Oops! I did it Again

Ask me how I know.

When the recipe writers tell you to remove an avocado pit with a spoon, do not take it out with the knife. If you try to stab it--even if you have done so many, many times--this is the time the pit will roll and the knife will go through the avocado and into your palm. Slowly, I will learn all the lessons the kitchen has to offer in avoiding danger.

{Sigh} So we spent a couple of hours in the emergency room last night. I couldn't stitch to pass the time because I was bleeding. The good news is, now that the bleeding is controlled, I can stitch again. That and no skin graft. That's pretty good news too.

Weekend

This was me at reunion:
"Kitchen accident."
"Not exactly, you know the mandoline slicer?"
"Yes, the whole tip."
"No, it was too small."
"Skin graft."
"I had surgery yesterday/Friday."
"Vicodin."

Every once in a while I had a really interesting conversation with someone and that made it all worthwhile. Plus, each visit is always like an Amway meeting--I come away more invigorated and more in love with my school.

When I came home Sunday afternoon, I took a nap. Then read. Then slept...perhaps I overdid it on Saturday. Then we took my MIL to the airport. I'll miss her. It was so helpful to the dude to have her around. (And I got to impress her with the American medical system. Sure it's expensive, but sometimes you get what you pay for.)

I saw the doctor and they checked on infection in the area where they took the graft. None. Then they rewrapped my hand. If it is at all possible, I am wearing an even bigger bandage on my middle finger now. They'll take off all the bandages for a look on Thursday, but I think I am going to be bandaged for 7-10 days.

I'll be posting some pics from old projects over the next few days so I don't lose the few readers I have left.

Hand Model

I want to thank you all for your wishes for my recovery. I'll keep you posted on how things are going. But I have to give props to the dude and his mum who have been fabulous to me.

Last night, I bullied best pal, who is in town for our 20th reunion, into visiting. She asked if she could bring anything for me. "Ice cream!" I shouted with abandon. Because I had asked the dude, and I knew he wasn't thrilled with the idea but he had already done so much. She showed up with 3 pints of Ben & Jerry. And you wonder why I love her so much.

This is taking forever. I'm signing off for a while.

Surgery Tomorrow

Sigh. I had thought it wouldn't end this way. The good news is that this should help the whole caboodle heal faster.

Hello, I'm Your Hostess, Cupcake*

I frequently talk about how talented my cousin is in the cake decorating department, and today I'm finally making good on showing off her talents. These are some cupcakes she made for me this weekend. She "owed" me a birthday cake, and I was hosting the alumnae knitting group (total bust), since I am the invalide I asked her to make cupcakes for the gtg. I saw the flowers on Bakerella and forwarded them to her, but she found the butterflies in a book called Hello, Cupcake! (which I was trying to win for her at Bakerella's site. Well, at least I don't feel any pressure now in that regard.) The butterflies are chocolate and tasted awesome. The flowers are cute, but are made with candy melts. There are worse things you could eat...but look at what a gorgeous display of cake and confectionary I had!

I visited the doctor today, and it looks like I may not have to have a skin graft after all--and that's the word of the fully trained doc, not the pessimistic resident. We'll know more in ten days. They encouraged me to wear a bandaid instead of a bandage. They want me to bend my finger more. I still can't hit keys with it. I keep trying for the "i" and getting a "9;" I'm getting warmer...

*In college, I once had a party where we made people wear nametags. I ended up wearing one that said "I'm your hostess, Cupcake." The play was on Hostess and was lost on many of our midAtlantic guests who ate (shudder) Tastykakes.

A Bored Blogger is a Boring Blogger

Barbara pled. How on earth can I ignore her?

Like my bandage? I know it looks like I've decorated my hand with crepe paper, but it's a self-adhesive bandage. We got it at Pet Smart--I need the 1" size, which they don't sell in human stores. You will be unsurprised to learn that bandages you buy at Pet Smart don't come in "fleshtone." While we--I have to be driven everywhere like a diva, so the dude came--were at the mall, I popped into AC Moore to see if I could find a book or magazine to alleviate my boredom. Things are really bad, people. I haven't stitched since Sunday* and nothing, nothing, grabbed my interest in the craft store. What can I do? I'd read, but I'm so easily distracted lately, I'm not sure how far I'm going to get. I have been reviewing the Book Lust books to see what I can find, because this is going to be a long two months if I don't have anything to occupy my hands. In fact, I should just warn you now: watch for the second coming of satan. These hands have never been so idle.

The only news on the crafting front is the cleaning woman found two pairs of embroidery scissors under my bed? nighttable?. One pair has been lost for ages. She's a keeper!

*A full day of work leaves me in too much pain to stitch.

Injury Report

I want to thank you all for your kind notes regarding my injury. It's very heartening to know so many people are thinking about me. I'm also pleased that you have been so accepting of my little txtmssg notes that I have been leaving at your blogs. I was so happy to have your blogs to read after the surgery when anything more was too much activity. I wanted to respond even though typing was trying. (Still is.)

I have done very little stitching. When the injury was numb, fresh after the surgery, I managed to do a little work--I did have to pop the project into the q-snaps, but otherwise no problems stitching those two lengths of floss. Since the numbing medicine wore off (3 a.m. Saturday), I have had to stitch with my left hand. This has slowed me considerably. Everything has been moving slower. As with any injury or handicap, you (eventually) find ways to adapt, but you have to settle for working longer or harder for it. Typing, for instance. I have trouble with "ik," and can't hit u, i, or o with accuracy so I've been much slower of late. Still beats handwriting, which is just ridiculous...and people keep asking me to sign things.

I saw the doctor today and he tortured me removed the bandages to have a look. He said it all looks very good. The resident thought things were very promising for not having the second graft. 50-50 he said. He must be a giant pessimist, because 50-50 doesn't sound that great to me. Everyone--the surgeon, the resident, the fellow--said it looked good. The fellow taught me how to re-dress the wound, since I will have to do it daily. She thought it might be a good idea for me to look at it, so I finally have. It wasn't as nausea-inducing as I feared. It does look better than my foot did when the podiatrist told me that it looked great.



Thanks again for all your good wishes. Although my recovery will take a few months, I'll try not to abandon the blog. Keep writing because my stitching thrills will be coming vicariously for a while.

Surgery Will be Involved

I saw the doc this am and, because I hit the nail bed, and because I write for a living, we're doing surgery. Tomorrow am they will put a double layer graft (silicon and proteins) so blood vessels will grow. In about 1 month, they'll take a pinch of skin from the side of my hand to make me a new fatty pad. It would heal under normal conditions, but I'd be left with scar tissue over bone that would feel "like getting kicked in the shin" every time I hit a key on the keyboard. It seems like the right thing to do even though it's all happening in a whirlwind. Not sure how much I'll be blogging.

And I was going to review Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts too.

Avulsion Revulsion

So, we just spent two hours in the emergency room. I was making dinner, using a mandoline, which I totally shouldn't be allowed to use--now we have medical evidence for that assessment. I have a huge bandage on my middle finger (hard to use the "i" key) and my finger may never be the same. We're throwing away the offending mandoline.

I have to tell you I reacted with calm and level-headed thinking. When the dude heard me shout, he asked "do you need to go to the emergency room?"
Me: Yes
Dude: Where do we go?
Me: Bryn Mawr Hospital.
Dude: Do you need an ambulance?
Me: No.
While the dude looked up directions on the internet, I took the pan off the heat and turned off the stove.

When we got to the hospital they asked if I had been there before. I said no, but it turns out I have. I would be indebted to one of my friends if they had a memory of me going to the hospital when I was in college.

I have to say that breaking my index finger didn't slow my stitching down, we'll have to see what lopping off the top of my finger (and a little bit of fingernail) will do to my productivity.