Well, I’ll tell ya all about it. It was Nov, 30th 2021. I’m getting my day together setting up social media posts and planning my writing for the day. After making a fresh pot of great coffee (we only use Camano Island Coffee Roasters, Sumatra) when my stomach urged me to cook breakfast. After thinking about it, I made my decision. I’m making scalloped hash brown potatoes and eggs. Then, I got out the vegetable slicer and potatoes, set the Mandolin cutting blade to maximum and placed one Yukon Gold potato in the slicer guard. You should see where this is headed by now. After three beautiful passes, I lost my grip on the thing, which quickly resulted in my right thumb passing over the blade at full speed ahead.

It’s like one of those moments of, what did I just do?! Then, I know what I just did and well, that didn’t go well. Not well at all! I grabbed my thumb and applied as much pressure as I could to stop myself from leaking. Then thought about gauze. No gauze near me, so I tore a paper towel and used that to help with the leaking thumb. Well, What do I do now? With a feeble attempt at getting out my first aid kit as I held the open wound with my index and middle finger. After dropping the kit on the dinning room table, I finally managed to open the thing and dump out its contents. Okay, using my teeth and one free hand, I ripped the band aid from its sterile paper wrapper, which then stuck to my lips. Blowing the thing off my mouth, it blew into the freed band aid as I dropped the thing, both now floating to the floor. Swiping it off the floor, I proceeded to pull one end of the adhesive and looked at the humungous band aid I chose. What thee hell am I going to do with this thing? It’s WAY too big. So, I found a smaller one and eventually managed to open that one.

First attempt at wrapping my thumb, ended up in a nice pool of a peculiar red substance. I only saw the actual wound for a split second. Okay, this isn’t going to work out well for me, so I stopped it up with a fresh paper towel and called emergency, as it’s lookin’ like I’m gonna need help with this one.

After about twenty minutes, they arrived. I went out to their aid car and they proceeded to wrap my thumb. My confidence wasn’t great after one of the EMT’s began asking another EMT what the best way to wrap it to hold pressure on it was. After three attempts at them wrapping it. Someone finally got it and it actually felt okay. I suppose as okay as possible after taking a half-inch gouge off the side of my thumb. They offered a ride to the Hospital, but I turned them down and told them I’ll go to an urgent care center tonight as I’d be stranded all day there.

After they left I discovered I was no longer hungry and sat in my easy chair to rest and recover. That’s when I discovered, after then examined my completely encased hand, that red substance slowly oozing. I ended up pinching my two wrapped fingers on the wound all day to keep it from leaking more.

That night, my wife took me to urgent care. They took me in within 10 minutes and it was a gusher after taking off the EMT’s wrap. So, the doctor used a tourniquet on the base of my thumb and, like magic, the bleeding stopped.

He used a thing called Sergifoam, which is used to stop these kinds of cuts and also promotes skin growth. After wrapping me up correctly and removing the tourniquet, the thing finally stopped.

I gotta give kudos to the doctor for doing a great job. Today, nearly two weeks later, my thumb is finally not hurting every time I knock it. it’s healing up very nicely. I’ll likely have a scar, but typing is no longer painful, so I can finally get back to writing.

Now, as to why I dropped the guard in the first place. Well, you’ll just have to tune in tomorrow for part two. For now, this is author, B. K. Larson, getting back into the swing of things.