The next day, we were getting ready to leave for church. When I got up, I felt that my hand was starting to get red for some reason because of that splinter. This is going to be tough to ignore during mass. It would be painful while turning the pages.
I went to Dad and said, "I noticed my hand is getting red."
When I showed it to Dad, he said, "I can see why it's red. Looks like you have a blister."
"That explains it. That was my first time having trouble getting it out," I said.
"Good thing you noticed it right away. Let me see if your doctor can see you before it gets worse," said Dad. "We may have to skip church."
While Dad was on the phone with my doctor, Dawn and Jeff came down to have their breakfast.
"Jeff, do you have time to go to church with us?" asked Sharon.
"Yes, but I can't go out for lunch with you guys because my plane leaves two hours after church," said Jeff.
"Okay. We can take you to the airport before we can go eat," said Sharon. "You can bring the overnight bag with you to save time."
"Sounds good," said Jeff.
"Is anyone else almost ready to leave?" asked Sharon.
"We are, but not sure about Mary Anne. Her hand was starting to get sore this morning," said Jeff.
"Is she alright?" asked Sharon.
"Richard is just checking on it now," said Dawn. "I just noticed he was on the phone."
"Something must be wrong," said Sharon.
Dad came down.
"The kids were just telling me on what's going on. How's Mary Anne's hand?" asked Sharon.
"She came to me when she noticed her hand was getting red. I was just checking it and saw the blister," said Dad.
"That's painful," said Dawn.
"That explains why her hand was getting red," said Jeff.
"It must have happened when she was having trouble taking the splinter out. It was a good thing she came to you for your help," said Sharon.
"I know. I was on the phone with her doctor and he's fitting her in, so do you guys mind going to church without us?" asked Dad.
"That's fine," said Sharon.
"I didn't want her to be like that during mass," said Dad.
"I don't blame you," said Sharon.
"She's getting ready right now," said Dad.
"I have to bring Jeff to the airport after church before we go out for lunch, so take your time," said Sharon.
"Okay," said Dad.
They left ten minutes before us. At the doctor's office, Dr. Wellington noticed Dad wasn't kidding when he saw my hand with blister. "I can bust it before I wrap a bandage around it."
"Okay," I said.
"But it may hurt a bit," said the doctor.
He got a pin to bust it, which didn't hurt, and put the wrap around the bandage.
"You should also put some ice on it," said Dr. Wellington.
"How long?" I asked.
"For best results, I would say about twice a day or as needed for 30 minutes," he suggested.
"Can I unwrap it or leave it wrapped while I do that?" I asked.
"Either way is fine. It may burn, but that's normal," said Dr. Wellington. "I'll excuse you from doing anything for a while, just until your hand gets better."
"Jenny will be over at my house this week," I said.
"You can still baby-sit. It won't affect you," said the doctor while he gave me a paper. "I'll just wrote you a doctor's office to excuse you from Gym in the meantime. You can give it to your Gym teacher on Monday. Take Aleve if it's in pain."
"We have some at the house," I said.
"You can come back to see by the end of the week so I can unwrap it and see if it's healed, but I think it will be better by then," said the doctor. "But you feel it's getting worse anytime, come see me right away and I'll check it in between."
"Alright," I said.
On the way to join Sharon and Dawn for lunch, I said, "Do you still want me to help you? Dawn offered to take those night shift jobs."
"It depends on your hand feels," said Dad.
"The pin didn't hurt much," I said.
At Stamford Fan Zone, we were waiting for Dawn and Sharon who were on their way from bringing Jeff to the airport.
It didn't take long when they showed up.
"How did it go?" asked Sharon.
"My doctor bust it, which it didn't hurt because he wrapped the bandage around it," I said. "I still can baby-sit."
"Are you still going to help out with the attic?" asked Sharon.
"It depends on how her hand is. I won't count on her if it's in pain," said Dad.
"I can always do it on any good days," I said.
"We have all week anyway, so I'm not worried," said Dad.
Later, at home, my hand was starting to hurt a bit, so I went upstairs to take Aleve. Luckily, we did have some. I don't see how I can put ice on it because cold bothers me often. I'll have to find a way. I was looking for an ice pack.
"Dad, do you know if we have any ice pack? I was looking for one," I said.
"I don't think so, but I can use a facecloth and put ice in it," said Dad.
"Oh, okay. That would work," I said.
"I'll take care of it while you take it easy in your room, honey. I'll meet you in there in a bit," said Dad. "I'll excuse you from doing any chores until your hand gets healed. I don't want your hand to get sore for doing them for long."
"True," I said.
I went to go sit on my bed when he was getting ice ready on the facecloth. When he did put it on my hand, it did burn a bit, but as long as it would help, that's all it matters.
"I might as well just use ice only when I'm in pain," I said. "If it's not in pain, I won't bother use it for nothing."
"You got a point. What I'll do is that I'll let you help me if your hand is good enough, otherwise I'll still excuse you from doing it. Deal?" asked Dad.
"Deal," I said.
That was good way to compromise.
"Dawn said she can take over when she's not busy," said Dad.
"Good idea," I said.