ouch.

this is a story of blood, bone and hot pink bandages.

i went to work this morning excited about the day and expecting to be quite prouctive and cheerful. for my job, i’m constantly in and out of the back stockroom: checking on inventory, calling customers from the calm of the shippers desk and conversing frequently with our stockroom manager. i can’t even tell you how many times i go through that door and how adept i am at maneuvering around all the “things” within the stockroom. when we are receiving truck, 5-6 carts are spread out by the backdoor to hold the boxes they scan in for the day. it’s like a maze to get through there but like i said, i do it every day.

today, i was holding a paper in my hand talking with the stock team about something (i have absolutely no idea what that is now…) and after getting the answer i wanted, i turned quickly to zip around the corner back to my work at the shippers desk.

***BAM***

i ran right into one of the metal carts. instantly, i thought, “that’s gonna leave a mark” but i’m a rough-and-tumble sort of girl not phased by bruises most of the time. so i continued walking around the corner to get back to work. about 30 seconds later, i felt something trickling down my shin…so i looked down. not only was there a stream of blood cascading down as gravity intended it to do but a gash about 2″ long was GAPING open from the bottom of my kneecap to my shin, right on the bone.

now, i’m not being dramatic but i could see flesh, fat, blood and bone-YIKES. it was disgusting. i instantly grabbed for something to sit on and tried to stay calm. after grabbing a few tissues, i looked up to see my friend Christopher coming towards me. he said, “oh no, you bumped yourself on the cart?” i said,  “yeah.” and removed the tissues from the wound. he instantly got big eyes and called loudly for Troy…our stock manager to get over here. ugh. this unfolded into a whole scene of me sitting on the floor so that if i passed out, i wouldn’t fall. the mom’s who work for us kept giving me cups of water and commenting on how pale i was looking. another was trying to “tape” my wound shut with a bandaid to stop the bleeding and then we decided that i needed to go to the hospital.

“oh great!” i thought. blood, hospitals and shots are not my forte. sister is graceful with those things…I AM NOT. i did try to keep my head about me though and we quickly figured out two people to drive me there. Christopher drove and Chris (a laid back, calm mom) also came along. i had asked Christopher if he could keep it together and be strong for me because i didn’t like blood and might need some support during all this; although he promised he could, i was suspect….so “mom” Chris came along too. i figured, “she’s mom…she’s seen all kinds of stuff.” good thing she did come because as soon as they told me i would have to have a tetanus shot, Christopher got woozy feeling. ha.

blessedly, the waiting room was completely empty when we arrived so i was admitted quickly. the staff was great and the hospital is actually only about 5 minutes from our store. what a blessing! they cleaned it out, numbed it up, gave me a tetanus shot and then sutured the wound. my hands were clammy and cold the whole time. i was a little shaky but i only shed a few “i’m in shock” tears. i was so proud. i also left sister a very calm message on my way there. this is probably the first time ever that i’ve called her with a medical problem and not been bawling. like i said, this is not my strongest area of bravery. God was good though, giving me peace and wonderful co-workers to take care of me. it couldn’t have happened any better and i didn’t pass out! yay.

i’ll be back to work tomorrow and i’ll get the stitches out right after we return from brother’s wedding. i hope i don’t look like frankenstein with a big scar but honestly, what sort of concern is that in the long-term?? i’ll get over it if it is indeed a battle wound. ha.

i was worried almost instantly about the wedding pictures and not wanting to ruin them for Meredith but i should be able to just wear some flesh-colored bandaids over it and i think it will be hardly noticeable! 

to top it all off, they sent me away with a hot pink bandage-LOVE IT. another day at The Barn…