"I need you to come wrap this up for me"
Weren’t we just talking about sick days? Just the other day (last wednesday) I was breastfeeding my youngest, Basil, in bed working on this very website when lance walks in grasping his hand with a rag wrapped around it, with a solemn look on his face. I can't tell you how many times this man has knicked himself one way or another, either with the scalpel or shaving hides. Being self taught does present a pretty decent sized learning curve, after all. This time, however, his face was pale. I knew the injury must've been something grave because usually he would just dunk it in the pickle (God's medicine, not really) and move on. His favorite shaving machine, The Reliable, came unbolted from the concrete below. Now this machine has a seat attatched to it, which he was sitting on. His machine started to fall backward with him on it and as he tried to catch himself, his fingers scraped across the blade. So…. thumbs down for a bad time, I guess.
"Okay I'm going to unwrap it", I said with my fingers cautiously approaching the rag.
"No, no. I'm going to unwrap it."
"Okay."
"Then you squirt it with the peroxide"
*Shuffles around in a panic to find the peroxide*
I grab the peroxide, gauze, and the nearest tape we have on hand. He unwraps it and instantly the whole room feels tense. Squirting peroxide on this wound felt like disarming a bomb. The entire pads of his middle finger and ring fingertips are ripped off, leaving exposed fleshy bits with blood basically pumping out of it. He stubbornly places the gauze on his own finger (won't let me touch it, guess i'm just here for moral support) as I quickly cut the tape and he uses it to wrap around his finger.
"You wanna go to the hospital?"
"Nah, i'll just wrap it up, i'll be fine."
*Stares in disbelief*
"Hmmm I don't know bro, what if you lose your fingers?"
He paces back and forth for a bit and says "Alright, I guess. Probably need those."
We head over to the local urgent care whose doctor does a much better job of doctoring as he should. Urges us to follow up with our primary doctor, *Laughs in medical bills*. As we make our way home, I hear his phone notifying him of a text message.
"Hey man, I really need this hide like Friday"