Chop Sue-eek!

Thursday October 9, 2008 Beijing

I sliced off a good chunk of my thumb this morning slicing tomatoes for my English breakfast. Sort a spoils my thumb print. I suppose I was in a hurry because I had been chatting with Dave and wanted to get to school early, plus it's a little dark in my kitchen, and I was trying to avoid the puddle on my floor. The puddle is from the sink that leaks and is supposed to get fixed on Saturday. I don't use the sink but it still leaks.

It's pretty bad, but as the old Norwegian said, "It could be worse." After examining the bit of flesh to decide if it could be salvaged, I threw it in the garbage with the tomato bits I didn't want. I had 4 band-aids left, having used the others when I cut my other thumb opening a can with a lousy can opener I had bought. (I tried to buy a can opener at a department store when I first arrived. I had 6 clerks surrounding me; drew pictures, good ones, but couldn't get them to recognize either a can or a can opener. Later, I went to the Chinese grocery store in the same building--there were no cans.)

I put the bandaids on as tightly as I could, then wadded up a kleenex to soak up the blood and rigged up a pressure bandage with some "string" I had brought from the library. I finished my breakfast, chatted with Dave a bit more, mostly about the thumb, and headed off to school. I went straight to the nurse. When she removed the bandage and the pressure came off, the bleeding started in earnest. She sterilized it and put powder on to stop the bleeding, but it wouldn't stop. She wanted me to go to the hospital but when she stepped out of the room for a minute I rigged up another pressure bandage which slowed the blood flow again. I didn't think it would be good to undo all the good work that had been done, so I went back to my apartment, elevated it and called Dave. I asked him to check with the Aitkin ER to find out what else I should do. Fortunately the ER doctor was not busy and he said to add ice, but otherwise I had done everything right. He added that the powder would continue to work for a few hours, but if it didn't stop bleeding by then I should go to the hospital for epinephrine and/or cauterization. I took a pain pill and fell asleep; when I woke up the bleeding had stopped.