Beware the knife

It’s never more obvious how important a finger is until you slice into it and temporarily put it out of commission.  I was supposed to be cutting up shallots to go into a made-up recipe for leftover turkey breast when I sliced my index finger instead.

It was a rather superficial wound from a knife that could have very easily sliced off the tip of my finger.  The beauty of our new Mac knife is how effortlessly we can slice, chop, and mince things.  But the downside of that is the fact that this beautiful Japanese knife can’t discern human flesh from a piece of ginger or onion.

I felt the sudden pain when it happened and watched that little wound bleed for at least 30 minutes even with the pressure I was applying in between cutting up the rest of the ingredients.  I’m sure there was actually very little blood loss, but it was slow to clot.



I had never realized what a key role my right index finger played in my life.  It figures heavily into flossing my teeth.  I use it to put on my shoes.  Most pieces of piano music rely on every finger to pull its weight.  I quickly learned to avoid putting pressure on that finger because it was likely to reopen.

This is 2 days later and it actually looks quite good now.  I played the piano yesterday and hardly felt my cut any longer.  But I continue to avoid using that finger for many of the tasks it used to do, instead letting the other 9 do its work.

Within a few days I expect my finger to be totally healed and back in service again.  The human body continues to amaze me in its capacity to deal with adversity and to recover often with no trace of the injury.