okay...so last friday i got a text from taylor saying that he was headed to the ER because he hurt his hand at work. he told me not to panic, its all ok, blah blah blah.
oh by the way, taylor got a new job working for Pioneer, an oil company.
so i'm like ok nikki, don't freak.... and i text him back asking how, how bad, are you ok...... that's when he called me, asking me to meet him there at the ER to help him fill out the paperwork. at this point i'm thinking "oh, he hurt his left hand and he can't use it to hold a pen to write anything down." no big huge i'm-gonna-lose-my-husband deal. i meander over to the little clinic that he told me, thinking about how taylor must need a few stitches, maybe a brace, etc.
wow. i wasn't ready for this. i get out of the car and see that taylor and the buddy that drove him were just getting out of their truck. taylor was white as a sheet, and clearly in much more pain than a single clean cut would cause him. his right hand's last two fingers were wrapped in gauze and already soaked through with blood. *cue the panic-but-don't-let-him-see-you-panic mode*
after i was sure i would keep calm, i told taylor to give me his wallet, and i started filling out the paperwork, and taylor went in the ER ahead of me. the guy that came with taylor was the safety officer guy, and he helped me with this insurance questions. i couldn't remember taylor's social, and i was scrambling around in my brain trying to remember his birthday. nothing really seemed to work in my head. the nurses understood and let me go in anyway.
taylor was close to going into shock. they had his feet elevated and put cold rags on his neck and forhead while they asked questions. if i wasn't so scared for him, i'd be pissed at how the nurses didn't give him any pain meds right away. that's when i found out what happened:
taylor and his team were lifting some really heavy pieces of metal, while one guy was securing it into place. i don't know the specifics; taylor tried to explain in detail, but then he started on a lot of oil business vocabulary, and i lost him. sorry.
of course, taylor couldn't hold it for long and it started to fall. the metal slipped from taylor's grip, and taylor was like "nooooooo!!!" and tried to catch it. now, taylor will tell you that he has reflexes like a cat. and he does, but this was a bad idea. it still fell, and landed on top of another peice of metal, and squished his fingers in the process. and as if that wasn't enough, the metal rolled off his fingers. owwww!!!....think of a baker spreading out dough with a rolling pin.....yea...*wince*
luckily, taylor came out of the accident with all his fingers.....almost.
his nails were pulled completely out, and the soft tissue at the tips were split to the bone. the bones were broken at the tips too; a tuft break, if i remember what the doctor said correctly.
taylor said that it didnt hurt that bad during the squishing. its was kinda like "...ow.."but he figured he'd get over it quickly.
and so he was really grossed out, shocked, panicked, and confused all at once when he looked at his fingers for the first time. it was kinda like "owwwwwwwWWWWWWAAAAAAGHGJASKDFM*gag*EFMDF!!!"
here's the proof:
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| ....balls |
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| see the "sawdust?" |
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| all done now, just bandaging up |
so, back to the ER. taylor had put on this sawdust-looking stuff on the wounds to help bleeding stop, something they have at work for emergencies. i was kinda miffed when the doctor said "ah yes, that's a good anticoagulant...good thinking, young man!" and i was like uhhhh... definitely not an ANTIcoagulant. sheesh. some doctor.
the doctor of course deadened his fingers before putting taylor back together; it surprisingly only took 6 stitches total. but his nailes were lost. there's a good chance they'll grow back though, in like 8 months. i'm just glad he didn't lose his fingers...i'm only beginning to realize how close he was to that.
so now, 4 days later, taylor is playing Call of Duty: Fancy Style, as i like to call it. he keeps those two fingers up and out of the way. they're reaaaally tender. and i have to clean the bandages everyday. i'm so glad i'm not squeamish, because right now they look like some wild animal has been gnawing on them. poor guy. we also went to Austin to see Black Dutch Sioux play at SXSW over the weekend, and he kept his hand elevated to help with the throbbing. everyone thought he was waving hi. it was a great time.
i just wish he could get better painkillers. its better now than it was, but the first couple of days were bad for him. but hey, he still has all 10 fingers! there's the silver lining...
we're gonna see if he can stand leaving the bandages off for a while tonight, to let the wounds breathe. it's not gonna be fun. i hope the recovery is quick! i'm sure it's such a pain to be handicapped like that. till then, i'll open his water bottles, doctor his wounds, and help him shower like any good wife would do :)
