Aidan and I went to my sister in law and niece’s this weekend for a visit and to attend the wedding of one of Ryan’s friends from high school that was in Nashville (Ft. Campbell is fairly close to Nashville).  My mom came up to surprise the girls and help my sister in law while I was at the wedding.  Shortly after the Super Bowl started Melynn and I went out to the garage to put my dad’s TV into my car.  Melynn couldn’t help me so I got a rolling cart, got the (really heavy) TV onto it and started rolling it through the garage.  At some point the already front-heavy TV got too much forward momentum and it started to fall.  The odd thing is, before it started to fall I thought to myself “It’s just a free TV, if it starts to fall, just let it, it’s not worth getting hurt over.”  So, anyway, it started to fall and I, instinctively tried to catch it, smashing my right middle finger between the floor and the TV. 

I jerked my hand loose and walked aroumd the driveway trying to shake it off, thinking I had only mashed my finger…until something warm and wet hit my forehead.  Then I looked down at my hand and saw that my finger was bleeding profusely.  I said, “Melynn, I think we need to go to the hospital.  I think I cut my finger really badly.”  When she saw the blood she got woozy and called her neighbor, a combat medic (ya gotta love living on an Army post) to come check me out.  He cleaned it up, told me I’d need stitches, wrapped it up in gauze and gave me an icepack. 

Melynn got the kids ready and we loaded up to head to the ER looking like the Grapes of Wrath.  The girls were messy and had untied shoes and we both had blood spatter all over us from me trying to shake the pain out (before I realized I cut my finger).  Thank goodness for Tricare, though, because it was no problem getting right in and getting seen.  I wound up missing most of the Super Bowl and didn’t get to see The Office episode that came on afterward (I threatened my 8th grade class if they spoiled it for me, I’d flunk them.)

As it turned out, I didn’t “cut” my finger, the weight of the TV burst the flesh at the tip and required six stitches.  I was x-rayed and they saw that the weight of the TV crushed the bone at the tip of my finger.  My finger is bandaged and in a splint.  I’m taking Keflex (antibiotic) and Tramdol (painkiller).  The ER doc had me on Augmentin but the Ortho doc put me on Keflex because it’s a broader spectrum antibiotic.  He wants to prevent the possibility of my getting osteomyelitis in my finger and possibly losing it.  Yikes! 

I think I’ve told the story about 50 times today.  I keep accidentally bumping it and it’s hard to find a comfortable way to hold my hand.