“No, my left hand isn’t dangling by a thread after massive loss of blood yesterday as a result of …” That would be my answer to my brother, who had called from Calif. this morning very concerned by an e-mail he had gotten yesterday from Mom. She didn’t send it to me; I haven’t seen it; something about serious injury to my whole hand…
Remember when your mother told you to stop running around the house in your slippers because you would bust your head wide open? (You were 4 at the time; you may not remember.) I forgot; was just doing a little exercise by running up and down our back stairs with heavy weights; still had my slippers on. Bad idea. Next thing I know I’m in MaxCare being told by the nurse that he’s too scared to try & sew up my bashed finger (which a heavy weight fell on top of as I crashed into the stairs). Serena took me to a hand surgery specialist at Jewish Hospital, we filled out lots of forms and I tried to work for several hours while she fought boredom. Then Dr. Ignacio calmly started stitching my finger up, Serena stopped talking to Mike Clark (from our church; had come to check on me after reading Mom’s vague “he’ll probably live” e-mail) and they both poked their heads around the corner. Suddenly, it was play-by-play! “Ooo, is that the bone right there? It looks so gross… cool!” These are sample comments from my daughter after the surgeon invited her into the operating room to watch and they began sharing notes about needles (she is a seamstress). Meanwhile, I can’t see what they’re doing, and instead pretend to myself that the gory details about blood, tendons and nerves are referring to Serena’s finger instead of mine. Meanwhile, the doc is acting like this happens every day, and the nurse assisting him keeps reminding Serena not to touch anything sterile.
Today my left hand is somewhat sore, typing is a pain and now I’m trying to catch up. Here’s what I’m thankful for:
- It wasn’t my head busted open
- Mom sent an e-mail to our church’s prayer listserve and it worked (she’s been having issues with e-mail recently)
- Serena was available to drive me around (McDonald’s, Arby’s and bribery did play a small part, but- hey- I don’t have hand surgery every day!)
- Mike Clark took the time to come see me
- I can still type
- America has an amazing healthcare system, in spite of all it’s problems and issues
Prayer requests include catching up on work and not forgetting I have stitches in my hand until the finger is completely healed.