The Finger

My dream vacation ended with a thud, when the tenderness I'd noticed around a fingernail during our kayaking week became unbearable. It was swollen and hot, and I couldn't use my left index finger at all. I didn't recall an injury during our trip away, but I know I had definitely been digging diligently under swampy roots and soil with my bare hands to dislodge a good plant specimen for pressing. Perhaps a piece of reed got pushed up against my cuticle? I only really realized after it had been stuck there for a few hours that there was pressure between my nail and skin. 

I'd begun feeling throbbing pulses in my wrist and elbow by now, and was concerned that a bloodstream infection could compromise my artificial joints. I set off for the Waterboro Walk-In clinic in the morning, but was told the wait time would be many, many hours and that if I left to go shopping in the meantime, I would lose my spot. I could, however, sign into the website and reserve a time slot (the earliest being 4:30PM), but I couldn't reserve one with her at the front desk, nor could it be done by phone. 

I booked the 4:30 PM slot online, after being reminded that it wasn't an appointment, merely a reserved time slot - okay, whatever the difference is, I'd do it. Then I overheard the receptionist telling the next patient that Sanford's wait time was only 20 minutes - I then booked in at Sanford for the next available "reservation" (35 minutes hence) and canceled my Waterboro appointment. Why do things have to be so complicated, especially when you're feeling anxious and unwell?

In Sanford they iced my finger and then lanced it (ow, did that hurt!), collecting the discharge for lab analysis (it turned out to be an Eikenella species of bacteria). I was given a 10 day course of Doxycycline, a tetanus shot, and instructions to soak it 2-3 times each day with Epsom salts. The next day it felt a little better, but it was an open wound, so I had to keep it out of the lake water while I went out on my kayak ... not easy.

Then I managed to burn the thumb on my other hand with the hot metal handle of my bread machine, so I became rather impaired as far as dexterity goes for a few days.

On one of the evenings that I was soaking my finger in a cup on my lap, I fell asleep, only to be rudely awakened by a warm wet puddle between my legs! Silly me! Five days after being lanced and cleaned, it was usable again, and crocheting could be resumed.

And now it's practically back to normal, with some new skin growing in - no more pain, and no sign of anything still embedded there!