Dionysius


This God took me forever to finish, partly due to a long chain of stupidity on August 8th. My neighbor Ed had his roof redone, and he hired a "can", 20 feet long, to take away the pieces of the old roof. As is the custom, he came around when the roof was loaded into the "can," to ask if I had anything that I wanted to put in there to fill it up. Ed came by when I was working on the computer, so I had my glasses off, and rather than have him wait for me (since the can was due to be picked up any second by the hauler), I went straight out to the shop and tied shut 6 bags of fiberglass insulation and one bag of some heavy miscellaneous wood and shingling, and carried them around to the can, and tossed them in. Except for the last bag, which I grabbed one-handed, forgetting it was heavy, and wrenched my shoulder. But it got put in the can. I went inside and sat at the computer and went back to work. And rubbed my eyes. Ow. I still had dirt on my face from sealing the bags of trash. I go in the bathroom to wash my face, and wow, the whole upper quadrant of my right eyelid and under the eyebrow is one giant bruise--some blood vessel, probably punctured by a thread of fiberglass, is leaking merrily everywhere. So I go straight out to the car and drive to my doctor, because if it spreads too much I may not be able to use that eye, and driving one-eyed is not recommended. And of course it is August, and it turns out my doctor is on vacation, and the only person there, the clerk at the window, isn't really sure where there is a walk-in center, but she thinks there is one down in Plainfield, where I have never been. I think I know where there is one closer, so I thank her, get back in my car, and drive to what I think is a walk-in clinic. It is, but only if you need gynecological services or an abortion, and while they are sympathetic (it's pretty obvious I wasn't there to protest, since the bruise has now travelled to under my eye), but they aren't willing to find a flashlight and a nurse for me either. Nor do they know where I could find one..on a Thursday, in a hugely populated area, during regular business hours. So I get back in my car (which has no AC, either) and drive towards Plainfield. I see a dentist's office so I pull in, and go up to the receptionist and yes! she does know where it is, and gives me exact directions, too. God bless dentists everywhere. So I find the emergency center, and after filling out about 10 pages of forms, and explaining that it wasn't a workplace accident (saving myself the hassle of filling out yet more forms), I tell my tale of woe to the nurse, who goes away while I read about Kate and William's offspring, and then I get to repeat the whole tale to the doctor. She finds a flashlight, explains that I have broken a small blood vessel in the eyelid, give me a handout for "contusion care" which is obviously intended for people who have them on normal places, like arms and legs, and tell me to see my own doctor if I have any further problems. The useful part of this was having her look with a flashlight to see if there were any visible remnants of fiberglass, which possibly my under-50 neighbor across the street could have done, if I had been thinking clearly. Cost of the "contusion" --more than 400.00, though part of it was paid for by insurance. So I go home, and because working on the computer gives me a headache, I restring a couple of dolls, which makes me realize that I have pulled a muscle in my shoulder somewhere from tossing the bag, which makes using the Wacom stylus and pad uncomfortable. I have not, however, gone to the doctor for it.

Comments

  1. Having got a hand full of fiberglass as a kid, ouch. I'm so glad none got in your eye!
    If you can find them those hot/cold patches, also under "satogesic" if you get the asian brand, that you peal and stick are a fabulous thing for deep pain.
    What on earth did you do to offend the god? O_o (sick humor, I know >.>;;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was just a tough subject, I tell you.:D It worked out at the end though! I'll have to go find these patches of which you speak, though Target's cheapo Ben Gay seems to work pretty well too. Mostly I need to stop mowing--that seems to really aggravate it!

      Delete
  2. I had forgotten about Eric's eye! LOL, maybe your friend just wanted to give you an extra loaner just in case. My grandfather was a machinist and he was working late one night in the shop and forgot his goggle, and managed to get a steel splinter in the white of one eye. He knew there was an eye doctor across the street and saw the guy's car was still here, so he knocked and the doctor let him in, got him on a table and removed the splinter..and then the *doctor* had to sit down for a minute :D My grandfather, who had been through a lot worse (he was raised on a farm) was perfectly fine and thought it was funny. He was careful about wearing goggles after that, though.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment