Tag Archives: broken finger

Splint. Day 5.

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things i do with my right hand:

cut. use scissors. write. use my mouse. hold the phone. blow my nose. hold my coffee cup. unbutton things. button things. hold a fork. put my contacts in. take my contacts out. brush my teeth. take photographs. change the volume on the radio. change the station on the radio. open doors. lock doors. dial a telephone. pour a bowl of cereal. pour anything. stir. put on my seatbelt. put on a band aid. open things: jars, creamer, packets. put on make up. butter bread.

things i do with both my hands:

cook. put up my hair. shower, including shampooing. wash my face. type. open my wallet. drive. wash dishes. tie my shoes. put on clothes. yoga. cut my nails. brush my hair from my face. carry things. floss. wash my hands.

pictures to come. i’ll make sure you know, so if you don’t want to see you won’t.

Nine-digit Jen.

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This was one of the names offered to me when I told some of my friends that I had broken my finger. That’s right, folks: I broke my right index finger. Just the tip. X-rays to come because they’re hysterical. (They didn’t ask me to take off my ring, which resulted in hilarity.)

I slammed my finger in my car door on Sunday. It wasn’t glamorous.  I wasn’t fighting Ninjas. I wasn’t rushing. I was just getting out of the car.

My dad, who I immediately called, said a trip to the ER was unnecessary. So I just kept it on ice all day and night. But around 3 am Monday morning, the ice had melted and I knew something was wrong.

So off to urgent care I went, where my dad said they would poke a hole in my nail. To relieve the pressure from the hematoma. (The rest of this might not be for the faint of heart.)

So at urgent care, the doctor gives me something to help with the pain (which does not help) and then sends me off to x-rays. Where I wait around for 20 minutes, watching my ice melt and realizing that my finger does not feel any better. So Jeff finds me another bucket of ice, and I then finally am called in x-ray, where the woman takes one, and then says, “It looks like we have a problem right here.”

After x-rays were taken, back to the doctor to get the needle through the nail.

“This way, you won’t lose your nail,” the doctor said. Then he pokes one hole…and another…and a third.

“Wow, yea. You’re definitely going to lose your nail.” Thanks, doc.

“So, it’s not broken?” I ask.

“I’m going to go check right now,” he says. At this point, I’m still pretty sure I’m going to be heading to work after this.

The doctor comes back as I am getting bandaged.

“Congrats. Your finger is definitely broken. It’s fractured,” he says. Into a frog splint my finger goes. Work? Not until Wednesday…

Tomorrow I head to Dr. Savage to find out what the next step is. Research says my stupid finger is going to be in this splint for about two weeks. We’ll see how that goes. Meanwhile, I am glad I once decided to use my left hand for my mouse because it it making my life so much easier!

Next up? Putting up my hair, cooking, figuring out what I can do for exercise…