I had this great idea that I would make two dinners at once. I figured, with the busy week I had ahead of me, this would be a great time saver. They call that foreshadowing.
I was making fain�, a type of flatbread. (Super easy to make, by the way. Dangerous, apparently, but super easy.) The recipe I used called for a cast iron skillet. I don’t have one, so I used my All Clad stainless steel skillet instead. I whipped it up, sliced some kale, and waited for the oven to reach 450�.
The fain� took about 10 minutes to bake. I pulled it out of the oven, slid it carefully onto my cutting board, and put the skillet on the stove. Then I reached over and grabbed the kale to toss it into the hot skillet. Which I did. Unfortunately, I also grabbed the skillet.
This was at around 5:45pm, the same time things get a little fuzzy.
I remember going to the sink and running water over my hand. It didn’t look as bad as I anticipated! The water didn’t seem to do much, so I called Nico into the kitchen and had him dump ice into a pot. Then I filled the pot with water, dunked my hand into the pot and–wait for it–continued making dinner.
The Mister and my sister in-law think I was in some sort of shock. Like, I was so stunned that I wasn’t even thinking straight.
Oh, it gets better. Within minutes, my hand started to curl up into itself, like a claw or open fist. I tried to open it, but couldn’t. I started to think that maybe I should go to the doctor the next day if it didn’t feel better.
(The next day!)
The Mister called after I finished dinner. Making it and eating it, with my hand in a bucket of ice. I told him what happened and he said to get off the phone and go to the urgent care.
“I can’t,” I said. “I already took off my bra and I don’t think I can put it back on again.”
[?]
“Then you know what, you’re just going to have to let it all hang out at the urgent care,” he replied.
Somehow, I managed to put on my bra. Then I called my mom and cleaned up the kitchen a bit while I waited for her to arrive.
[?]
When she got to the house, I told her what happened while I was making fain�. Then I told her I decided I wasn’t going to go to the urgent care because I checked the wait times and it was an estimated 2 hours. She said to go since she was already there and, by the way, “is there any more fain� left?”
“Yes! In the fridge. Let me know what you think!”
[?]
I left for the urgent care at 8:15 with a book in my purse for when I got bored.
[?]
I walked into a standing room only urgent care and told the front desk I needed to check in for a minor burn. They took one look at my hand and that was it. I went back immediately. They had me soak my hand so I could open it. Then they applied silver sulfadiazine, gave me a prescription for a short course of antibiotics, and bandaged me up.
My best line of the night came during triage, when the nurse asked me how I was able to wait 3 hours before deciding to get medical attention.
“Oh,” I said waving my good hand in the air, “I’ve had back labor.”
[?]
But look at how much better my hand is 3 days later! The 1st degree burns on my fingertips and fleshy part of my thumb are gone. I’ll have some scaring (see ring finger), but that’s fine. The swelling is way, way down. My palm looks fabulous if you compare it to Monday. Basically, it’s all 2nd degree burns and they’re looking like 2nd degree burns. I’ll most likely have scarring, making my palm and fingerprints easily identifiable. There goes my crime spree, down the drain.
The only issue I have now is range of motion. Basically, I have none. I can curl in the tips of my fingers, which means I’m doing everything with one hand–including typing (please excuse typos). My doctor says that I will regain use as my skin grows back, which is as soon as 7 days.
When I got home my mom saw my bandage and started clucking. “I’m fine,” I said. “How did you like the fain�?”
Ouch!! Fingers crossed :) that you'll start to feel better soon. Love the comment re back labour!
Wilma
My nurse wasn't as impressed. :)
Yikes! Sending you healing thoughts.
Thanks! I'm so much better, even when compared to yesterday!
Oh my gosh! So sorry! And how revealing, that you kept on going!
It reveals that I'm maybe a bit dumb. :)
OMG, burns!
I'm glad you went to urgent care. I spilled fresh hot coffee on my wrist and I got through the first 3 hours before the throbbing pain kicked in and I couldn't think straight anymore. I think I had first/second degree but I had my dermatologist sister on call so it was fine. I looked like a battered woman for a week or two while the skin was healing, but oh well. Luckily, I think the skin around our hands heals pretty well!
You know, a woman at work had a similar story. She was making oatmeal, and of course it was boiling. She picked up the pot and somehow tripped or something. The pot of oatmeal went all over her chest, down her shirt, and in her bra. Because it was in her shirt/bra, she couldn't get it off fast enough. She ended up spending several days in the hospital for 3rd degree burns. From oatmeal. I just looked at her and said: YOU WIN.
Wow! Glad to hear you're okay…and not surprised at all that it took you that long to get to the doctor. I've been there, for sure!
I feel your pain — literally. On New Year's Day I cut through my thumbnail and into my flesh underneath when slicing bok choy for our "lucky" long-noodle stir fry. While I washed my wound and applied pressure to stop the bleeding, I directed my husband in what to do for the rest of the meal, and then had him hold the pan steady so I could make the stir fry to my satisfaction. [He helps me a lot in the kitchen (as a fun thing to do together), but I didn't want him messing up my sauce. ;) ]
I worked in a kitchen at a university for several years and, because I'm super accident prone, hurt myself *lots* of times. After about a year of working as an apprentie de le garde manger [preparing cold foods and prepping ingredients for cooked foods], I was slicing pepperoni by hand and cut off the tip of my finger pad. They had to put fake skin on to cover the wound because I'd cut off so much of my own skin. Now I have a wide scar and no feeling there. I suppose they were sick of me constantly cutting myself [I jammed my fingers onto a vegetable peeler on two separate occasions — who does that even once?] because they moved me to the grillardine/frituriere position [grilling and frying foods]. Naturally, I burned myself regular on a regular basis. One day I was moving a deep bowl full of hot oil and it splashed over the edges onto the fingers of both of my hands. Since I was hurt on the job I had to wait about five minutes for a ride from campus security, then sit and answer paperwork questions for about 10 minutes, and then go to the on-campus medical centre for initial treatment — the on-call nurse was "busy" helping a student with a cold when I got there, so I had to wait with my hands throbbing and feeling like they were on fire for another 30 minutes before she got around to me. [I was *so* angry that no one was treating it like the emergency it was!] Thankfully, I only had second- and first-degree burns, but some of them were over my knuckles and range of motion was an issue on one hand for a while. My scars aren't too bad, partly because I'm so pale, partly because I was diligent about using things like Neosporin and Mederma. ((TMI alert)) I think the worst thing about that entire ordeal was that I had my period and was using a menstrual cup at the time — my hands were thickly bandaged and completely unusable, so my husband had to help me — not a fun experience!
I hate when nurses/doctors ask me to rate my pain. I have to compare everything to almost dying from a burst appendix, and nothing else [that I've experienced] feels anywhere near *that* bad, but I do have a low tolerance for pain — a side effect of having redhead genes. :/
Anyway, I've rambled enough — I hope your recovery is manageable.
I can't believe you went through all that! And you're right–I would be upset about the menstrual cup, too. Pain on top of indignity? No fair.
I hate the rating system, too. What happens if you've had major pain or have a high tolerance?
Goodness! Glad you are getting better. We do have a cast iron skillet & it scares me because now my husband puts all sorts of things in the oven in it & the second he put in back on the stove top & stick an oven mitt on the handle to remind us that it is hot, b/c he almost did what you did–more than once.
My Mother in law burned herself recently–with steam! She was just pouring the water of a pot of potatoes & she swears she didn't get any water on her wrist, just steam. She didn't go to the doctor for days, despite being in pain & noticing missing patches of skin. She did wrap in on her own & sent her husband to ask the pharmacist what to put on it. Her sister & I with convinced her with our internet medical degrees that she had a 2nd degree burn & that she should go to the urgent care since she was travelling in a few days. They did end up giving her different care instructions than what she had decided she was supposed to be doing, and gave her the antibiotic just in case, since she was going to be out of the country for 2 weeks.
I shouldn't be surprised, my mother once waited for my father to come home from work (3 or so hours later) to drive her to the ER when she broke her wrist (my brother was there & could have easily taken her) & my grandfather waited 2 days to go to the ER with a broken hip because he didn't think the "good" doctors & nurses worked on the weekends. I, on the other, hand fell ice skating & had an ambulance take me to the ER for my head wound & called an ambulance for my husband's kidneys stones. ( only the first time. once we knew what it was I called his father the 2nd time.) Who knew we were so dramatic?!
Your bra argument makes complete sense though–the only time I ever left the house with out one was when I was woken up in the middle of the night for a fire in my building–a neighbor later told me that that was the one thing she remembered to do. I was torn between thinking that she was crazy for wasting time with that that I was crazy for not even thinking of it. (I also had to be reminded to bring a coat though–3am in October in NY is cold!)
As a side note, fain� sounds delicious! I am going to mention it to my friend who blogs (casually & sporadically) about cooking egg, dairy, nut, & gluten free. I don't think she's tried that one yet.
There are too many one-liners in your comment! Your internet medical degrees (I have one, and a PhD in pharmacology), your grandfather waiting for the "good" doctors, and THE BRA. I loved that you couldn't decide which of you was crazy. :)
You know how to take a terribly painful accident and make a great story out of it! I laughed about the 'back labor' but I'm SO HAPPY (!!!) that you went in and were treated and are now healing. Hopefully it will be quick and you will regain all the function in your hand! Burns are the worst, I was cringing the whole time just thinking about this! And how awesome are your boys? calmly just helping you with the ice? Love it.
I'm responding SO well to the silver sulfaziadine! It's making a world of difference. :)
I'm sorry to hear you hurt yourself, but your storytelling is hilarious. I've never burned myself badly before, just curling iron incidents, but I have had back labor. You are right. Once you experience that, it skews your pain threshold. I've only had one thing beat back labor. Kidney stones! It's back labor without the breaks in between contractions.
I hope you heal quickly and get back your full range of motion.
Thank you! I think it's skews everything. I know a woman who had back labor and delivered naturally. I suspect that (1) she didn't really have back labor or (2) she is a humanoid with mechanical parts. ;)
Lettin' it all hang out at the urgent care…I'm pretty sure there's a song or a Saturday Night Live skit in there somewhere!
But ouch – hope you heal quickly. There is a homeopathic thing that helps burns heal – I can't remember what it is but a good health food store employee would know.
Triple ouch! Sending you lots of healing vibes. I have to ask, how did your mom like the fain�?
She loved it–said it reminded her of her childhood. Better dam well have liked it. ;)
Ouch. You make this incredibly funny but… ouch. Sending soothing thoughts your way.
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