Hazardous Occupation

There's nothing as innocuous as shelving books, until the book cart you're using decides to attack you. I was pulling the cart when it decided to tip over. I reached out to catch it, and my left thumb jammed against a large skinny book. The silence of the quiet floor was broken by words that are typically only written in symbols and punctuation marks.

Mother of God, it hurt. I nursed my thumb and finished shelving. I tried to go about my day as normal, but the thumb continued to hurt, and it began swelling. I asked my boss about making a workmen's comp claim. He gave me the necessary numbers to call and who to see. Luckily, one of the doctors I could go see was my usual doctor. I made an appointment and went there later in the day. I was worried. Hand injuries can be tricky, and my thumb was giving me some unlovely sensations. The doc checked the joints, and told me I would have one hell of a bruise, but it would be okay. Phew.

To help me out, he gave me a bunch of samples of Celebrex. I've never taken a medication that had it's own commercial before. I decided to look up Celebrex tonight b/c I obviously didn't know anything about it. When the doc handed me the packets, I quirked an eyebrow and said, "Isn't this for allergies?" Because it seems like every medication on television is either for allergies or male impotence and well, I'm not male, and I'd hope my doctor knew that. He laughed and told me that it's geared more for arthritis. Oh, so I'm taking old people medicine. I could feel the gray hairs sprouting.

What have I learned about Celebrex after ten minutes of research?

"Stop taking Celebrex and call your healthcare professional right away if you get a burning stomach pain, black bowel movements that look like tar, or vomit that looks like blood or coffee grounds," From the FDA's patient sheet emphasis my own. Vomit like coffee grounds? That just freaks me out on so many levels.

If I survive the medication, I will never ever shelve books again. Well, if I don't survive, I guess the same holds true still. Either way, I'm not letting those book carts have another chance at me. They can go maul somebody else. This vampire only needs to be bitten once to learn her lesson.