My Hand's Gonna Explode!
So, guess what happened to me on the way to my bedroom?
Before your mind goes into overdrive, let me tell you - I burst a blood vessel in my hand.
How? I’m glad you asked...because I love to swing my arms while I walk. This alone isn't that dangerous, but when your hallway is filled with bookshelves, it can be hazardous to your health. Let's just say a bookshelf got in the way of my swinging arm.
But, I'm so used to it, that after shouting a word that's better left in the bathroom, I kept walking.
Now, picture this: It's an hour later and I'm sitting at my laptop typing. My hand is itchy. I ignore it. It starts to feel...funny. I rub it. Mercy! Somethings wrong! I look down at my hand and I've got a humongous blue lump ready to burst!
I show it to hubby who looks stunned but then kicks into his First Responder persona and starts to question me. I'm now back in the bedroom trying to find matching socks so I can head into the nearest medical clinic. Hubby suggests I phone the Saskatchewan Health Line. Brilliant! I go to the fridge, phone in hand, and call it in.
Ten minutes later, I hang up. The diagnosis is that yes, it appears I have a broken blood vessel in my hand. The nurse was concerned with my high BP so I have to keep an eye on my hand (unlike the first hour where I ignored it). I’m to put ice on it for 20 mins every couple hours and keep the hand elevated above my heart. If it bursts, (yikes) I’m to report in for sutures.
O-kay.
By the time I was off the phone, hubby handed me a little Ziploc baggie partially filled with frozen green peas. Awwh. I kept it on the req’d time, put it back in the fridge, and now 6 hrs after the fact, just realized I should’ve used it again...at least a couple more times. Oops.
The nurse had said it probably got so big because there’s not much besides bones in a hand and the blood had nowhere else to go. After keeping my hand elevated most of this evening, I can honestly say the swelling has gone down, but it’s not gone. Apparently it can take 7-10 days to return to normal. In the meantime, I’m to try not to use it.
Not use it? I’m a writer on a deadline!!!
So, I probably shouldn’t be typing this because as my fingers are working, I feel tingling under, on and around the injured area.
But...I...must...write...
Why am I telling you this? Because you never know when you’ll need a good idea for a story, of course.
-
Before your mind goes into overdrive, let me tell you - I burst a blood vessel in my hand.
How? I’m glad you asked...because I love to swing my arms while I walk. This alone isn't that dangerous, but when your hallway is filled with bookshelves, it can be hazardous to your health. Let's just say a bookshelf got in the way of my swinging arm.
But, I'm so used to it, that after shouting a word that's better left in the bathroom, I kept walking.
Now, picture this: It's an hour later and I'm sitting at my laptop typing. My hand is itchy. I ignore it. It starts to feel...funny. I rub it. Mercy! Somethings wrong! I look down at my hand and I've got a humongous blue lump ready to burst!
I show it to hubby who looks stunned but then kicks into his First Responder persona and starts to question me. I'm now back in the bedroom trying to find matching socks so I can head into the nearest medical clinic. Hubby suggests I phone the Saskatchewan Health Line. Brilliant! I go to the fridge, phone in hand, and call it in.
Ten minutes later, I hang up. The diagnosis is that yes, it appears I have a broken blood vessel in my hand. The nurse was concerned with my high BP so I have to keep an eye on my hand (unlike the first hour where I ignored it). I’m to put ice on it for 20 mins every couple hours and keep the hand elevated above my heart. If it bursts, (yikes) I’m to report in for sutures.
O-kay.
By the time I was off the phone, hubby handed me a little Ziploc baggie partially filled with frozen green peas. Awwh. I kept it on the req’d time, put it back in the fridge, and now 6 hrs after the fact, just realized I should’ve used it again...at least a couple more times. Oops.
The nurse had said it probably got so big because there’s not much besides bones in a hand and the blood had nowhere else to go. After keeping my hand elevated most of this evening, I can honestly say the swelling has gone down, but it’s not gone. Apparently it can take 7-10 days to return to normal. In the meantime, I’m to try not to use it.
Not use it? I’m a writer on a deadline!!!
So, I probably shouldn’t be typing this because as my fingers are working, I feel tingling under, on and around the injured area.
But...I...must...write...
Why am I telling you this? Because you never know when you’ll need a good idea for a story, of course.
-
oh Anita, it looks scary.
ReplyDeletei will pray for quick recovery and no ill effects on your writing progress. i hope the blood dissapates quickly.
hugs and prayers
deb
Thank you Deb - I'll take all the hugs and prayers I can get.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I haven't had time to think up an entry for your writer's challenge. Hmmm - if I can't type, I think I'll rest my hand and dwell on it...see what I can come up with. :-)
Amazing! I just googled images broken blood vessels in hand and found the picture of your hand which looked exactly like mine did yesterday after I accidently hit it at work. Now it looks like there's a blue pikelet sitting under my skin. So I was curious to hear what you had to say about your doctors instructions etc, very helpful thanks. Now I see you must be a Christian of some sort which I am too what are the chances.... almost 5 years apart and I'm in New Zealand.
ReplyDeleteHello, my Kiwi friend. I'm so glad you found me. It's been so long that I had to look at the following post at http://anitamaedraper.blogspot.ca/2008/10/burst-blood-vessel-update.html but actually now that I've read it again, the post is mostly about writing despite the title. The only thing it says of import is that I should've put ice on it immediately. What I do remember is that after a few days the swelling went down and there has never been a problem.
ReplyDeleteSorry about not seeing your comment earlier. Since it's been a couple weeks since your injury, can you give an update? I'd love to hear how you're doing.
Thank you for reaching across the miles.
Blessings,
Anita.
This was so helpful and enjoyable to read. I did this very thing yesterday, and my sister found your blog link about it (saved me a trip to the ER). It's better today. I've also enjoyed browsing around on your site. From one writer to another - thank you. www.debrairene.com
ReplyDelete