Saturday, January 18, 2014

BLOOD & STITCHES--Consider yourself warned

I was running a load of towels through the washing machine this morning. It only had about five minutes left on the timer when I noticed that it was making a weird noise that I hadn't heard before. Chris was quicker to identify that it wasn't just a noise, it was the fact that it wasn't spinning when it was supposed to.

Since it was so close to the end of the cycle, we just moved the towels to the dryer and Chris started taking apart the washer to see if he could identify the problem. He was only a few minutes into this process while I was sitting at the table eating lunch. My meal was interrupted with a calm but determined statement from Chris that went something like this:

"Laura, I have a problem and you are going to have to do something about it."

I jumped up to see this lovely sight.


He had sliced his hand while taking apart the washing machine. I jumped into action and started making phone calls until I found someone who could watch the kids, then I drove Chris to Urgent Care.

I was rather less-than-impressed with the receptionist. She very adamantly insisted that Chris and only Chris could sign the admittance paperwork and she would not tell anyone we were there until he had done so. That was slightly problematic given that he had cut his right hand (being right-handed and all), and his left hand was very firmly holding the wound closed so it wasn't gushing blood everywhere. This was the only time in the entire day that I just about lost my cool and hit someone. Seriously. She really did make him let go of the cut and sign the paper, and then she told me to throw away the pen that was now covered in his blood.

I feel like there could have been a better way to handle that, don't you think?

We managed to get a real picture of the cut while we were waiting.


We just so happened to be looking at the cut like this when who should walk out into the waiting room but the doctor herself.


She saw blood and responded much more appropriately. She brought out gloves and gauze and got real pressure in the right place on his hand, then went back to start setting up for stitches right away. Yay for real concern!

First order of business was stopping the bleeding, which luckily didn't take too long.


The funny moment was went they removed the gauze after having lots of pressure on it, it squirted a little bit. Good thing they had already moved Chris's sleeve up.


Then the doctor injected lidocaine all around the cut to numb it before stitches. Chris said that was the worst part of the whole thing.


Then stitches. Four total.



I would like to insert here that I am very first-trimester pregnant, which means I am perpetually nauseated and can gag at the slight of very innocuous things, like a hair in the sink. And yet, I sat and watched my husband bleeding and getting a shot and having his hand sewn back together and never had any problem. Go me.

They did do some x-rays just to make sure that he hadn't nicked the bone at all and not noticed. Chris was pretty sure he would have noticed, but he let them x-ray just in case since his hands are his livelihood. You try computer programming without use of your index finger. Sure, it can be done, but let's keep all ten fingers functional, shall we?


Pregnant me couldn't go in, so this is the best picture you get.

He finished with a prescription for painkillers and a nice bandage all around his hand. The washing machine will have to wait for another day.


Once that adventure was all over, we picked up the kids only to realize that I was in fact the only person who had eaten lunch. I fed myself first because I didn't have the energy to feed anyone else until I had eaten...and then Chris cut his hand while I was eating. I figured this was a good day for another McDonald's/Panda run.





Everyone agreed--except maybe Jane. Hard to say. And I just can't catch a break and get a picture of my face looking normal. We'll have to work on that, Christopher.

3 comments:

Chris W. said...

You'll just have to let me actually take your picture. I usually have to sneak them in. :)

Liz, Karl, Madison, Brooklyn, Aubrey and Zachary said...

I've missed your blog my friend. I'm glad you can at least sit up now. And now about this post. Can I be the first to say, eww!! (Name that movie:) anyway I'm impressed you didn't throw up or pass out because I wanted to just from reading about it. And I love that you forgot to feed your family. I'm guilty of that more than I care to admit. :)

Michael said...

I'm impressed that he was using chop sticks with his left hand