hero

the throbbing, searing, almost blinding pain has subsided thanks to my amazing friends.

it all started this morning when i slammed my finger in the car door. hard. the pain was so unbelievably intense that i instantly started to black out. the blood rippling up around my nail didn't help me keep my calm and i felt like i might get sick all over myself. i stumbled across the street to a grassy patch in front of someone's house and sat down with my head between my legs. i called my roommate, who i had just teased mercilessly, and asked him to come get me so that i wouldn't end up unconscious and covered in vomit on some stranger's yard.

luckily some deep breathing and the chill chicago air kept that from happening, and T swooped me up and brought me home where i could clean up my hand and bandage it. i tried to go to work anyway but had to leave after a couple of hours because the pain was unbelievable. i was nauseous it hurt so much. came home and put some ice on it and took some pain meds and tried to sleep it off. by 5 pm it hurt so badly that i just had tears streaming down my face and i could not think of anything but AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

a few calls later and my doctor friend B and his wife L had convinced me to come to their house and let B burn a tiny hole through my finger nail with a hot paper clip to relieve the pressure. he had done it on himself before and assured me that it would help. so then i had to get there. how tough it is to get a ride on a friday night! JB, bless her dear heart, came and scooped me up and took me to B and L's house for the procedure even though she had a party to go to.

i arrived and B & L's bubbly 6 year old asked me what was going on and i told her that her daddy was going to help me with my finger, which i showed her, and JB encouraged little E that she could help me by keeping me distracted while her daddy worked on my finger. E took this charge very very seriously and followed us all soberly into the kitchen where B was heating the tip of a paper clip on the stove. we positioned the chair and the kitchen island so that B could work, L could assist, and all i could see was JB and E in front of me. B put on some music and E began to dance. dance in a way that only a 6 year old can, with easy abandon. irish step danced, she did little tap-dance like steps, she sang her lungs out to the Killers song pouring out of the ipod dock. when she didn't know the words she sand "da da da" with a huge smile on her face. when i grimaced in pain, her eyes got wide and her smile got bigger and she would dance faster and funnier. i laughed and grinned and told her that if i could find a guy who was so attentive to my needs and feelings, i would marry him in a second. she laughed.

the tiny hole that B burned into my nail let out a steady slow bubbling of dark red blood. E squealed a little when she first saw the blood on the paper towels, but then she checked herself and jumped back in front of me with a jig and a grin. L held my hand while B gently squeezed my finger nail a little harder.

i'm pleased to say that it was a success and that the pain has gone from a 9.8 to a 4.6. now i just feel the pain of having smashed my finger rather than the searing agony of the blood swell trying to tear my finger nail right off of my finger.

it takes a village. K, thanks for your emails and support and suggestions and your voicemail. JB, you are a rock star and always always come through in the clutch. B & L, i am so incredibly thankful for your patience and talents and that you were home on a friday night. T, you rescued me when i was freaking the freak out. and of course E, i know you don't read blogs yet, but your amazing attentive dancypants was the saving grace of this whole mess.

thank you, all of you, you are my heroes.