Some Like it Hot

This morning I was trying to make an egg for breakfast. When I went to check on it I realized it wasn't getting cooked at all. I felt the burner with the tip of my finger and realized it wasn't on at all. Then I felt it with the palm of my hand and realized it wasn't even the slightest bit warm. I turned on another burner to see if it worked, but it wasn't heating either. At this point I figured we had lost power, so I went to check my internet connection and I had one. So, I went back over to the stove and just banged my right hand down on the burner to try and wedge it into the stove top more. NOT SMART! The burner had turned on (there must be a short on the stove) and burned my hand! OUCH!!! Not a good feeling! At first I thought it wasn't that bad and I just ran cold water over it, but soon I was in pretty bad pain. Michelle had gone to mass so I was home alone. I called my neighbor Andrew to see if he had any burn cream. Luckily he was home and said he has some stuff I could use. Once I got to his house he was surprised to see that I had a rag covering my whole hand. When I took it off he said "OMG Bridget, that's bad! I thought you just grazed the pan with your finger. I'm going to get Peggy". At that point Jeff woke up. He got me a bucket of water to soak my hand in and started cracking jokes right away. In no time I was laughing and not focusing so much on the pain. Then Peggy and Maki came over to help and Lacey woke up as well. Now I had five wonderful people helping me and doing whatever they could to make me feel better. Peggy and Maki ran to the pharmacy to see what to do, but it wasn't open. Jeff had a book called "When There is No Doctor" and that determined that I had indeed gotten a second degree burn. No one had ever treated a second degree burn so Peggy went home to call her mom who is an infectious disease doctor. While she was gone Jeff put "Hook" in for me to help keep my mind off my hand. When Peggy got back she said I had to take my hand out of the water to dry it out, which I was DREADING -- that's when I felt the most pain! Her mom said it was important for the healing process. After Peggy gave me all the info I needed she made all of us some french toast :) - how nice!  Michelle got back from Mass around this time and she had some actual burn cream I could put on it, which definitely helped with the pain level. The aspirin Andrew had given me was also kicking in around this time. Peggy's mom said the pain would be really bad for the first two hours and still hurt for four more after that. She was right! It's been almost twelve hours now and after having the burn cream applied, taking a two hour nap, and eating some dinner that Michelle made for me :), I feel much better!

Here is a picture of the damage done:

This picture was taken six hours after the burn first happened. It's hard to see the blisters in the picture but you can definitely see the grid marks from the stove top across my hand.

I am so thankful that I only injured my hand. Today made me realize how much pain people go through that burn their entire bodies. I'm lucky it was only a second degree burn and I wasn't in pain for too long. It should be healed in about a week, which in wonderful! I'm so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people here. I don't know what I would have done without them today! 

I definitely learned my lesson and will not be touching anymore stove tops!

"It is by loving, and not by being loved, that one can come nearest the soul of another." -George MacDonald