It was a bright and sunny Friday morning...until a potato with wild eyes arrived on scene. And if I were to tell the tale it went something like this:
It was a rouge potato left to grow wild in jungle kitchen. It's only enemy was the knife. As these two kitchen giants clashed the battle that raged was fierce but in the end the potato's armor proved to be too weak. With one slice the knife went strait through and as it pierced the other side it found a new opponent, my finger.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Was the immediate cry that echoed throughout the house and sent the dog running for cover under the bed. My initial instinct was to wrap the cut and apply pressure and raise my arm above my head. My next thought was that I needed to visit my neighbor across the street because she's a paramedic. Unfortunately there was no answer. I went next door only to find the same results. I started to feel light headed and sat down for a second. I came back across the street, there was one house left. After the ring of the bell the door opened only to reveal an individual who doesn't seem to handle social interaction well.
"I need help. I cut my finger and I'm bleeding really bad." There was a brief silence and then a reply that was less than comforting, "I...don't know what to do." Now as you read that you might have embeded your own emotion from the point of view of my neighbor. Let me help. There was no intonation. No fear. No panic. No sense of urgency or care. Just a simple, "I...don't know what to do." Flat. Like glass.
I was slowly starting to realize I was alone in my pain. I went back inside where I called my roommate who is several hundred miles away. Why? Because you see my roommate is also an EMT. At first there was no answer to my calls. But after several jumbled texts, thanks to the speak to text feature on my phone
( "finger in meetings wake me" & "wake me i'm getting my fingers." Only one text actually said "help me")
was there an answer. As I screamed what happened I was met with frustration about not being able to help and the advice that I needed to go to the hospital. I screamed that no one was home to take me and I couldn't drive and hold the cut at the same time.
Yes, I KNOW NOW that I could've grabbed tape and applied pressure that way...but were you here to tell me that? NO. Also I should mention this is only the 2nd time in my life I've ever been hurt bad enough to need stitches.
I gave up. I needed help and there was only one person close enough to take me to the hospital without waiting 20mins for someone else to drive across town. I was too panicked to drive myself and I needed to leave. Looking back at this moment I am so grateful for my experience at basic training because it gave me the unique ability to panic and remain rational at the same time. I grabbed my ID and my keys and went back to the only neighbor home. This time when the door opened I said, "Will you take me to the hospital? Please. I can't drive and hold pressure at the same time." There was more hesitation and after one more "Please." (and lots of tears and obvious distress) he gathered his keys and we started out on our way.
About half way there he said "We may have to pull over. My car has this weird mechanical thing." I looked at him and said "Oh don't pull over, I'm bleeding pretty badly" His replay, "We may have to. I don't want my engine to explode. Yeah we're gunna have to pull over." So we did. It was only for a minute or so but to me it might as well have been days.
I should point out that relative to where I live the hospital is only about a ten minute drive if traffic bad. Traffic was a non issue at this time of day so we could've been there in about five minutes. Once he pulled into the parking lot he stopped long enough to let me out and then left. Never was there any urgency in his demeanor until his engine was at risk.
I ended up needing five stitches and had some members of my unit come pick me up and help me out the rest of the day. So in the end my neighbor can't be blamed for being overly calm and hesitant because ultimately he got me to a place where I got the help I needed. The problem I'm having is how I'm going to thank him for his help. I've only had one other interaction with him prior when I brought cookies over to his house to thank one of his roommates for ridding my house of a snake. The conversation was much like the one described privously:
"Hi yesterday one of your roommates helped get a snake out of my house."
"Okay."
"So I brought some cookies to say 'thanks' but I'm going to need the plate back."
"Okay. So what do you want me to do?"
"Well I put the aluminum foil under them so you can set them on the counter then bring the plate back."
"Now?"
".....(blinking)...Yes"
"Okay."
Keeping this in mind and the fact that his car has a problem (supposedly with heat) I was thinking that the best way to say thank you was...with anti-freeze maybe?
