Almost Lost Another Finger....

So it was one beautiful Saturday afternoon on April 17, 2010, and one could not help but go outside and do yard work! I was trimming some hedges with the electric hedge cutter and the kids and Gordon were playing basketball....it was a perfect day! The hedges were looking great - I really am good at trimming and shaping I must say....LOL! Well, it was all good until I reached down to get the cord out of the way and my right hand decided to do the same thing (guess I had a brain fart). The pain was not immediately there at first; in fact, it was the squirting blood that told me what had happened. The first thought I had was, "Oh no....I lost another finger on my left hand....what is with this left hand of mine?" I immediately grabbed it (ok....after I dropped the trimmer) and started walking to the garage catching Gordon's attention and telling him to go get me a towel. He say my hand dripping in blood and ran inside. I made it to the garage and could only kneel to my knees as the pain was becoming very evident and I was feeling very unsteady. I could only think of squeezing harder and harder. I told Gordon that I could not look at it right now, but to see if my finger was still intact. He looked at it and immediately said, "Get in the car!" I was trying to hide it as well as I could because the kids were around and luckily Thomas, Nathaniel's friend, grabbed Levi and removed him from the scene so he did not have to see mommy in pain. Once we got to the urgent care, the lady say my hand shaking and my forehead sweating and told a nurse to take me back immediately. They laid me down and I was starting to feel somewhat better. The doctor used four shots of lidocaine directly into the cut to numb it. I have NEVER felt so much pain in my life.....even giving birth (yes...I am pretty darn sure). The fingers are one of the most sensitive spots on your body and putting the needle right in the cut does not help the matter any more. I tried to stay so still.....grinding my teeth, expressing "ouwwww" and going into shock. I thought, "Great!" Once I was numbed up, my body began to relax and I was feeling better. BUT WAIT......after the first stitch, the electricity went off and I was sure the generators were going to kick on. I mean, don't all medical facilities have generators????? HAH! Not this one.....the doctor was expressing her concern and after a couple minutes, here came the nurse with a flashlight. Yup...that's right, a flashlight! I could do nothing but laugh as they stitched me up via flashlight. On top of that, I had a tetanus shot and a Rocephin antibiotic shot which, of course, stings like heck. Anyway.....healing well; Dr thought the pad might die off because I cut through the vessels and there was no circulation to the pad anymore. It was pretty white yesterday but it seems to be pinking up today....WOOT WOOT!!! Very tender and I want to express some words that normally do not dwell in my head when I hit it; you really find out how much you use your fingers when you cannot. Quite the experience......