It is really important to be a good friend.  But even when you want to be there for someone, you also want to be there for yourself.  When my friend Gita smashed her finger in a car door, it got swollen and infected to the point where she needed to go to the hospital, so I said I would go with her…..as long as I could bring my computer so we could edit some of my writing.  As much as I’m a committed friend, I am also committed to my own selfish needs.

Gita: “Thanks for coming with me.”

Toni: “Can you check that the power cord for my computer is back there?”

Gita: “Yeah its here.  Toni, I really don’t want to lose my nail.”

Toni: “Gita its no big deal.”

Gita: “But then I am going to have to wear a band-aid all the time.  You can’t expose a nail-less finger to the world, can you?”

Toni: “No way… the skin underneath will just get all rough and sandpaper-y.”

Gita: “Gross.”

Toni: “It will be fine.”

Gita: “Maybe if I lived in the country. I live in dirty New York City.”

Toni: “Touché …. Touché….

We got to the hospital and were brought back to the room where we did what you do in hospitals.  Wait for an hour for someone to poke you for a bit, write some stuff down, and then come back an hour later.  Luckily I brought my computer…we got a lot of work done!

The plan the doctor and Gita come up with was he was going to burn a hole through her nail to drain it.  He went and got a tool called a cauterizer, which is basically like a small blowtorch.  Then he went straight for Gita’s hand without any warning.

Gita: “Wait wait wait… are you going to do it right now?”

Doctor: “I sure am.”

Gita: “Is it going to hurt?”

Doctor: “Yeah.  I am burning a hole through your thumb. And by the way, you are probably going to lose the nail.”

And with that, he scorched a hole through her thumb and the room filled with the wafting scent of burnt human.