Tuesday, April 13, 2010

I Broke My Finger


Yep, I broke my finger and I am not happy about it. I have always prided myself on not having broken any bones or needing stitches or fillings in my teeth. When the LPN told me that it is one of those days that everyone is breaking things, I said with surprise, "Really?" And then I realized he was including me--and my heart sank and I wanted to cry. Crap!

Well, it happened during pre-game warm-up with my co-ed football team. I've played the female QB (yes, I have an arm and I can throw a tight spiral). I thought I jammed it while catching the ball with some tossing around before the game. I still played not realizing it was broken, but had a feeling something was just not right. Fortunately, it is not a finger on my throwing hand or my dominate hand. But this really sucks! It was our first game and I will probably be out for the season. And I might not be able to play kickball or possibly run in the half-marathon! I have an appointment with the specialist tomorrow and will find out more. But I am so upset because I had a lot of fun plans for the spring.

So as I was sitting in the ER, I asked the doctor how long it would take to recover. He laughed because I was trying to negotiate to what extent I can continue my physical recreation activities. Then I was feeling overwhelmed by all of the other implications of my injury...papers to type, not getting it wet in the shower, what will be covered under my health insurance, how many more doctor visits I will have to have, how running evens out my beer consumption calorie in-take, how I will be able to blow dry my hair...you know, the important stuff. That is when the tears came and I felt silly because it is a finger, but it is my finger. And I suddenly felt very small and lonely and I realized I could really use a hug. But there was no one there to do that for me. My family is about two hours away. And I didn't feel like I could call one of my friends here to meet me at the hospital to give me a hug at 11:30 pm on a work night. I was all by myself and I was scared. The LPN told me it could be far worse, which is very true. That is a good perspective, but I needed to let myself feel a little sad and not skip over those feelings.

I texted a few people, but it was not the same as a hug. But I will be thankful for that!

4 comments:

  1. OH NO!!!!

    Shoot at 11:30pm your time you could have called me!!! I realize that, that wouldn't equal a real life hug, but I could have commiserated with you... Poor thing!

    I totally know how you feel. As I type this I am not able to use my pinky on my right (and dominant) hand. About three weeks ago I cut my finger REALLY bad, and they couldn't stitch it so they had to glue it, so I wasn't able to get it wet for two weeks. Showering with a ziplock bag on your hand Effing SUCKS. I can get it wet now but I have three bandaids on my finger to pad it in case it gets bumped.

    I know it's not quite as bad as a break, I'm just saying I know how much being disabled like that sucks.

    Hope it's feeling better!

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  2. Thanks, Melissa! The thought of calling you crossed my mind the next morning, which would have been in the wee hours for you. :)

    I've grown to appreciate my finger so much more now that I am limited with it. Sorry to hear about your pinky! Showering with a bag on your hand does suck! Hopefully, we will both heal up soon!

    Good news, I can still run in the half-marathon. And I am going to try DK (designated kicker) for my kickball team with some caution. Football is out, but two out of three ain't bad!

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  3. Aw- ((HUGS)) a little late. I hope you heal soon. Have you adjusted to blowdrying with your broken finger (you know, the important thing to worry about?) :)

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  4. Thanks Katie! I have figured out how to blow dry my hair! But it is funny because with this broken finger thing, I have also learned how to scrunch my hair for a curly look to mix it up. I did not realize my hair had so much curl and it shows up more with the layers I have in my hair now. Thanks for understanding my silliness with a girl has got to look cute!

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