More Gore

Since even my wife is hollering for more gory pictures of my finger, here is a photo diary of my finger over the last couple days.

This is a picture from the 18th, 4 days after spilling bacon grease on my fingers:

Here's me giving the camera the finger, so to speak:

This is a picture from the 19th, as the blister is approaching its largest size:

Below is the largest the blister became. I could barely move the finger due to the pressure.

Below, some of the fluid seems to have been absorbed back into my body by the 22nd, because I can bend my finger enough to straighten it all the way.

Today, I went to a hand surgeon to have the blister "deroofed." I guess my finger has a skylight now.

The skin underneath is raw, but it's reminiscent of newborn baby skin. It's strong enough to be washed with soap and water, and I can start taking showers without a bag on my hand again. Woo hoo!

Top Ten: Burning Songs

Since all pain is hilarious, especially my own, this top ten list will be songs that are burning hot.

10. Bob Segar – The Fire Down Below
9. The Bloodhound Gang – Fire, Water, Burn
8. Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start The Fire
7. Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls of Fire
6. Bruce Springsteen – I’m On Fire
5. Jimi Hendrix – Fire
4. Franz Ferdinand – This Fire
3. Talking Heads – Burning Down The House
2. Meat Puppets/Nirvana – Lake of Fire
1. Blue Oyster Cult – I’m Burnin’ For You

The top song for my recovery: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Scar Tissue

Finger Update

Pics taken last night:

Thou Shalt Not Eat Bacon

I broke the commandment to not eat bacon, and boy did I pay for it. While pouring the bacon grease into a jar so that it wouldn’t clog up the plumbing, I spilled boiling hot bacon grease on my hand.

This all happened Tuesday night. When it occurred, I quickly ran it under cold water, but the damage had clearly already been done.

I spent the next two hours soaking my hand in cold water, adding in ice cubes when the old ones melted. I elected not to seek medical help. The blisters didn’t form until much later that night, and I only noticed them because the bandage had become very tight.

The incident has helped me redefine pain. I now have a new reference point from which to measure how much something hurts, and this was a ten. It felt fine when under cold running water and in an ice water bath and even in front of the A/C vent, but once I removed it, wow.

I contorted in spasms on the couch and in my bed, I paced up and down the hallway, and I even sometimes just fell to my knees and cried. Eventually once I left it out of cooling agents long enough, the pain became dull enough that I could focus on something like watching TV or reading.

This morning my wife was determined to call the health center at the college she works/attends and schedule me to go in. They gave me silver sulfadiazine, some gauze and tape, and it’s been healing nicely all day.

Luckily my fingertips were pressed against the jar when this all happened, so I can type and use a mouse! More gory pictures later tonight when I change the dressing.