Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Nine-fingered Steve

I'm currently on holiday, and one of the tasks that I had set myself for this holiday was to restock the freezer - our supplies had run low, and so I was all set to cook up a batch of curry (or other food) each day, thus filling the freezer with all manner of wonders.

Monday's effort was a chicken jalfrezi, which begins of course with cutting up a whole load of vegetables. So, the onion was chopped, the chilli was sliced, the ginger was peeled and sliced, and the time had come for the garlic.

At this point, I reached for the knife, and I must have knocked it because it fell. Unfortunately, at this point reflex kicked in, and I rather foolishly tried to catch it. But our kitchen knives are spectacularly sharp, so all I succeeded in doing was getting a very nasty cut in the back of my thumb.

Which was rather sore, but rather more worrying was that there was a lot of blood. So, it was off to A&E (despite LC's initial reluctance).

At length, I got patched up. Fortunately, I had neither caused any nerve damage, nor had I nicked the artery. (I was simultaneously relieved and concerned to hear that - concerned because I hadn't even considered the possibility.) So, they patched me up with dressings rather than stitches, and sent me on my way.

It's rather unfortunate that the wound is on my right thumb - that's the worst possible finger to injure. Fortunately, although I'm not quite ambidextrous, several years of playing the pipes and working with computers has left me with good left-handed control. So working left-handed isn't too difficult. What's proving difficult is working one-handed. Still, I'm doing my best.

The most awkward thing, though, is that I'm under instruction not to let the dressings get wet for the next 5-7 days. Which is interesting. Still, with careful use of vinyl gloves, I've been managing thus far.

Ultimately, no serious harm has been done. Which is the main thing. Now I just need to let it heal.

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