Describe Injury: Stapled Thumb

I almost always carry a pen with me just in case I have to scribble something down, however I don’t always carry a note pad. For scratch paper, I rely on my trusty co-workers!

I was in a paper predicament the other day while at the Main Reception desk – had the pen and not the paper. Darlene, the receptionist, was kind enough to supply me with several small pieces of scratch paper joined together by a loose staple. I grabbed the loose staple in an attempt to separate it from the sheets (without sacrificing the integrity of the sheets). Before I knew it, half of the staple was hooked into my thumb.

Dang.

I brought my thumb up to my face and took a gander at the damage. The staple was actually hooked quite deep inside of my thumb – inside one end and out the other with a big hunk of flesh in the middle. I briefly struggled with the staple, trying to push the one end back into my thumb so that it would come out of the other end.

I finally managed to pull it out, but not without some blood. I pushed up on my thumb to make the blood come out as if I was squeezing a cherry flavored Gusher (remember Gushers?). Since I didn’t want to get any blood on my mint green shirt, I walked downstairs to the Wellness Center for a Band Aid and some antibacterial cream.

“When was your last tetanus shot?” Sheryl asked me.

What? How was I supposed to know? The last time I received any vaccination, I wore pants with Ninja Turtles on them. After I filled out an INJURY REPORT, I called my mom while she was at work to learn that my last tetanus shot was exactly10 years ago. Time for a booster!

Since I refuse to die from an infection due to a staple, I returned to the Wellness Center with the grim news. Sheryl directed me to the “first room on the left” while she got the vaccine. I paced around the room for a bit, staring at the ceiling. All I wanted was a Band Aid.

There are few things we can be sure of in this world.

1) Gasoline will never again be less than $1.00 per gallon.
2) James Blunt is an alien.
3) And you can always expect the unexpected in almost any situation…trust me.