***WARNING***

If you have a weak stomach...don't read this post...really yucky pictures included!

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Okay, you've been warned...here goes!!

I'm an 11 year old scout leader.  It's a blast.  Scouts are super fun and totally high energy.  I really enjoy being around them and we do some fun things.  I have a great partner (Angie Houston) and it's going well!

A couple weeks ago we were talking about sharpening knives, axes, hatchets and such. Then they were to use their sharpened equipment to prepare wood for fires.  You know, cutting larger pieces into tinder and kindling.  All was going well until we went outside to chop kindling...

  I was using a neighbor's axe that had just been sharpened to demonstrate.  The first instructions I gave were; "Be very careful, this axe is sharp.  This is how you cut a large plank into a smaller one...WHACK!"  Yep, off came the top of my finger.

At first I thought I had nicked my nail...it didn't hurt.  Then it started to bleed and I looked at it...whoops!  I left Angie in charge while I went inside to wash it out and put some pressure on it.  Dallin came in and said "Mom, you look pale, you should probably lie down."  Well, the boys came in and treated me for shock, put pressure on the wound and then bandaged me up.  We had just done a First Aid unit the meeting before and they knew exactly what to do!

I ended up in the ER thanks to a good friend and neighbor it went very well.  No stitches (there was nothing to put back on-the boys looked, but couldn't find the little part) but a tetanus shot, pain meds and some good bandages.

The next day I had to work and was really worried about it, but I made it through the day just fine.  

Here's a picture of a day after (I think) when we were changing the bandages.  My finger looks pale and gross because I had a bandage on it all day and it was just wet.

Now almost two weeks later and it's doing much better!  The black parts are where they had to cauterize it (with Silver Nitrate) to stop the bleeding.  The pink areas are new skin growing back in.  The swelling is almost completely gone and I've been off pain meds for four days now.

 I wear a bandage most of the day because it is still open and sensitive, but at night let it air out.

So there you have it...the dumbest thing I've ever done.

Well, at least it was a memorable scout activity and they got to practice their First Aid!  

The best comment of the day was just after Dallin said; "Mom, that was really dumb, you should have leaned it against the tree before you tried to chop it with that sharp axe!"  

Yep, lesson learned.