jpomie's posterous

So, it's winter in Kalamazoo, MI. Cold outside! I just got home to a 'supposedly' empty house that I shared with 4 other guys. We had a schedule and it was my turn to wash the dishes. So, upon getting home, I just chose to get it over with instead of the typical delaying until somebody yelled at me (hey, it was college, give me a break). 

Towards the end, I was washing out a glass when it shattered and the edge of the glass sliced into my finger. The cut was quite deep (to the bone) and revolved around the finger with the end result being that it was hanging more than it was attached. 

I didn't panic as I was raised in a medical family and blood doesn't have any affect on me (remember this for a bit later), so I grabbed a pot and filled it with cold water while trying to get a handle on the bleeding. 

Meanwhile, I had turned on the stereo and it was quite loud. So, my yelling didn't do much in terms of attracting any attention. Plus, I thought the house was empty. But, I had to do something, so I kept the pot filled halfway with water, left my hand it in and ventured over to the fridge where I grabbed a lot of ice to slow the bleeding. 

At this point, I thought I'd take a chance to see if any of my roommates were home before I called 911 as I didn't want to do that - at least not yet. I ventured up the stairs to the 2nd floor where two of my roommates lived. One of the rooms was open and vacant and the door was closed to the other room. I was holding the pot with one hand while I kept the other hand immersed in the water. The water, as you can imagine, was dark red as so much blood was escaping. 

I kicked the door with my feet to see if anyone was there. I didn't hear anything at first, but then I heard a muffled voice. This was the room of a guy who was an amatuer body builder and he tended to bring home some unique women at times. I heard a definite voice a moment later and yelled that I needed help as I was bleeding. 

I heard some shuffling and then the door flew open only to reveal my roommate naked, with a strategically placed towel and a 'stranger' in his bed. He started to ask what was wrong just as his eyes hit the pot that I was holding. It was right at this point that I learned that my roommate didn't like the site of blood and, in this case, fainted when presented with it. So, this bulk of an individual proceeded to collapse to the floor without so much as a whimper. This left me in my original predicament. 

However, in all of the fuss, I have forgotten about the 'stranger' who was still laying in the bed, covered by a sheet and now staring at me. Well, she obviously was going to have none of it as she stood up completely naked and announced that I needed to go to the hospital. I stood there staring (with good reason) as she hurriedly dressed, grabbed her things and then hustled me down the stairs towards the door. 

Now, we get to an interesting point as she had caught a ride with my roommate. This left us with two cars at the house - mine and his. Mine was a stick shift and my new found friend, the 'stranger', couldn't drive a stick. So, taking action, she shot upstairs, grabbed his car keys and we left in my roommate's car while he still lay on the ground upstairs. 

The story does not end here. 

She drove me to the local hospital where I assumed that I would just get out and she would return to the house. But, that was not to be - she announced that she was going to drop me off and then join me inside the emergency room. I didn't really care at this point as the pot was getting more and more full of my blood and I was getting a bit dizzy. 

I ventured in to the hospital, went through triage and was asked to sit for a moment while I waited to be taken back to an area where they could treat me. The 'stranger' joined me a moment later and asked for an update. Soon afterwards, I was asked to come in the back. I stood and began walking towards the treatment area and noticed that I had a shadow, the 'stranger'. By the way, I still didn't know her name at this point. 

I was asked by the hospital attendant if she was with me and I nodded yes as I really didn't care to explain. We were ushered into an area and the pot was taken away to be dumped and appropriate bandaging was put in place to help stop the bleeding. All the while, the 'stranger' just kept sitting there and watching the process. 

The doctor arrived moments later and began evaluating the cut and the resulting damage. In order to do so, he had to have an assistant hold my hand and he had to pull up the skin to look internally. While he was doing this, the 'stranger' appeared in my line of sight as she was now squatted behind the doctor and staring into the wound that he was trying to get a handle on. 

At this point, the doctor noticed her and asked me in an offhand way if we were boyfriend/girlfriend. To which I answered that we were not and that I didn't even know her name. This caught him by surprise and his turned to address her to see what the situation was. The 'stranger' having heard this conversation, promptly introduced herself as Ellen (name changed to protect the innocent, yet strange) and extended her hand to greet him. The doctor turned back to me and I just shrugged as I wanted to have my finger sewn back on and didn't care who Ellen was at this point. 

As the evaluation continued, our new found friend Ellen started asking questions about the damage, the treatment, etc. At one point, she asked if the doctor could pull up the skin on my hand so that she could see underneath. Wow, my head was really spinning at this point, but I even knew that this was getting really weird. 

The finger was eventually sewn up and I was given ample amounts of pain killers to go along wth my newly wrapped hand. It was time to leave and I was extremely foggy. 

Ellen now guided me to the car and promptly took me home. Upon returning to the house, we found my previously passed out roommate sititng on the couch watching television. As we entered, he was visibly upset as we had left him on the ground and that Ellen had stolen his car for all intensive purposes. After a few minutes and realizing how hurt I was, he calmed down. 

But, we found ourselves sitting with Ellen. A girl who by now had creeped me out more than a little even though she had helped me out in a tremendous jam. And, a girl that my roommate never intended to know more than the afternoon. We were both uncomfortable. But, Ellen was not and kept talking about the experience. 

Soon afterwards, I passed out from the painkillers given to me. My roommate took Ellen to wherever she lived. And, we never saw her again. 

So, I have a unique scar on my right hand. But the scar will never measure up to the story that accompanies it. It is a story that I have told literally a hundred times and I always smile when I think back to the whole situation. 

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