Saturday, July 19, 2008

What are the odds?

Just what are the odds of this happening... me cutting my left toe on a glass door. I can't understand how I managed to get my foot caught under the door but it did... and I ended up getting 3 stitches for my carelessness.. bummer...

As I look back now, it's a pretty amusing (aka comical) event. After cutting my foot (around 6pm), I rushed back to my seat, clammering for tissues. There weren't much blood then, just an open gap. Just at that very crucial moment, GJ needed me for an important discussion. I told him I hurt my foot; half laughing as it sounded like a cheesy excuse to dodge the meeting, but still went on to sit in SC's cubicle, waiting for the rest to come back from their toilet/cigarette break. GJ and Phil saw the blood, and cringed. As my toe bathe in blood, I decided I couldn't proceed with the meeting and excused myself in a hurry. As I fled, they holler to remind me to come tomorrow and I reassured them on my way out, "Don't worry, you can always conference call me." (I overheard GJ assuring Phil, "Don't think she'll go on MC with just a cut on the toe.")

My second piece of tissue paper were soaking up in a hurry as I waited for the lift... I couldn't bear to look as I rushed to the car park as I fear I might leave a messy bloody trail. All I know was my shoes was soaking wet with my blood. In the car, I realised that I had run out of tissues!! OMG! So I did the only logical thing I could think of at that time...., I tore my pantihose to stop the profusely flowing blood and began to drive off to the nearest doctor which I knew... and I only new doctors in PJ!!! Yep, I guess you would faint if you saw the blood bath. And guess what, I didn't faint because all I could think of at that time was how messed up the carpet of my car and my shoes was hahahah... I can't help it, the cleanliness freak in me kicks in when I least expected her!!!

Luckily, there were minimal traffic and I reached the clinic after about 45 minutes. (Yep, I didn't bleed to death although I felt numbness). The doctor just came back from somewhere and there was only 1 lady before me. This is good news, or so I thought... That lady went into the consultation room for what felt like hours! Even after I went to the washroom, washed the bloodstains from my hands and fingernails, also cleaned up my other toes which was all caked with dried blood, even cleaned my other foot from blood (due to the soiled carpet), and made a couple of phonecalls, she was still in the room! She finally came out of the room and the doctor still didn't call upon me. What's going on? Later the doctor told me that the ADT alarm system in his home had triggered and he was busy complaining to the alarm system company of the blunder which has caused him to go home to check earlier.

The Indian doctor took a look at my toe and said it needed sticthes and asked the nurse to clean the wound first. She told me to lie on the PVC bed and switched on an old, dim, orange-light lamp to shine my toe. The lamp was so old that it couldn't stand up straight and slowly fell lower and lower as if it, too, wanted to examine my toe closely.

Then the doctor came with a white plastic bag package and reprimanded the nurse, "Don't use those, those are used 50 years ago. This is sanitised, use once and throw." The funny thing was, he didn't wash his hands when handling those "sanitised" equipments. And the gloves he tried to put on, tore twice and the second time, he chose to ignore and use the torn gloves. I began to look around and wonder if I had gone to the correct clinic. The dim lights and old equipment really reminded me of those gory illegal "abortion" operation rooms that often appear in B-grade horror movies. Shivers sneaked up my spines, and I gulped when I asked the doctor, "Doctor, can you check again to see if it really need stitches?"

He was annoyed and said, "If it didn't, I wouldn't recommend so." He proceeded to fix the drooping rusty lamp with the gloved hands (which was still torn... yeah, ewe!... septic!... yucks!...) And then he jabbed my toe with what I think was local anesthetic (Ironically, it was SOOOO PAINFUL!!! OUCH!) and began to stitch. All these happened without a word from the doctor, nothing to allow me to brace myself for what's coming up next.

Next, the needle wasn't curvy enough for the procedure on the skin on my toe, and thus he used the same fingers which had just fixed the rusty lamp to bend the needle. I just cringe and try to ignore the mental flashes of those abortion/Frankenstien horror movies. As he adjusted the needle, I was worried that his forceps might accidentally scrap my leg and blurted, "Your scalpel may poke my leg!" Doctor wasn't too pleased with me speaking my mind and said, "These are forceps dear, and they are blunt and can't hurt you." Gez, doctor, you think I am a medical student or something...???

After 3 sticthes and pints of blood later (and a lot of grumbling and grousing of the ADT alarm services to his nurse), everything was done. I sat up, trying to slip on my Scholl slippers when suddenly the doctor waved a needle in front of me. Before I could ask him what it was for, he already poked the needle into my left arm. As he administered the jab, the nurse assured me with a worried face that, "Itu mesti punya..." Hello, I need to know what you are injecting into me no matter how necessary the jab was. I later found out that it was a Tetanus jab, so you won't see me rolling on the floor with lockjaw and muscle spasm.

Doctor didn't say a word and went on to write some stuffs in my record and I went on to sit down on the patient chair beside him. I was waiting for him to say something, and was taken aback with his emotionless question, "Yes?"

It was like he was telling me, "The procedure is over, why are you still here?" I was stunned, but still proceeded to ask, "Ummm, is there any food I should avoid? Do I need any medication?"

Doctor suddenly changed his hostile behaviour (doctors are so erratic!) and looked up, "Oh, I am sorry. Was disrupted by the stupid ADT." In between his humdrums I got the following prescriptions:

1) avoid getting the bandage wet and come back to dress the wound every 2 days
2) there's no dietary restrictions, so I can eat anything
3) finish the antibiotics and vitamin C
4) Don't go to work for a few days and don't walk around too much to avoid infection.

MC? Great! But not such a good news for my boss, I suppose... hahaha

And when I reached home, I found that B couldn't walk. His right foot was swollen and bruised from an accident during Futsal.

Now what are the odds of these things happening!


Image source from http://www.inmagine.com/

No comments: