Rachael - Rachael - What did you do?
Tuesday morning at the store started off slowly. So I decided to go down to the chop shop and get a start on my cutting. I had been sick for about 4 days so I had not been able to get any cutting done at all. I was eager to tackle some new panels that were awaiting me. I carefully spread out the new beautiful Robert Kaufman panel onto the table that Ken and Michael made for me. I was working and thinking about what I was going to work on next. When the next thing I knew, my rotary blade flew off the T-square and took off the edge of my finger. I really don't want to think about it but I realized I had hurt myself.
The crazy thing was I didn't really have a lot of pain, but I could see the evidence of the damage. So I hurried in to the bathroom. Got a wet paper towel. And immediately decided to apply a great deal of pressure. I couldn't really see how bad the damage was,and I was wondering what to do. I knew I needed help, but just how was I to get ahold of Ken? I had my phone, but both hands were busy.. one busy being hurt and the other busy holding the bleeding at bay. How was I to get ahold of Ken? At that point I figured more people had come into the store and I didn't really want to disturb them. However, as normal, the Lord was watching out for me. As I came out of the bathroom at the chop shop with my hand up in the air, wondering what to do next, I looked up and there was Ken in the doorway with a questioning look on his face.
I told him I had just hurt myself and I thought it was pretty bad. Could he go get the gauze and bandaids in the bathroom in the main store?
The next thing I knew in about 3 or 4 minutes, Brenda came walking down with the bag of gauze, and other first aid items. He later told me that he fthought, “Julie. Why Julie is a nurse, and I see her car.” So the the next thing I knew she was coming in.
To make a painful and what seemed like excruciatingly long ordeal short, Julie and Brenda bandaged me up, and Julie assured me that I needed urgent care. (Julie Harris, the main bag teacher whom we have has served many years as a nurse, and Brenda served as a missionary in the Dominican Republic, where she had to be a nurse if needed.)
I really didn't want to go but I knew that it was bad.
So Ken ran inside, I guess, and told the others that we were going to urgent care. And off went, to the closest Urgent Care, in Zephyrhills, about 8 miles away.
We got there around 10:20 a.m. I would say. After filling out paperwork on a nifty tablet that reminded me of the kid's Kindles, we waited. And then we waited some more. And then we waited some more. Some people were chatty. I, however, was not. I had a tight grip on my left finger with my right hand, holding it above my heart, trying not to appear inconvenienced, but definitely wanting to have this behind me.
I finally got called in at eleven thirty. We had been there over an hour. {I was glad I wasn't dripping blood. Julie had told me to keep my hand above my heart and I was being a very good patient.)
But after the weigh in and Blood Pressure check and all the things they do, they unwrapped my bandage, took one look at me and said, “Oh no, we can't deal with this.” I was in tears. “Are you sure?” The two who were looking at me went and got the head nurse practitioner who reiterated what they initially said, and they ushered me out the door. They said I had to go to the ER.
I chose the ER closest to our house. even though it was the farthest from the current location. I knew I wasn’t in a life or death situation, just a very bloody, messy one.
I could not say enough good things about the Dade City hospital ER.
I was taken immediately into the fast track room number three. The young girl taking my vitals stayed with me until a nurse came. The nurse, Tabitha, took one look and went and found the Physician’s Assistant, Will, who would be my primary caretaker, along with Tabitha (shown below).
I was in a chair in between some curtains. This was a new type of thing I had not seen before… a room with nice big chairs, divided by large curtains.
He told her some of what we had to do and said he would prefer for me to be in a room. I was creating a mess. It was awfully bloody and messy..I was glad not to be running into the curtains anymore, after making a new home in Room 14 of the ER.
I made myself at home, kicked off my shoes, climbed up on the bed and decided that I should probably make a small Facebook group, so I didn't have to keep telling everybody what was going on? Ken had left since he really wasn't allowed back with me, and I needed/wanted to keep my sis, my husband and the staff back at the store up on what was happening, along with my kiddos who live afar off. (He did come back at 2 thinking I’d be ready to go… think again… he left toc ome back when I contacted him later.)
Just to compare the efficiency of the hospital with the urgent care, I had walked into the Dade City hospital at 12:05 p.m. By 1 PM they had admitted me to ER, changed the dressing and gotten me out of fast track and into my room. Will decided that they needed to make sure that the blood had stopped. He was persistently checking on me every ten to fifteen minutes.
I told him how much I appreciated his quiet demeanor. He said, “This isn't my first time i'm dealing with this,” He said it in such a droll way that I was totally relaxed at that point.
Oh I failed to mention that upon coming into the room my blood pressure had risen almost 10 points since being in the Urgent Care in Zephyrhills, and I was about 10 points above normal upon that checkin.
We seemed to be making great headway. And after much discussion with others Will decided I needed to have an X-ray to be sure that I did not nick the bone.
When the head boss came in and confirmed that I needed the xray. I asked him why it mattered to know if I had hit the bone. He said that they would have to be extremely careful with me if I had done that, and I would have a much greater risk of infection.
So a few minutes later, a technician came in and took x rays right there in the room.
This is Tabitha, my amazing nurse.
I've never been a patient in the hospital except to have babies. So this was all new to me.
I was thrilled that I didn't have to go traipsing all throughout the hospital to find the X-ray room or be pushed on the bed, like a truly “sicky” when it was just my finger that was messed up.
They gave me a tetanus shot and a mega dose of antibiotic just in case.
After a total of Five to seven bandages, (I lost count) (The first one shown above was Brenda and Julie’s efforts!)… I certainly did not feel ignored…they decided that everything had stopped or slowed down sufficiently enough for me to be able to leave. It had been an arduous event.
That was just before 4 p.m.
So I sent a message to Ken that I would be able to leave there shortly.
He wouldn’t pose, so I just did my best to get Will, the PA, in action.
So they decided to do one last bandage change so that everything would be fresh and clean when I left. BIG mistake.
That bumped everything askew, the clotted blood started flowing freely and my nice clean dressing (at least #5, if not #6) started leaking. I was bleeding like a newly shot deer.
So this time when Will and Tabitha teamed up to work on me, they were determined to stop the bleeding and get me out of there. This time we ended up doing horrible things to my finger, involving a needle, lidocane and and something else. I choose to forget.
But he finally got the bleeding slowed down so that they could bandage me up.
So, they bound me tightly, and when they thought it was done, Tabitha added 2 more rounds of gauze around the finger. And Will told me that he did not want to see me again last night that night!!
He told me that no uncertain terms was I to remove the bandage, get it wet, get it dirty, or bump it.
Dr. Miller was professional, encouraging and helpful!
I may have added the bump it part.
But he was pretty clear about not removing it or getting it wet.
So here I am with a huge bandage on my finger trying to act normal.
Pain pills were my friend on Wednesday night. The pain had just started up. I think everything had just been numb until then. (I managed to still play the piano at church on Wednesday night, rather clumsily with my left hand, for sure!) (NOTE - Added by Becky - I am sure that was not approved by the doctor - as you bump things when you play the piano!)
On Thursday afternoon, I went to a specialist for hands.
I am happy to report that Dr. Miller was incredibly helpful and encouraging. I came home with a much smaller war wound memorabilia and much more encouraged spirits!
Now I get to change my own bandages, keep it clean and report back to her in two weeks.
I will keep you posted.
Listen to those of you who think You can't HURT yourself. In this hobby, this not true. We had a group into the store on Thursday morning and a great many of them had hurt themselves, either hand or foot, with their rotary cutters.
I have cut thousands and thousands of yards of fabric. I’ve had a few nicks here and there, but nothing like this.
I am praying for healing and recovery and complete use of my finger.
Please pray for that with me.
Thanks. Until recovery, it’s hard to type with all my fingers.
Thank you, Rachael, for the story. Certainly it’s a lesson to all of us!
Be sure to check out what my sis has for you in the store here!
Feel free to browse the site.
Thanks so much for coming along with us on this journey!
Have a great day wherever you are reading this.