The broken finger incident....

Hello!

So...I have had a lot of inquiries about my broken finger. Yup, that's right, for those of you just finding out, I broke my finger. How would I sum it up? I'd have to say draining. About 24 hours following the actually incident and all the drama that followed, I was totally wiped out. (and, no, it wasn't just the pain killers!) Here's what happened....

*Disclaimer! It turned into a really LONG story...my apologies!*

I had all three kids in the van and was rushing off to the grocery store. (Note - I don't think we ever head anywhere NOT rushing) I was dressed for work, and had little more than an hour to grab something for Brad and the kiddies to have for dinner, pick him up from work, drop them all off and get to work myself. Not really a bad time frame under normal circumstances...as I said, I'm used to rushing! As leaped in the van myself I simultaneously went to close the door with my left hand and put my seat belt on with my right. Well, the seat belt got stuck. So I let go of the door and grabbed the belt near the top with that hand, giving it a good yank. As quick as a flash the seat belt let go, my hand (with thumb and first two fingers gripping belt and second two sticking out) shot up and out the door, and the door, which apparently was still slamming shut, did so on my ring finger. Wait....give me a moment....deep breaths....deep breaths.....! Okay. Obviously I instantly exclaimed (no profanities, I'm proud to say), opened the door, looked at my finger and almost vomited. Tears sprung to my eyes as my kids asked in worried voices 'what's wrong Mama?'. Said finger was bent backwards and to the side at almost a 90 degree angle. My first thought you ask? Funnily enough it was 'I don't think I can work'! I told the kids to stay put, hopped out of the van, my hand held up and to the side because looking at it made it so much worse. Quickly I ran inside, grabbed a bag of ice, a baggie and called work. My stoic calm evaded me upon having to say (sob) out loud 'I can't come to work, I think my finger is broken....(more gasping sobs)....it's CROOKED!' That dealt with I returned to the van, more composed, but tears still streaming, and asked Madison to 'put some ice in the baggie for me please'. She had the best view from the front seat and looked at me, quite pale herself, and said 'But Mama, where are we going? Your finger is crooked!'. To which I calmly replied 'Yes, I know honey, but we have to pick up Daddy'.

Needless to say, upon seeing Brad, any calm demeanor I was clinging to flew right out the window. I held up my hand and sobbed. He jumped out of the truck he had just pulled up in, looked at my finger and got me in the van, heading off to seek treatment. (I will mention our friend Brant offered, with a barely concealed grin, to straighten it for me, to which I declined in horror) We dashed off, me crying, Brad driving, Madison texting (upon my request) my Mom to let her know they (the kids) were on their way. By now the finger was basically numb, kind of pulsing, but nothing too terrible. Any time I looked at it, it brought on fresh tears though.

So, with kids dropped off, we headed for a walk in clinic. (Not until after Brad mentioned he was starving and hinted at stopping for food though! Needless to say, without so much as a word, we kept on towards the clinic!) Upon getting in to see the doctor he asked 'So what happened?' I told him and held up my hand for him to see. Do you know what he did?! Without a word of warning?! He grabbed it...and STRAIGHTENED it!!! Oh man did I cry, and scream, and cry. I'm pretty sure the words 'I'd rather have another baby than THIS!' escaped my mouth. lol After binding (more tears and whimpers) it to part of a tongue depressor, he sent us of to the ER. Cause guess what?! Not only was it certainly broken, he thought the tendon was off. Oh goodie.

Now we found ourselves at the Royal Jubilee ER. About 5:30 at night. With no hope of being there less than 3 hours. (It ended up being 5) :S Brad dropped me off and went to fill the T3 prescription from the first doctor for me and grab something to eat. After being admitted, and watching/listening to all the stories and characters only the ER seems to attract, I took a seat to wait. And wait, and wait, and wait. Happily Brad returned with the pills and I slept on his shoulder for part of it! Finally we were brought through the doors....to wait some more. Totally tricky. After being called into a room to see a nurse and tell my story again, we were sent to X-ray. Guess what I did there?! Yup...waited some more. By now my Mom was with me, since she and Brad had swapped jobs so the kids could get home to bed. Being a total Mom and seeing how I was starting to hurt again, but how loopy I was after the first round of pills, she went to get me a sub. After my X-rays, I again waited. What a group of people there were there! One old, likely homeless man kept asking for rolling papers claiming 'this place would be SO much better if we just got high'! Another young mom of a 2 year old kept yelling at the same man to 'stop talking to my son'! Ahh....good times. Finally! I saw the doctor. Guess what he did?! Unwrapped my finger while I stood there, in front of everyone and cried again! He then started trying on various splints....yes, as I continued to cry. Yes, still standing beside waiting room, in front of everyone. Eventually it was splinted and taped and he took me to see the X-rays. Want to know the good news he had for me?! He thought I may need surgery(!) and a pin(!) to put it back together properly, and was sending me to a plastic surgeon in the morning. Fack!

Round three. Next morning. Plastic surgeon's office. After more waiting, more X-rays and another drug induced nap in the waiting room, I saw the surgeon. Who had good news! The bones were lined up as good as he'd hope to get them with a pin! Prognosis? 3 weeks in a splint (awkward, but doable) then one more visit to him after 4 weeks. If all has gone well I should be good to go. Maybe with a little physio to regain mobility.

Whew! There you have it. Sorry it was an absurdly long story.

Smiles, be well,

(Mallet finger!) Crystal