One for the thumb
It is best to always keep one eye on what you are doing.
It is in lazy moments that mistakes happen - when stupidity sometimes takes hold and reigns over rational behavior.
Recently, after morning coffee at Coffea, my next stop was at Barnes and Noble in Sioux Falls, S.D., to pick up Lauren Hillenbrand's book, Unbroken, which I have been told grabs you and doesn't let go. Also, I had to get the latest copy of the New Yorker, which featured an entertaining column by Tina Fey. I love her.
With that done, I opened the hatch to the Ford Escape - thinking about one more stop before heading home. Like so many other times, I slammed the hatch shut, without paying attention to what I was doing or where my hand was situated. Not smart.
I closed the hatch on my thumb and let out a little yelp. Oh my God, that hurts. As I stood there yelling for some help, I tried to reach across my body and open the hatch, nope. Then, of all things, I grabbed my keys and hit the unlock button - what?
As I stood there hollering for help, my mother, in the front seat of the Escape, looked back with a wry expression as if I was joking. Yes, I do throw a few humorous barbs at family and friends. Like every so often, I will hit the break after pulling out onto a street as if another vehicle just appeared. Then, I will smile while my mother gives me that Ralston glaze. So, it wasn't a surprise that she hesitated a bit.
Quickly she realized I wasn't joking and she hurried to the rear of the vehicle to release the hatch. Yep, I was in pain. For a moment, I felt a little nauseated. While I moved my thumb to make sure it wasn't broke, the blood began running down my hand. My mother grabbed a Kleenex as I looked at the bloody thumb to assess the damage.
I had a pretty deep cut; I thought, maybe I better go to a doctor.
Despite the pain, my thoughts were about whether I had broken the appendage and if I was going to be able to use a computer. If broken, did that mean a full hand cast? And, back again, to the real question of the moment - how the heck did this happen?
I didn't think my thumb was broke because I could move it freely, even as my other fingers started turning a little red from by dripping blood. Finally, I cleaned it up and headed toward the medical clinic. Yes, I persevered and withstood the pain to make it to the Doc's office.
As I stood there at the counter at the clinic, I was describing to the receptionist how the injury happened. Friendly and concerned, she quickly called a nurse to get me checked out as soon as possible. I appreciated but wondered if maybe I needed a shrink instead. I mean, how stupid can a person be?
The nurse was gracious and understanding as she took my blood pressure (normal) and asked me a few questions before giving me some fluid to soak the lacerated thumb. I laid back on the table as I had my thumb numbed. Now, this medical procedure isn't like numbing your tooth for dental work. Oh no, that truly is painful and uncomfortable. When they numb a thumb, it last only a short time unlike the dental procedure when your face has lost all feeling and drinking a coffee becomes like feeding an infant. But, after the doc pricked my thumb 2-3 times, he put in four stitches and let the nurse clean me up and put on a bandage to protect the stitching.
During the quick and careful medical attention, I kept mumbling about my dim-witted and somewhat dense actions. Yet, I knew I was pretty lucky. My thumb could have been broken with that hatch slamming on it. I could have ended up with a cast, which I guess all my friends would have traveled to Sioux Falls to sign. Right?
I am just thankful the good Lord was watching over me and excusing my stupidity.
I have done stupid things before as friends and family can attest. Reading newspapers in my vehicle while driving across the state and nearly running off the road. Or, that time my brothers and I stayed up all night fishing at West Whitlocks (on Missouri River) and then tried to drive home early in the morning only to end up in the ditch. Another time, I tried driving through four feet of snow and ended up stuck in a big way. There was that morning as a teenager when I used a high intensity lamp near my bed, fell asleep, woke to a fire and used water to douse it. Guess what, it didn't work and the smoldering mattress created major smoke damage to my parent's house as the local fire department had to venture late at night to Holly Drive in Gettysburg.
I guess we all have those moments in which we have a contraction of the mind. A brain fart of sorts. As I reflect back on this latest episode and think about how to describe it, of course it requires a sport reference; this was indeed "one for the thumb." Yep, thumbs down.
Addition --
I just saw this video of less than smart human actions on a post on facebook. This allows me to breathe a tad easier. http://hardfailcompilation.com/
It is in lazy moments that mistakes happen - when stupidity sometimes takes hold and reigns over rational behavior.
Recently, after morning coffee at Coffea, my next stop was at Barnes and Noble in Sioux Falls, S.D., to pick up Lauren Hillenbrand's book, Unbroken, which I have been told grabs you and doesn't let go. Also, I had to get the latest copy of the New Yorker, which featured an entertaining column by Tina Fey. I love her.
With that done, I opened the hatch to the Ford Escape - thinking about one more stop before heading home. Like so many other times, I slammed the hatch shut, without paying attention to what I was doing or where my hand was situated. Not smart.
I closed the hatch on my thumb and let out a little yelp. Oh my God, that hurts. As I stood there yelling for some help, I tried to reach across my body and open the hatch, nope. Then, of all things, I grabbed my keys and hit the unlock button - what?
As I stood there hollering for help, my mother, in the front seat of the Escape, looked back with a wry expression as if I was joking. Yes, I do throw a few humorous barbs at family and friends. Like every so often, I will hit the break after pulling out onto a street as if another vehicle just appeared. Then, I will smile while my mother gives me that Ralston glaze. So, it wasn't a surprise that she hesitated a bit.
Quickly she realized I wasn't joking and she hurried to the rear of the vehicle to release the hatch. Yep, I was in pain. For a moment, I felt a little nauseated. While I moved my thumb to make sure it wasn't broke, the blood began running down my hand. My mother grabbed a Kleenex as I looked at the bloody thumb to assess the damage.
I had a pretty deep cut; I thought, maybe I better go to a doctor.
Despite the pain, my thoughts were about whether I had broken the appendage and if I was going to be able to use a computer. If broken, did that mean a full hand cast? And, back again, to the real question of the moment - how the heck did this happen?
I didn't think my thumb was broke because I could move it freely, even as my other fingers started turning a little red from by dripping blood. Finally, I cleaned it up and headed toward the medical clinic. Yes, I persevered and withstood the pain to make it to the Doc's office.
As I stood there at the counter at the clinic, I was describing to the receptionist how the injury happened. Friendly and concerned, she quickly called a nurse to get me checked out as soon as possible. I appreciated but wondered if maybe I needed a shrink instead. I mean, how stupid can a person be?
The nurse was gracious and understanding as she took my blood pressure (normal) and asked me a few questions before giving me some fluid to soak the lacerated thumb. I laid back on the table as I had my thumb numbed. Now, this medical procedure isn't like numbing your tooth for dental work. Oh no, that truly is painful and uncomfortable. When they numb a thumb, it last only a short time unlike the dental procedure when your face has lost all feeling and drinking a coffee becomes like feeding an infant. But, after the doc pricked my thumb 2-3 times, he put in four stitches and let the nurse clean me up and put on a bandage to protect the stitching.
During the quick and careful medical attention, I kept mumbling about my dim-witted and somewhat dense actions. Yet, I knew I was pretty lucky. My thumb could have been broken with that hatch slamming on it. I could have ended up with a cast, which I guess all my friends would have traveled to Sioux Falls to sign. Right?
I am just thankful the good Lord was watching over me and excusing my stupidity.
I have done stupid things before as friends and family can attest. Reading newspapers in my vehicle while driving across the state and nearly running off the road. Or, that time my brothers and I stayed up all night fishing at West Whitlocks (on Missouri River) and then tried to drive home early in the morning only to end up in the ditch. Another time, I tried driving through four feet of snow and ended up stuck in a big way. There was that morning as a teenager when I used a high intensity lamp near my bed, fell asleep, woke to a fire and used water to douse it. Guess what, it didn't work and the smoldering mattress created major smoke damage to my parent's house as the local fire department had to venture late at night to Holly Drive in Gettysburg.
I guess we all have those moments in which we have a contraction of the mind. A brain fart of sorts. As I reflect back on this latest episode and think about how to describe it, of course it requires a sport reference; this was indeed "one for the thumb." Yep, thumbs down.
Addition --
I just saw this video of less than smart human actions on a post on facebook. This allows me to breathe a tad easier. http://hardfailcompilation.com/
Comments
Post a Comment