I have crust pictuuuures!
You guys are nuts. I accept that I may be a little bent for posting those photos of my severed thumb tip, but you. You loved it! And now you’ve really gone and done it. You encouraged my behavior. So now, I will follow through with the narrative that I have begun.
Once again, the photos are in order of grossness. And these are way grosser than the disembodied lump of flesh from the last batch, so think before you click. Are you really up for the glistening, bloody mess? Can you handle the crust? If not, you can scroll directly to the end of this post for the palette-cleansing cuteness that is Dot and her toes.
Before I continue, I’ll admit that I was a little disappointed in the crust. I guess I imagined that I would be able to thunk on it like a melon. Or a delicious salt crust like I saw on the cooking channel once. I’ll spare you the details, but I lost most of it when I had my dressing changed for the first time. I’ll just leave it at “Holy crap, owww ow owwwww!” But it did its job. Now, prepare yourself and . . .
Behold my crust!!
This first batch of photos is from about 4 or 5 days after the incident.
For starters, here is a blurry photo. It’s a close-up, so it’s like watching a horror movie through your fingers. You get the idea without the crystalline splash of blood and guts. Thumb guts. Still, it’s pretty nasty. The rest of the pictures a crisp and clear.
Here’s one that shows a view from my thumbnail so you can see where the chopping happened.
Here it is from the side. I had just gotten out of the shower when I took these, so the crust was wet and had returned to its somewhat gel-like fabric form. It hardened up when it was dry, though. You can also see that by this time, it wasn’t doing much in the way of covering things up.
Here it is in all its glory. Nothing pithy to say about this, really.
A few days later, things got a little . . . odd. You may or may not be familiar with a website called The Sneeze. If you aren’t, you should be. Anyway, Steve at The Sneeze has been documenting a natural oddity in his front yard for a few years now and I do believe I may be experiencing it on my person. You see, Steve has got himself a Tree Brain. A weird growth springs from a tree in his yard every year. You can read all about it here.
And now? Well, I think I’m getting a Thumb Brain!! What else can it possibly be?? These photos are from a couple of days ago.
Man, I hope Steve’s neighbor/interloper doesn’t come over while I’m sleeping . . .
If I start extolling the virtues of all things thumby and trying to convince you that the pinky finger is a useless freeloader and the ring finger is only good for one thing, well, you’ll know the Thumb Brain has finally taken over it’s unwilling host. Someone please come over to check on my husband from time to time.
And now, as promised, a little wire brush for the soul. If this doesn’t scrape those ghastly images from your mind, well, I’m afraid you’re stuck with them for the rest of your life. My bad.
*the mouse is one of Mel’s handmade, felted creations. It’s a household favorite and so far, indestructible! Yay Mel!

















That’s really really…………….odd.
What a lovely bed of granulation tissue you have going there. Remind me sometime to tell you about the time I chopped the end of my thumb off with a hatchet way up in the Allagash Waterway. The loons were crying and the ospreys catching fish, so it was quite a magical moment.
Looks like it’s healing beautifully
Man, I miss working in the ER.
barf
That is really gross. You’re so brave!
you’ve sickened me. i don’t think that even the adorable dot can banish those visuals from my brain. oh god. your thumb has a brain.
and i’m behind on the cozy. do you still need it?
Your attitude makes the pictures worth it. That crust is just EWWWWWWWW! But that thumb brain? Pretty fascinating the way the body heals.
I’ll admit that I’m skipping the crust pictures. I love you lots, and I’d totally change the dressing for you if you needed it, but I just can’t bring myself to look. I have totally wimped out.
Of course, what’s in my imagination might be worse than the actual pictures, but I doubt it. I really, really, doubt it.
OK, I just spewed my drink of choice. At first I fooled myself thinking ummmmm pix of a pie crust…then the stark reality struck…thumb crust and a morphing brain. LOLOLOL
Reminds me not only of Steve’s tree brain, but the mouse ear too.
http://www.scq.ubc.ca/filter/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/mouseear.jpg
Ahhh such a wonderful way to kick off the New Year!
Eeeewwww! That is one festering holiday thumb. The mutation from crusty hot lava thumb tip to The Brain is fascinating. In the first blurry picture, it looked like you had a delicious piece of crispy bacon on the tip of your thumb.
Holy hell that looks painful. My thumbs are now having sympathy pains.
And. Ew.
Oh man I should not have done that before lunch.
are you sure you dont need a skin graft on that? I hope a doctor looked at it for you.
ewwwwwwwww
I’ve been a Sneeze Devotee for years. Have you told Steve about this? Seriously, he should know about this. Was there any surgery at the hospital?
The pictures are so gross, yet I just can’t help but look at them. Few years back I nearly cut off the end of my left pointer finger, from side to side, straight across the middle of that last joint. Basically my fingertip was hanging on and all the stuffing was coming out. The pain from the shot I got at in the ER was unbearable, the blood loss was revolting…I nearly fainted, but I just had to check it out. I mean, how often do you get to see what’s in your finger? Sadly, mine had no brain.
I agree with Meg! Tell Steve. He’d love it.
I wonder if you’d taste like lemony chicken as well?
And the crust? It looks like an umbilical cord about a week out.
Mmmm.
Nope, not looking. Determindly not looking. Besides, I sliced the side of my finger off a few years back, so I’m pretty sure what it looks like. Not to mention the hurt! My sympathies. and the kitty pics are always a good balm for the soul. Hope you heal up well and quickly.
Ugh. I feel for you! I cut the tip of my index finger off a few years ago with kitchen shears. Not quite as big a hunk, but my finger was lopsided for quite some time. And it still feels funny in that spot.
Hope it heals quickly!!
Jennifer
Wow – now *that* is bloggy dedication! Hope you heal fast!
I just showed the kids the pics…and they screamed!!! LOL it was so funny!!!!!
jenna wants to know when you are going to come and visit us
What is wrong with me?? I can’t NOT look!!!!
so…it has been a month and a day…how does it look now????
Please let us know that you haven’t been done in by infection!!! Hope your doing okay and just too too busy???
errr….I’m just here to beg for the funny cat story that happened prior to picking up Ms. Obsession Du Jour.
Please? pretty, pretty please?
(I saw with my cats sitting next to me, batting my hands as I type.)