I always await First Blood with some trepidation. I know it's going to hurt like all get out but it's kind of a project rite of passage for me. Once done I seldom do it twice and the remodel can then go ahead with no further calamities. And not Sissy First Blood either, as in "Oh, stop being such a sissy and get back to work" scrapes and cuts and the like. Heck, I managed that in the first 5 minutes. It needs to be real "Oh man, that's a lot of blood. Hey, did you see that spurt? Will you please stop bleeding on everything and hold still so I can wrap it?" First Blood. A Manly injury.
Nail guns are wonderful tools. Except when they're not like when they're driving a nail through a digit or appendage. Then they're tools of evil and mass destruction. It's hard to tell but the end of the finger is quite purple. Thankfully I missed the bone but the nail did manage to go most of the way through.
It's also quite swollen. And tender. Did I mention tender because it is. Quite. Lu did the bandaging. By this point in our lives she's getting pretty good at it. If practice makes perfect she should be an ER nurse by now.
How did I manage to do that you ask? Well see it was like this. We were putting in the new ceiling joists and the work space was a little cramped. The joist was in and I was putting in the very last vertical support of the day. Isn't that the way it always is? The very last thing you do just before knocking off for the day. I had a hold of the support with my left hand and was nailing it from the opposite side. All lined up? Yep! Well drive that nail home boy. What you waitin' on? Well, apparently my aim was off by just a little. Anyone who has ever seen me shoot will hardly be surprised. As the gun spat out it's missile of doom I felt what I can only describe as a sharp ouchie in the middle finger of my left hand. I tried to pull it away but it seemed to be caught on something. I realized what had happened and tugged it off of the offending fastener. As I looked at it the blood started to run. And run. And run. Lu knew immediately and ran for the first aid kit while I cupped my hand below it to catch the runoff as it were. I still left quite a blood trail to the bathroom. When we got there I ran it under hot water and watched the bright arterial spurts rise about 2 inches. It was actually pretty cool.
Today it's purple and sore. I may even take the day off since even touching it at the moment causes new spasms of pain and discomfort. Still, I'm Ok. It takes a lot more than a little booboo like this to knock me out of action though I will have to do my bird flipping with the other hand for a while. Good thing I'm ambidextrous.
And at least First Blood is done. Without a trip to the ER. Life is good.
Six
