A Slice of Thumb

Once we got back to the church, we said our goodbyes to the Mercy girls and went home to relax as a 'family' before attending the evening service (I have officially adopted/been adopted by the Serisolas, as Sylvette's twin...which though was a joke between her and I last year, was realized this year, and I have 'taken her place' in a sense now that she is married..) :)

For a few days, I had told the Serisolas I would make a Guava Crisp for them, and finally got my chance tonight... Since guava have little seeds, it takes a while to cut them up, especially if you're cutting it with your newly diamond-sharpened Buck knife...

In all my years of working in the kitchen or with knives, I have never "cut" myself (not including a knick or scratch here or there)...nevertheless, the thought did run across my mind "Wouldn't that just be ludicrous if I just happened to cut myself this time...right before I am headed back for a full week of preparing to go to Butuan??" So, I was especially careful, and things were going well...

Guava Plant

We were all relaxing and talking around the table while I sliced the guava, and I had almost finished the 3rd one, when I guess I got distracted/the knife slipped on a seed? And I nicked my thumb..not too bad..it just bled a little bit..not a big deal. 

I finished the rest without any problems...but decided to slice one of them just a bit thinner.... And then it happened..... I wasn't distracted..the knife slipped I guess? I'm not sure..anyway,....I gashed my thumb (at the base) open, about 3/4" long and maybe 3-4mm deep. Unfortunately, there just happens to be 2 juicy veins and nerves right there...

One instant, everything was fine, the next, blood was all over the table and the floor... I instantly applied pressure, and laughing ran to the kitchen sink (which quickly turned red...). Then, within 2 minutes, it almost looked like nothing had happened...

You see, 3 of the Serisola boys are Marine Engineers, and part of their training is Emergency Response--at least the training of an EMR, with special attention to water emergencies. Earlier in the week, we had had fun discussing and acting out Emergency response techniques..so when this happened, they were right on top of it...

I was laughing the whole time, first of all, because the whole thing seemed absolutely Murphy's Law to me, Secondly, I am almost never the one who is on the 'receiving' end of medical help, Third, they knew exactly what to do, and it was all calm-like!!

Within 30 seconds, one of them had produced Molunggay (Moringa) leaves and cloth magically appeared from somewhere (cloth isn't readily available here at the house), and my thumb was wrapped tightly with pressure applied...

We also eat these in fish soup..namit! (delicious)

We then had dinner, and got ready for church.. (nothing like trying to shower, dress, and redo your long hair with one hand..).. For the first 15 minutes, I could still feel the blood coming, and found it needful to actually 'elevate' it above my heart, at which it would stop pulsing as bad...as it was, the cloth was pretty bloody..

Jim and Sylvette spent the night at our house, and Sylvette unwrapped and looked it over before bed. She recommended me having Ate´Suse look at it when I got to Mercy tomorrow, and discern if it would need stitches...because it was pretty deep, and was still bleeding.

Since I am actually writing this a month later (12/20/12), I will give you an quick update on the progress it made... This might not interest you all, but having never personally experienced this, it really fascinates me...

Ate´Suse looked it over, we cleaned it out well, applied antibiotic ointment, and tightly rewrapped it, with instructions to unwrap and clean it out in 3 days. We decided it wouldn't need stitches, as my body was already showing evidence of healing.. I had to keep it elevated for 4 days though, otherwise it would start bleeding again..sackit!!

A month later, I have a cool scar (with scar tissue!), as a remembrance of that wonderful night (as it really was...with SO many good memories....), and a bunch of raw nerve endings, which remind me every time I bump my thumb or apply much pressure....like putting my clothes on in the morning... Worth it? Haha...yep!! I learned so much, and as I say, I wouldn't trade any of it for what I learn and the experience/relatability I get through it. Praise God!!!

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

~ Romans 8:28 ~