In Stitches….
It was an interesting week, but for none of the usual reasons. Nope. This past week got the most interesting at approximately 11:35 a.m., Wednesday.
That’s about the time I take a break from whatever work I happen to be doing each day to put lunch on for Neal. It’s also the perfect time to get caught up on dishes and cleaning in the kitchen, since I’m in the kitchen anyway.
Wednesday, I was doing all the usual things. The sink had been loaded with dirty dishes that morning so after putting lunch on the stove, I ran hot water and got to work. I was washing a four ounce juice glass (one of those really old glasses that people used to buy filled with jams or jellies). In the process of washing, I noticed a pretty good chip out of the rim and thought, “That’s interesting. I wonder how that happened?”
Then I noticed blood in the water.
“Hmm. Now that’s really interesting.”
It’s not unusual to suffer nicks, cuts, and scratches while washing dishes. It’s like getting writer’s cramp or paint under my fingernails. An occupational hazard. I usually just keep washing, let the water cleanse the wound, then do whatever needs to be done afterward. With minor things, that works great.
This turned out to anything but minor. When I checked my hand, I found an injury roughly one-inch in length at the base of my third finger, between the third finger and pinky. Ouch! It was also nasty-looking deep and bleeding pretty well.
Okay. Put lunch on hold, wrap my hand in a damp cloth, hold an ice cube, elevate the extremity, and wait for Neal to get home. I knew the moment I saw it we’d be spending lunch at the hospital.
It took ninety minutes to assess the damage (bad, but not too bad) and apply five stitches and a tetanus shot. I went home afterward and have been alternately sleeping and trying to amuse myself ever since.
Clearly, studio work was out of the question. Oil painting carried too large a risk of contamination.
I could have done some drawing or colored pencil work had I had any dexterity in my right hand, but dexterity was in limited supply so that was off the table, too. The only things left were typing and reading.
Typing was an exercise in futility most of the time. I had full use of my left hand, but was reduced to typing with my thumb and forefinger on the right hand. It was amusing at first, but that wore off quickly. From Wednesday through Friday, I was fortunate to tap out 1,000 words. Wednesday, I managed over 2,000, but most of those were written before the injury.
Friday evening, we removed the bandage, which freed my hand and improved dexterity a great deal. Today (Saturday), I can type almost normally for reduced periods of time. Even so, I’m not worrying at all about getting any work done.
It’s an ill wind that blows no good, though, and I have accomplished at least one thing this week. I finished Under Fire, which I’d been reading in the name of research. A very good book. I had hoped for insight into one of my lead characters who happens to be a retired Marine (as is Lt. Col. Oliver North). I did gain a lot of insight, but most of it is going to apply to a different lead character, who suddenly finds himself outcast from his ‘clique’ and can’t understand why.
I also did a little bit of work on Anderson Baxter on Monday and Tuesday, but the imagination shut down so completely that there was nothing at all from Wednesday on.
The plan is to take the weekend off with the hope of finding my stride again next week. The way things feel as I write this, that’s a reasonable expectation.
