The post is not for the faint of heart. AKA: Me.
I am apparently the "faint of heart" kind of gal...
THE DANCING SHIVA.
Yesterday afternoon, I arrived home from yoga pretty sweaty so I turned on the air conditioning and as I tried to shut the window, I slammed my hand onto my dancing shiva statue (pictured above).
I cradled my right hand, the palm gashed and gushing a fair amount of blood, bright red, oh God I feel dizzy just typing it out...
I managed to get my hand under running water, enough to inspect the cut - it was deep - but it was entirely within the boundaries of a birthmark I have on my hand - a tuft of rough skin that runs from my thumb to my wrist - so there was no pain, miraculously, only blood. Loads of blooooooooooooo
Get a grip, Kate. Seriously.
I soaked a cotton ball with alcohol and pressed it onto the cut and that's when my vision started to get cloudy.
I knew I had 2 priorities: #1 Get to the couch pronto and #2 Keep the cotton swab pressed onto the gusher.
I must have made it to the couch because that's where I came to.
I had fainted.
And this is where it gets weird.
When I opened my eyes, I sat up, looked around, and had no idea where I was. I didn't recognize anything around me. I didn't know what day it was and I began to panic because the only thing I seemed to be aware of was that I my brain wasn't working.
Then I began hearing the firing of synapses. Very similar to the sounds of the old dial up internet --- My brain was rebooting!
I realized my hand was cut. The cotton ball lay on the floor. Shiva was the culprit. Jack is at work. My cat's name is Russia. It all came flooding back.
I promptly went to the bed and slept like a rock for 2 hours.
The computer woke me up with a ping. My friend Samantha, who I studied acting at NYU with, was replying within our 10-year strong facebook thread -- I hopped on and we started chatting and soon I disclosed my medical situation. Being a mom, Samantha knows all kinds of stuff that I simply do not.
Like: wash the cut with soapy warm water to unstick the cotton from the wound (I told you this post was gross!)
As I soaked my hand in a bowl of warm soapy water, my computer continued to ping with attention from my wonderful friend Sam.
"Be Without Fear," Shiva gestures with one of his hands. And the lotus petal on which he dances is the symbol of the creative forces of the universe.
The Shiva took a bite from my birthmark.
I woke up with no recollection of my life.
And a dear friend helps me tend the wound.
Today my hand is healing and I am being more careful with my actions.
Today I remember not remembering and I remember remembering.
Today I feel like writing again, because for a while there I forgot I have a lot to say.
