Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-fifth day of the month is "Relationship."
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Yesterday, it was unseasonably warm in Wisconsin. We're talking the low eighties which we won't be seeing again for months and months. I had two appointments on my calendar for brief meetings, but otherwise was free. I decided to do yardwork and was in the yard for hours and hours and took load after load to the compost pile.
But then I got cocky and decided to trim the bed along the driveway with the hedge trimmer. I want you to now hear very scary music in your head. I managed to somehow clip my finger and ended up driving myself to the ER to get six stitches. I'm fine, but the yardwork is not done! (Also, do you remember when I broke my thumb right before I started my last job? I feel like this is a thing with me now. Hurting my fingers as a way to say I don't want to work. Ha!)
I was mortified at what a dumb accident this was and didn't want to tell my husband while he was at work because I was fine. But I also didn't want him to find out by coming home while I was still at the hospital to find bloody paper towels and the first aid kit spread out everywhere. So I did what any self-respecting 40something lady does. I texted my friend to ask her to help me brainstorm a text to my husband. LOL.
Meanwhile, typing is challenging and I'm super embarrassed. The dog still needs her walks, though.
Edited to add: Suzanne asked what the text said! Good question!
I'm okay, but I got some stitches in my finger at the ER this afternoon. Ha ha. I'm always injuring myself right before I get a new job.
I led with the important fact that I'm okay. I made a joke to let him know I really was okay. I thought this was solid.
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Please make me feel better and tell me about a time you hurt yourself in a dumb way.
Engie! Yikes! That looks pretty bad. I hope you're not in a lot of pain.
ReplyDeleteI have not yet been in too much pain. Tylenol is keeping it in check. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
DeleteYikes indeed! This looks so painful.
ReplyDeleteI bruise really easily (was it you that said you do, too?) I don't stub my toes EVER, but my thighs and arms are covered in bruises basically always. I rarely remember specifically how I got the bruise but at least once a day I'll not time a corner into a room properly and think: that will leave a bruise. It's a bit comical, but sometimes I get self-conscious of wearing shorts or a t-shirt because I have an unsightly bruise (they rarely hurt so I don't really think about them, either). It was so bad the summer I lived with my brother - I was working in a big lab where it was basically impossible not to get bruises (and minor burns). He would actually ask me to wear pants and long-sleeves so people didn't think he was hurting me.
I feel like I need to wear a giant sign on my forehead that says: I promise I'm okay - I just bruise easily!
I bruise so easily, too. There have been times doctors have noted my bruises and have redone the "are you safe at home?" question! LOL. Mine almost never hurt unless I touch them, so I don't worry about it, although sometimes I wonder if I'm borderline anemic!
DeleteI am not sure how you did that. It takes talent, I think.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't know how it happened. I could not repeat it if you asked me to.
DeleteI once sprained my wrist opening a multipack of Cracker Jacks. No lie.
ReplyDeleteAnd then there was my idiotic fall that took me out of commission at the same time my husband had shoulder surgery, leaving us with a total of one and a half arms together for preparing Thanksgiving dinner.
I'm really sorry about your landscaping accident. It sounds (and looks) horrid and painful. Six stitches is a lot for your finger, and taking yourself to the ER for it--WOW! Hang in there.
I just searched your blog for more details and need to know more about this Cracker Jacks fiasco!
DeleteOh, no! There is nothing more frustrating than both people in a partnership being sick/injured at the same time. Hopefully you can look back on that time and laugh, although it sounds like it was super stressful at the time.
I'm sorry - I started laughing at this and nearly choked on my coffee. Cracker Jacks. 1.5 arms to prep Thanksgiving. This is too much!! Love it (though VERY sorry to Nance as a sprained wrist sounds awful, as does the bad falls) but also BEST INJURY STORIES EVER?!
DeleteNGS--I was very young--probably about 11--for the Cracker Jacks injury. Wait, you know what? I'll revive my blog and tell the story there for NaBloPoMo. Ok?
DeleteElisabeth--Don't be sorry. It's okay. Rick and I actually laughed while we were preparing our Thanksgiving. It was a perfect case of Teamwork Makes The Dream Work. LOL
Omigosh, NGS!!! Six stitches is A LOT! It must hurt a ton--I'm so sorry!
ReplyDelete(To make you feel better: Once decades ago, I was moving a mirror by myself and it slipped and sliced through my forearm to a point where I could see the bone. I had been told not to attempt it by myself, but I didn't listen. I can still remember the slow-motion descent, and my "Oh shite" realization. I think I got six stitches too. And I still have the scar. I will always have the scar.)
I'm starting to feel bad because it doesn't hurt that much. I mean, I haven't had to clean it or change the bandage yet, so maybe I'm overly optimistic, but Tylenol is keeping it under control for now.
DeleteOh, no! I can just imagine how upsetting it was when that mirror was falling. Sure, you were worried about injuring yourself, but also about how you were going to tell everyone that you did it by yourself when you'd been told not to! Oof.
OMG!!!! I'm so sorry! This sounds really scary and painful! I am now very curious what your text eventually said, though. And did it work? Did you save him from unnecessary worry? I feel like I would say something like, "I AM FINE but I cut myself and am driving myself to the emergency room for stitches."
ReplyDeleteDumbest injury... there are so many to choose from. Okay, so earlier this summer, in the thick of moving, my family and I were moving boxes from the car to the kitchen of our new house. My daughter and I jointly brought in a heavy box and set it on the pile and I went to high five her for a job well done... and ended up somehow jamming my pinky and ring finger into the box behind her. Like, super hard. This was months ago and my fingers STILL HURT. A high fiving injury. So dumb.
Good question about what the text said! I added it in the main text. He called me as soon as he got the text, so I don't know how much worry I saved him.
DeleteA high fiving injury!! OH NO!! That sounds terrible. I'm so sorry it's still causing you problems.
Ack! That sounds scary and painful. Nicely worded text to your husband! It reminds me of when I got into my car accident last year. "Everyone's okay, but I got into an accident..." Always start with "I'm okay!" Yes, glad your husband didn't come home to find bloody paper towels everywhere and you gone. Anyway... hope it heals up fast.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could explain how many blood droplets were in and around our kitchen. It was gruesome and really looked like a crime scene. I did an okayish job cleaning up before I left, but it was not complete by any stretch of the imagination. I truly didn't want him coming home to that.
DeleteYes, starting the text with the good news (I'm fine!) is always better than starting with the bad news (ER/car accident!).
Ouch! How come things like always happen in the middle of a project and never at the end of it?
ReplyDeleteEarly in our dating life my husband cut his hand badly on a piece of glass. He told me about it by texting a picture from the emergency room of his hand soaking in a bucket...I told him that this was the one time when a picture was not worth a thousand words.
It's sort of hard when you're in the middle of an emergency. I didn't want to call him before I went because I was in the middle of the actual emergency. Then I didn't want to call at the hospital because using cell phones in the hospital is weird. Sometimes text/photos are the only way to go. I did not send my husband the photo of the tray filled with my blood, though. I thought that might not be the best approach.
DeleteOh no!! I feel your pain. This is something I did to myself MANY YEARS AGO. I clipped the top of my finger while trimming my hostas at the end of the season. I had almost the same bandage as you do now. I'm sending you lots of healing vibes. 😘❤️
ReplyDeleteApparently they'd had another person in the same ER with a trimmer injury on Tuesday, so there must be legions of us!
DeleteOhhhhhhh ouch!!! Hugging you. Hope it heals soon. And fast.
ReplyDeleteI am a tiny bit worried that it will never heal. LOL. As I get older, even a paper cut takes weeks to close!
DeleteOh no, Engie. What are you doing?? Put away the hedge trimmer. I hope you didn't scare your poor husband.... that's a big bandage you got there.
ReplyDeleteThe bandage has been made slightly smaller, but it really only needs gauze at the tip to cover the wound. The gauze all the way down is because the adhesive irritates my skin, so I need protection from that. So, what I'm saying is that the whole contraption makes it look worse than it really is!
DeleteOh no! I remember getting stiches when I was five and it was awful - I fell and hit my head on a curb at recess. I was very accident prone as a kid. One time I broke my arm falling out a tree. The other major accident was when I was playing line tag and ran into another kid and his teeth went into my forehead. That bled a lot and I had to go to the hospital. I very clearly remember the doctor at the hospital's very surprised voice as he examined me, saying, "Those are teeth marks!!!"
ReplyDeleteI hope your finger is feeling better soon! How scary that must have been!
The human mouth is so gross - I'd be nervous if someone bit my head, even by accident! Luckily you survived!
DeleteOh my goodness! I hope you'll be able to perform for your new job. Will y ou need to type?
ReplyDeleteI've not injured myself enough to go to the hospital, except for the time I was in a car accident at 11. That wasn't my fault, so I feel like I'm winning in this department right now.
I hope you heal quickly!!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha. I have injured myself COUNTLESS times, ending up at urgent care or the ER. I will have to type for my job. It's slow going, but I still have full use of my right hand, so it could be worse.
DeleteSolid text LOL
ReplyDeletePrecisely crafted for minimum worry!
DeleteOh no, I am soso sorry.
ReplyDeleteI once had to bring out some trash (long paper rolls from carpet) during a job (I was an event manager) which was my last task and managed to break my finger. Ended up being driven to the ER by someone in my dads car that I was specifically not to give to anyone to drive.
I bet your dad was forgiving once he realized that it was an emergnecy!
DeleteThis is not dumb at all! I am so sorry it happened and glad you got it taken care of. I was going to ask what you said in the text but now I see it was added LOL.
ReplyDeleteThe text was a thing of beauty. Too bad it didn't really work, though. He called me right away!
DeleteOUCH! That's quite the injury. Dumbest injury: When I was 11, I saw a razor blade just sitting around (I don't know why it was there) and for some unknown reason, I wanted to see how sharp it was by slicing it down my finger. Surprise! A razor blade is VERY sharp and I 100% cut myself bad. My mom thought I needed stitches but my dad just bandaged me up really good and I was fine. WHAT WAS I THINKING?
ReplyDeleteI hope the injury is feeling better! I'm sorry this happened to you.