Unfortunately, I was unable to attend class this week as a result of a surgery I had to undergo to get a mass removed from my right ring finger. Consequentially, I will be using this blog as a way to reflect on the experience and my recovery thus far. Ever since middle school, I’ve had a bump on my right ring finger. I never really got it checked out, though, partially because it never caused me pain, but mostly because I knew it probably should be removed and that would in turn require surgery. Nothing about the actual surgery procedure bothers me, but I hate and always have hated needles. I’m not entirely sure why. I don’t particularly enjoy the pain, but that’s not what makes them so intimidating to me. It’s 100% a psychological thing but the past couple times I had gotten injections, I always passed out. Flu shot? Passed out. Allergy shot? Passed out then too. IV for my wisdom teeth surgery? I passed out before the anesthesia could even kick in. Anyways, you get the point. So when it came time for the doctor to administer my local anesthesia prior to my surgery, I was less than thrilled. Thankfully, the nurses were extremely accommodating and my girlfriend was with me. After each of the three shots, I squeezed harder and harder onto her hand, trying not to lose consciousness as I felt my vision fading away. It turned out I was actually able to stay up, and the surgery itself went smoothly, as odd as it was. So now I sit with a massive wrapping on my finger, trying to type out this blog. As annoying as it is, it really makes me appreciate having two working hands because this week of only being able to use one hand has been extremely annoying and given me a newfound respect for anyone that is only able to use one or no hands. Anyways, I can’t wait to be able to use my right hand again and be back in class with the rest of the PLA squad 🙂