I made a difference…

And I only had to get hurt to do so!

On the way home yesterday I stopped at the library to return some books. The book return inside has a very heavy wood door that swings open so you can shove the books in. It’s fairly new (redesigned earlier this year) and is much heavier than the old door. Well it swung closed quicker than I expected and it smashed my finger. Oh the pain! I felt lightheaded. I immediately went to my car to assess the damage. Blood had already pooled underneath the nail. I started to feel panicky and sick, so I called Joe. I knew he’d make me feel better and he did.

When I got home we decided to burn a hole through my nail (by heating up a paper clip until it was red hot) to release the pressure caused by the subungual hematoma. That was quite an ordeal. I could feel the searing heat so it took several tries, and a resting period of a few hours, before I finally got a pin out to finish the job. I felt so much better after the blood came out, and it’s been “draining” ever since.

I saw my doctor this morning to have her look at it and she said I did the right thing. She said the draining part is normal too. She gave me some antibiotic ointment so it doesn’t get infected. The part that sucks is there’s no telling whether the nail is damaged to the point it will fall off or never grow again, but since it’s already looking better, I’m hopeful it will eventually be fine. Keep your fingers crossed!

I called the library this afternoon and spoke with the Director about the incident. My main concern was that if I got hurt this much that a child could really get hurt. The Director was very understanding and sympathetic. I met him after work so he could refund my doctor’s co-pay. He apologized again and told me they are removing the door tomorrow.

So the positive thing from this experience is that I’ve saved someone else the pain I’ve endured. Also that I got good “customer service” which isn’t the norm these days.