We’ve Got A Bleeder!!!

I washed up mom just now, as I do everyday.  Part of that includes changing the dressings on any wounds that she might have.  Right now she has a wound on the side of her belly that needs to be packed so it can heal from the inside out.  It is changed twice a day.  About half an inch under the wound is a little spot that requires very little attention.  It looks like maybe the tape was ripped off and some skin came with it.  I just don’t put tape on it.  I cover it with gauze and then tape the whole thing down.  No big deal.  Until today.  I take the tape off the area and BAM!  There is blood pouring out!!!  It looks like I’ve just hit an artery!  Mom is on blood thinners so here comes the blood.  On the outside I’m cool as a cucumber.  On the inside I’m fucking freaking out!!  I’m getting ready to yell “We need two units of O-Negative STAT!“.  There are these sticks that look like long matches that doctors use to stop bleeding called silver nitrate sticks.  They act similar to matches and burn the area to stop the bleed.  I call them “Magic Sticks”.  On more than one occasion I have wished for these sticks to be in my possession.  Today was one of those times.  Again, I’m cool as a cucumber on the outside.  In my head my thoughts can’t move fast enough to get out of the other thoughts way.  Do I call the home nurse?!  What is he/she going to do that I’m not?!  Does he/she have some of those magic sticks?!  I doubt it.  Am I really going to have to bring her back up to the hospital for this?!  By this time I have already gone through three packages of gauze pads and it’s not slowing down!  And when I say “gone though”, I mean soaked!  Damn the blood thinners!  WTF?!  Five minutes goes by.  How long am I supposed to wait?  Am I applying enough pressure?  Then finally it starts to slow down!  Praise the monkeys!  (I praise monkeys because I’m not a huge believer in Jesus and it makes my friend Jenna laugh.)  Now that everything is back to normal I can stop having my little mini panic attack in my head and relax.  I think I need a nap now!  So if anybody is wondering what to get me for Christmas… I want some Magic Sticks!

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