Have you ever noticed that no matter what digit you injure, you find yourself thinking, “I didn’t realize how much I used that finger” or some other lame thought?
When a husband lives alone for two weeks when his wife is gone—well, he tends to notice how many routine, practical things get done when he isn’t typically paying attention.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a total deadbeat, but it didn’t take me long to appreciate the disproportionate amount of cooking, cleanup, and laundry that Dana fits into our daily lifestyle. Covering for her share of those duties went well for me; I also tried to do some mending, which did not go so well.
I thought the use of a thimble was optional and learned the hard way that I was wrong. I slipped and jammed the blunt end of a sewing needle deep into my cuticle and within days my right middle finger was horribly infected.
When Dana arrived home last night I found out how much I also rely on her useful knowledge of natural healing. She hit the herb books and suggested a poultice of raw garlic, golden seal, and slippery elm. Although initially it hurt like a you know what, the remedy, along with some extract of golden seal taken orally and an epsom-salt soak, had the painful hand nearly back to normal within a day.