McGee: Should have listened to wife in first place

"Ouch," I said. I nicked myself trimming a fingernail.

"Better put some ointment and a bandage on it," said The Lady of the House.

"Naw," I said. "It's just a tiny thing."

A few day's later my finger was not happy, being all red, swollen and tender.

"You should see a doctor about that," warned The Lady of the House.

"I still have the immune system of a teenager," I proclaimed. "I will beat this."

A few days later my finger was redder, more swollen and not looking good at all. Trouble was it was a Sunday. I went out on the town looking for one of those medicine places where you go when the doctor is closed and you don't want to go to the emergency room.

I found one open run by a very competent nurse practitioner. To me she was The Medicine Woman.

"It's a good thing you came to see me," said The Medicine Woman.

"The Lady of the House said I should have come in sooner," I said.

"It was just a little nick and look at it now. Do you see this kind of thing often?"

"I see this a lot with people who garden," she said.

"I work on bicycles, with all that grease and road dirt," I said.

"The Lady of the House warned me to bandage it and keep it clean. Then when it started to get weird, she said I should've soaked it in Epsom salts."

So the finger was lanced and bandaged and I was handed a prescription for some antibiotics.

"So what do I need to do now?" I asked.

"Keep it clean and bandaged," said The Medicine Woman. "Also soak it in Epsom salts and come back if it gets bad. Otherwise, just listen to your wife."

Grant McGee is a long-time broadcaster and former truck driver who rides bicycles and likes to talk about his many adventures on the road of life.

Contact him at: [email protected].