Typing with 9 Fingers

If there are typos in this post, I apologize in advance. I'm finding it pretty difficult to type with only nine fingers today. Which leads to the story of why I'm typing with one less finger...
Yesterday morning I got up and headed to the farm to work with Chloe before the heat of the day... we had a fairly good training session and I was looking forward to coming home and getting showered. But then I noticed that my bushes were really overgrown and looking shaggy so I decided to get the hedge trimmer out and make them look better. I was doing good until my neighbor a couple doors down yelled over to me that I had about half an hour before the storms hit, which was news to me! I didn't recall hearing anything about thunderstorms for that morning. But the faint rumblings in the distance gave credence to her warning so I sped up.
Bad choice. Never rush when working with electric cutting tools of any kind!! As I reached down to move part of the last bush out of the way I made a sweep with the trimmer and did a great job of catching my left middle finger instead. I knew the moment I did it that it was more than just a "slap on a band-aid" kind of cut. Ooops.
I ran inside, rinsed it out and wrapped it with some paper towels while telling Aimee to go find some guaze to wrap it in. Then I went back out to put away the trimmer. After I came back in and got the gauze on it and taped it good and tight I decided there was no way I was sitting in an emergency room for who knows how long in dirty clothes and soaked with sweat. So, to my daughter's amazement and consternation, I covered the finger with a baggie, taped it up tight and hopped in the shower. If you've never tried to shower using only one hand, try it sometime... it's interesting to realize how much you depend on that second hand when you're used to it!!
After the very quick shower and getting dressed I had Aimee drive me to the ER (she wasn't keen on me driving since I was a little light-headed!) Thankfully, it wasn't an overly busy day in the ER and they got me into a room quickly.
I did great until they decided to pull of my bandaging to "take a look." Ugh. That's when the pain hit. Ouch. It didn't take long before I was looking forward to having it stitched up!!
Now I've got six stitches on my finger and currently it's wrapped up like a sausage. Can't wait till I unwrap it later so I can take pictures of it. Luckily for everyone who reads this blog, I'm way too squeamish about wounds to have taken pictures of the before.

I'm totally amazed at the blessings that came even with an accident like this. First, I was on the last bush... so I'm not left with a yard that's half done and looking awful (which would have added insult to injury!!) Second, I managed to cut my finger without hitting the bone, tendon, or nerve. The ER doctor said my cut was pretty minor compared to many of the hedge trimmer accidents he sees. I'm so thankful it wasn't any worse!! Third, my daughter has her driver's permit so she was able to take me to the hospital. And it was summer so she was home to help me. Fourth, there is amazingly little pain. Once the doc got it numbed and stitched the pain was back down to a very bearable level. Now it only bothers me if I extend the finger too far and stretch the stitches. I've had no need for even an advil. And last of all... I'm not supposed to do dishes for a week or so! David and Aimee are being very loving and kind and stepping right up to help so I get a break!! (This is NOT the preferred way to get out of doing dishes, though. I'm sure that paying someone else to do them would still be cheaper than a visit to the ER!!)
All in all, I'm a very lucky gal, even if I do only have nine usable fingers for now!