Unplug and be careful

Note to self: ALWAYS unplug the blender before sticking fingers near the blade.

Did I do this? No

Did I chop off the top of my finger? No

Did I come very close to chopping off the top of my finger? Yes

Am I ok? Yes

Good. But Zut Alors that was close!

A few minutes after this incident C called to say he was on his way home from work. I told him I cut my finger and I could hear a gasp in the split second before he asked if I was ok. I understand this gasp, because the last time I cut my finger I ended up in the emergency room at 10:30 at night and left with with 8 stitches. That was after the paramedics and the police showed up at our apartment in response to C's call to telehealth for advice about what to do, and after a ride in a police cruiser to the hospital. We didn't have a car at the time and the officers were having a quiet night so they offered the lift. We said, "OK!" A rid in the ambulance would have cost us money.

I got that cut from the open lid of a can of pinapple juice that I had used to make pina coladas. Talk about a fun evening gone wrong.

Last night's cut came while making Christmas cookies to give as gifts to Lauren's teachers. I was holding the hand blender with my right hand while scooping batter away from the blade with the index finger of my left hand. For whatever reason the finger on my right hand involuntarily pressed the power button and set the blade in motion. I immediately pulled my left finger away, rushed to the sink and flushed it with water, then applied lots of pressure. I took a peek a moment later to asses the damage and could see a fine cut 3mm long from the skin that reached across the most of the nail.

Was it deep? I wasn't sure, but my first thought was, "Oh my gosh my nail is going to come off!" I applied more pressure then went to sit down on the couch. After feeling like I wasn't going to pass out I peeked again and saw the bleeding had stopped. Phew. I then applied some Polysporin then a band-aid.

Turns out the cut is shallow and looks pretty unimpressive today. The nail should hopefully heal in a few weeks. The potential for the injury being far worse still freaks me out. I was fiddling with a very  sharp blade after all. D'uuuhh... what was I thinking? Well, I wasn't.

Lesson learned? Unplug and be careful!