumb and index finger, so gripping is possible. Even wrote in charts (went into work from the ER), although with the thumb, index and pinky holding the pen and the two others splinted and sticking out at a strange angle it looked like a bad Edward Scissorhands imitation! And I got my INR drawn, so no trip needed on Tuesday. And now my tetanus is up-to-date. And just got Darvon instead of Darvocett, so when the Tylenol isn't working I can take that and not worry about too much Tylenol. And now I don't have to do any cleaning at all this weekend. AND I can give someone the finger and they won't know it!

Just changed the bandaid, tape and re-splinted. The joint and all around it is full of blood, squishy and a little gross looking. It's going to bruise all sorts of pretty colors--who needs rings?!

Yes, I will order the Medic Alert bracelet! Would have done it before, but they don't list how many characters you can put and then it means a phone call, and that makes it more difficult and .... But I did promise myself to do that this weekend while cooling my heels in the waiting room.

Woke this am with a little bruise on my right cheek which wasn't there last night. Maybe an exciting adventure during some astral-plane traveling?

Time to figure out how to wash my face with the left hand. Thanks for checking, Laurie