Friday Adventure

As you can probably tell from the picture, my typing definitely has the potential to be horrendous in this post. And before anyone asks, no, there is no before picture. I was too grossed out to take one.

What did I do? I managed to put a sewing machine needle almost all the way through my left index finger. I was working on some embroidery, set up the machine, and after I'd pressed "start," one of my wonderful children distracted me. It was just for an instant, but it was long enough for me to move my finger into the path of a very fast-moving needle. It broke off of the machine when I jerked my hand away.

I looked around my desk for a moment, searching for the broken needle, before I realized it was lodged in my fingernail. It went down through the middle, across at an angle, and almost out the other side. I could feel where it was, and the needle was maybe an eighth of an inch from going completely through my finger. Yeah. Yowch!

A 911 call, three police cars, several MP's with guns drawn, one very good friend to pick up the kids, and one ambulance later, I was on my way to the hospital. It actually wasn't a very big deal to get the "foreign object" out. They X-rayed my finger to be sure I hadn't pierced the bone first, and once it was determined that I had not, the doctor gave me a couple of shots in the finger to numb it and yanked that bad boy out. My finger is now wrapped in layers and layers of gauze until Monday, and bathing myself and the kids is going to be interesting for the next couple of days, but otherwise, it should be fine. I have antibiotics to keep it from getting infected, and I got an update on my tetanus shot out of the experience, too.

What have I learned? There are occupational hazards to sewing, and from now on, I will only work when the kids are napping or asleep for the night. No more distractions!