You might ask what happened and how....Well, here is the story...
On Saturday evening, around 6:45 p.m., I was beginning the preparations for our dinner. We were going to be having two new recipes (Yakitori and Roasted Potatoes with Fresh Herbs). I got my trusty mandoline from Pampered Chef to cut slice the potatoes. I was using the mandoline just as it should be used and then things went terribly wrong... I sliced a huge chunk out of my right thumb.
I immediately grabbed several paper towels and ran over to the sink. I ran water over my thumb to get some of the blood off, so I could see if the wound was really deep. It looked ok, so I just kept pressure on it. I figured it would stop after a few minutes and I could put a BandAid on it and move on with the rest of my dinner preparations.
After 30 minutes, it was still bleeding pretty heavily. The hubs and I decided that it needed to be checked out. I called my insurance and started trying to find an in-network urgent care. The issue was that it was almost 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday night most urgent care offices were closed and I refused to go to an emergency room and spend my entire Saturday evening there. Luckily, the insurance representative directed me to an office that was open, but only until 7:45 p.m. I jumped in the car and high-tailed it over to their office, arriving at 7:25. I quickly checked in, apologized for coming so close to closing time, and filled out the necessary paperwork.
Within a few minutes, I was in the room and being taken care of by a very nice medical assistant and PA. The PA used some betadine to clean my thumb, then he used a topical numbing agent before giving me a shot. After I got the shot, I started feeling like crap and I said to him "...We have a problem. I am burning up and I feel like I am going to throw up on you..." He asked the medical assistant to get me some water and he leaned me back on the table a little. He quickly stitched me up - 4 stitches. After letting me relax for a few minutes, he bandaged me up with some nice gauze padding and a pink wrap. I figure if I have to have stitches, it may as well be cute. I was in and out of the urgent care in 35 minutes - a rare thing indeed!
After leaving the urgent care, there was no way that I was going to fix dinner. One, I was in pain; two, I was quite annoyed about what had happened. I went to Peace China and got us some yummy Chinese takeout. After dinner, I huffed and puffed a little more about being frustrated about my hand. I kept saying over and over that "...things like this don't happen to me..." Well, they do now.
I have to keep my hand, especially my thumb, dry until the stitches come out on Wednesday. It has been quite interesting trying to do things around the house, at work, etc. I didn't realize how useful my thumb actually was until I couldn't use it. So, here's to my new friend, hitch-hiker thumb.
The phrase "sliced a huge chunk out of my right thumb" makes me cringe! Get well soon, and happy hitch hiking!
ReplyDeleteMade you cringe, Jim? Think about how I feel! I have to change the wrap everyday!
ReplyDeleteYikes! Mandolins scare me. When I worked at a William Sonoma several years ago I had to watch a scary video about proper handling. Freaked me out. I have one and I still don't use it.
ReplyDeleteTake it easy!