Monday, February 15, 2010

Good Times, Cupid

The Matron had much to say over the weekend.

But . . .

All was lost when Merrick sliced off his left index finger tip at 4:47 pm last night. The ER doctors in St. Paul are pretty cute and depressingly youthful.

The slicing was thanks to a sturdy scissors and Merrick's determination to rid his jeans of all the threads that Mama's patching created. Bad Mama.

Perhaps her favorite moment during the crisis was when she called Stryker for a medical consult. Merrick had just sliced off his fingertip. He screamed (Hitchcock would have recruited). The Matron, who had been loading the dishwasher, reeled around to the kitchen table where Merrick thrust out a finger nearly severed from the center of fingernail on up. Sly Matron, she saw that the severed finger section was a perfect puzzle match for a little pouch on the finger below. She shoved the flesh back in and thought, "okay maybe I am still going out for dinner."

But Merrick kept wailing and --because nobody else was home-- she asked Stryker to see what was what.

Matron (above Merrick's screams): "So what do you think Stryker? Does that look all good like it's going to just heal on its own?"

Stryker, calmly hugging Merrick: "Mom, that looks great. I wouldn't worry."

Stryker, then moving BEHIND Merrick to stage whisper and gasp behind his back, mouthing: "CALL THE HOSPITAL."

She did, and--crashing all those Valentine Dinner dreams--the ER nurse told her to come on in.

Turns out stitches don't work on severed fingertips. Tight bandages, hope and youthful regeneration are the fix. Every doc and nurse reassured them that all looked really good! If you're going to whack of a digit and keep it, well, your name is Merrick.

The only danger?

Fever!!!!

Everybody warned of infection's danger with this sort of thing and advised monitoring, closely.

Drama aside (and oh my Lord this child gave his sister a run for the money), all was well until just before bedtime: 101.1

Sigh.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hang in there!
Poor Merrick.
Smart Stryker.

Unknown said...

Yeah, you-all take care now. And...I know what you mean about the Regions ER docs. Now, I'm a guy, but when I was in there 2 weeks ago with my sis who had smashed her wrist bone, it was obvious even to me that our doc was TV-cute. And he and his wife do gymnastics, he said. What ever happened to overweight doctors who smoke (ala the one in "A Serious Man" by the Coen brothers)?
Again, best of luck, and defeat of infections to you.

Hay said...

Gosh, I'm getting kinda sick just thinking about it. Hurry and get better Merrick!

Cecile said...

Wow ! I'm in awe of you and Stryker ! I wonder if I could have kept my cool this well...

I really hope Merrick will recover swiftly and that the fever wasn't serious.

Good luck !

unmitigated me said...

My blog yesterday was about exactly this! Only I managed to avoid severing owing to my tortoise-shell-like thumbnail. Good thing, as the "youthful regeneration" is beyond me.

Kizz said...

Dear Stryker,

I know you dislike having your life presented here but...you are a rock star. That was the perfectly executed response. Love it.

Best,
Kizz

jenn said...

Oh, no! Here's hoping for the power of youthful healing.

"okay, maybe I am still going out for dinner" - made me snicker; that's exactly how my brain operates, too.

Anonymous said...

Oh that is miserable. I'm glad his big brother kept his game face on.

Becky said...

Thank goodness for Stryker! And poor buddy, I hope he's fever-free today.

Minnesota Matron said...

Fever free today and at school, the hero with the bandaged finger! He gets to stay in at recess and color and is mighty pleased with his special stature.

Anonymous said...

How wonderful that you have a Stryker around. Thinking non-feverish thoughts for y'all...

js said...

"...pushed the flesh back in..." Oh. My. UGH! I started feeling very sick at that point! Merrick is brave, and Stryker, wow, way to keep cool!

Daisy said...

Wishing you good luck and good health - for all of you, especially Merrick.

Suburban Correspondent said...

Stryker rocks!

I would have passed out cold.

Heather said...

Oh blech! The boys in my house like to damage themselves too.

MJ said...

Stryker AKA incredibly smart AND reposed guy!.

Merrick ~ I hear you! I suffered a similar fate when I was about 2 years old. At least you are getting lots of special attention and status! I have no recollection of that!!

blognut said...

I think I may have fainted a little.