The Hidden Dangers of SEWING!

I have had a cold. "So what?" you may ask. But I haven't had a full blown cold for a LONG time! So yesterday I was feeling like I could survive it and decided to lay low and spend the day in my sewing room. Then at about 9 pm, when common sense told me to call it a day, I said to myself, "Nah. Just one more piece to embroider. Then I will quit for the night." So much for my common sense ruling me!

Just a bit of carelessness and inattention mixed with my computerized, push-a-button embroidery/sewing machine and DANG if I didn't somehow manage to drive the needle into my left index finger! What a shock that was! ME???? I've sewn since I was a kid. HOURS and HOURS and YEARS and YEARS of sewing. Only the stupidest person could possibly sew through their finger!!

Ah, the loophole. I didn't sew through my finger! I just made the needle go part way in and then break, leaving the tip of the needle in my finger, totally in and under my finger nail. WHOA! And I wasn't actually sewing. I was working toward changing the bobbin thread when I don't know exactly what I did, but it did involve pushing a button. Must have been the wrong button! And why my finger was UNDER the needle is anyone's guess.

I knew I was in trouble when I saw the middle part of the needle hanging down but the eye of the needle was missing. I even looked for that needle tip after I saw this:

Look! No blood, no swelling, little pain.

Anyway, after a trip to Urgent Care in Bellevue, a shot of antibiotic in my behind and a tiny splint applied so I wouldn't bump it, I was sent home and told to call the orthopedist in the morning to find out when to come back to get it removed. It was suggested that I would need to have my fingernail removed to get at it. YIKES! The thought of that with only a pain blocker in my finger was enough to drive me bananas!

So this morning Dave drove me to the doctor's office and the Physician's Assistant managed to cut away my fingernail around the hole and dig down enough to expose the metal piece and then pull it out. I did have to have injections to block the pain in my finger, but it worked! And I'm really no worse for the wear. I can do whatever I want and the nail will grow out with the hole in it and I should be able to golf right away! Yahoo! (Today was ladies golf day, but I woke up with laryngitis, much to Dave's delight I'm sure!)

So there you have it. When using machinery, always employ your common sense. Stop when you've put in a full day's work and protect those fingers!

Oh. By the way, the nurse that helped me at urgent care told me I was the 2nd one of these in the past week. The other lady came in with the needle all the way through her finger! Nice to know I'm not the only one!