Broken Finger Updates

***No worries (or depending on who you are, I'm sorry to say) there are not any gruesome pictures in this post. No blood, bruising, or else. Just some swelling.***

Well, there you have it, in the title: I broke my first bone. I am blessed to have a straight-forward fracture of the distal phalanx of my right index finger. No surgery needed, just a splint for a couple of months. I consider myself very blessed, because people have lost fingers in similar situations.

Thank you everyone who left a comment wishing well or sharing your experiences, I loved reading them.

I was desensitizing Avalon with a plastic bag when the rope wrapped around my finger. I have no idea how that happened; I'm careful with ropes. I was flinging a plastic bag near Ava's feet, so she (naturally) threw her head in the air, tightening the rope around my finger and jerking it. Immediately I thought, "I broke it." But I tend to be a dramatic, pain-sensitive human so I let it go and focused on training my horse. I had to teach her that plastic bags aren't monsters after all. 

Five or ten minutes later, the hand was still hurting. I decided desensitizing a spooky Arab mare with one hand was a bad plan and called it a day. When I untied the rope halter I realized the pain was increasing. I figured I would drive home and show the finger to my mom. 

At that point adrenaline kicked in (although I was already hyped up on adrenaline from desensitizing Avalon on a windy day) and I hurriedly threw all my horse stuff into the back of my car instead of putting it away in the barn. Shout out to my barn owner, L, who was outside with his kids, and grabbed a baggy of ice cubes for me. He offered me pain killers, but my finger didn't really hurt that bad, so I turned him down.

I drove to an empty parking lot to call my parents (no cell service at the barn). When they didn't pick up, I googled "what to do when you break your finger" in true Millennial/Gen Z fashion. WebMD said to immobilize the finger with a splint. I didn't have a Popsicle stick and tape, but I rummaged through my car and made a splint with what I had available.

Up until this point, the pain was minimal and I was planning on driving myself home, or to urgent care based on what my parents recommended. But let me tell you, splinting your own broken bone is not  the good stuff. My finger had been bent, so I straightened the broken section to immobilize it. Every part of my body started screaming at me "whatareyoudoingthishurtswearegonnadie." My mom called me back right on time for the hyperventilating and blubbering. I felt really annoyed with myself actually, because I didn't feel emotionally panicked at all. I felt very calm, my finger just hurt like a peach. ;)

At that point, I was feeling very light-headed so I opted to wait for my parents to come drive me to the doctor. When they arrived I was calm again, albeit a little giddy. At the local ER, I had probably the best doctor experience I've ever had. Dr. Olsen even complimented my homemade splint. Three x-rays later they told me I broke my finger tip, but everything was lined up and there was no need for surgery.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with myself. I've always low-key wanted to break a bone at some point in my life for the experience. This is probably the least inconvenient bone to break. It is also the most commonly broken bone, according to Google. Other than the initial self-splinting, the pain has been minimal. To top it off, I already know how to write with my left hand, because I'm just a nerd like that. Honestly, I feel pretty bad*ss.