While making a bed for my boys I made a small mistake and shot myself in the thumb with a nail gun.

I ran through the house saying "oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh"

I grabbed a rag for my thumb and called Amanda to come help me. Greg was gone at an MBA event for the evening.

Amanda came over and we called Leslie. She sent Devin over to stay with the kids so Amanda could drive me to the ER.

I was hysterical.

I called Greg over and over while we waited for Devin. No answer. I looked up in his calendar to find out where he was and called the restaurant. The waitress said she would try to find him.

I still had a 2 inch nail sticking out of my thumb.

Amanda raced me to the ER. They admitted me right away. It was 10:00 pm.

They said that several people would come to see it. Nails in thumbs don't happen every day. Greg ran into the ER. The waitress found him and told him his wife was at the ER. He ran to the car so fast his chest hurt.

So many questions from the doctor. What happened? Allergies? Tetanus Shot? Pain level?

They finally numbed up my thumb to relieve the pain. The numbing shots hurt worse than the nail. In fact I was so high on adrenaline I hadn't noticed much of the nail.

I got a tetanus shot, an IV and lots of stares. I couldn't stop crying. My body was shaking and I felt so embarassed by the whole thing.

Off to x-rays. They confirmed that the nail had gone all the way through my finger and through the bone.

The ER doctor came in with a pair of pliers. He said he would try to get it out. He didn't sound hopeful.

He tried. He couldn't do it. He said I would have to be admitted overnight until and orthepedic surgeon could remove it in the morning. He wrapped up the nail with gauze and sent me upstairs.

Greg ran to the airport to pick up a guest that was staying with us that weekend. He arranged for friends to stay with the kids that night so he could stay with me at the hospital.

He finally got back to the hospital at 2 am. It didn't matter because I wasn't asleep. In fact I didn't sleep nearly at all that night. Whenever I would nod off, I would remember the 2 inch nail in my thumb and wake up in terror.

The morning went quickly. The numbing on my thumb had worn off so I got two separate doses of pain medication. But the pain medication made me feel funny.

I was scheduled for surgery at 11 am, but at 9:30 the nurse came in to say there was a cancellation and that I needed to go right away.

It was my birthday.

Hilary watched our kids all day. I wasn't worried about them at all because I knew they were in good hands. She even had the kids make me birthday cards and cupcakes.

They removed the IV and sent me into the bathroom to change into a hospital gown. I slept in my jeans all night. As soon as I stood up I felt terrible. I called for Greg and he brought me a bowl because I knew I was going to vomit. I got the gown on and sat on the bathroom floor holding the bowl while Greg put on my socks.

My face and body was covered in beads of sweat. And then like magic, the nausea went away.

I stood up and was wheeled off to surgery. They made Greg wait in the hospital room.

The rest is fuzzy. They put me under general anesthesia and when I woke up I had two band-aids on my right thumb, and no nail.

Just two band-aids. Surely I deserved at least a small cast for what I had gone through.

Back to my room. More sleep and clear liquids. I tried to get a chocolate milkshake but the nurse said only clear liquids.

We left to go home at 2:00. I slept all day. Greg woke me up for dinner at 6:00, or I would have slept all night.

The doctor gave me the nail as a souvenier to take home. It's sitting on our kitchen table. The nail gun is still in the garage, the bed half finished.

A hospital is not a bad place to spend a birthday. Hospitals make me feel safe and peaceful. I felt very blessed to have a husband by my side who loves me, children who were being cared for and loving friends who helped me when I needed it.

Not a bad birthday at all.