Patience is Key

“Oh my gosh!” he yelled.  “Oh my gosh!  Oh my gosh!”  That’s the first sound I remember hearing.  “Oh my gosh!” were the words that were echoing throughout my head and seemed to come from so far away.  What was everyone yelling about? What had happened?  I suppose I came to a little bit because I distinctly remember my co-worker yelling and telling me, “Oh my Gosh!  Dude, look at your finger!”   I looked down at my hand and it hit me, my stomach turned, my skin lost its color, and I felt my entire body slip back away where it was safe.  I had cut off the tip of my finger!  I MUST be dreaming, things like this don’t happen to me, but there it was, still in the glove I was wearing, dangling by a string beside my hand.  I’m DEFEINITELY dreaming, I thought.

I remember thinking, “What is going on with me?” I need to figure out what to do about this, but I’m sick to my stomach, I’m scared, and I’m not even positive that this is really happening.  I can’t focus on anything, let alone make rational decisions. But this is real, I did, I lost part of my hand!  I thought to myself, “Help! I need someone to help me!”  If only I had waited for the forklift.  I should have done it safely, I knew better. I shouldn’t have even attempted to lift a 300 lb. rock without a forklift, but being conscientious worker I’ am, always in a hurry, and never wanting to wait on someone else, we decided to go ahead and do it.  How could I be so STUPID?

                I had this overpowering feeling throughout my body, and I didn’t really feel much pain, nothing like the pain I should have been feeling.  I realized without acknowledging it, that I had to be in some sort of shock.  The shock had taken over, filling me with feelings of helplessness, confusion and fear.  I found myself thinking, “What do I do?  Where should I go?  Who should I tell?” I could not get my mind straight on what was really going on. Suddenly the thought came to me, “I don’t feel safe.”  I felt that I  needed to find someone who could help me and would know what to do in this situation.   My father-in-law came to my mind.  He worked with me in the same building and I knew that if I found him, he would know what to do, and he could get a hold of my wife and tell her what has happened to me.