Let me tell you about my bird

No, it's not a pet bird. For a few brief moments last week, I thought maybe I might have a pet bird in the making. See, I saw a pretty blue robin's egg on the grass under our pear tree. God had been hiding Easter eggs for me to find! Unfortunately, the egg was cracked, so there went my pet robin.

The bird I'm talking about is the bird finger on my right hand, you know, the one you put up in the air when you're upset with your teacher or when someone cuts you off in traffic, or when you're just really mad in general. My bird is sick.

I had a doctor's appointment about two months ago. When such visits are uneventful, as that one was, I tend to forget when they were. Anyway, before the appointment, I had been noticing a change in the nail on that one finger. For one thing, it had a pronounced vertical ridge in it. For another, there was a white streak the length of the nail. So while I was seeing the doctor anyway, I decided to ask him if the changes were anything I needed to be concerned about.

He took a look at it and said, "Hmmmm, that's interesting." Then he said, "If there's anything you don't want to be to your doctor, it's interesting." He really didn't have any idea what was causing the ridge or the color variation, but neither of us were particularly concerned, especially me, after he said he didn't know of any serious condition for which it might be a symptom. Then a little later, I read an article on line where someone was talking about a vertical ridge in their nail, and they had patched it with super glue, and all seemed to be well. Several folks wrote in to comment that they had the same thing--aaah, a common problem! And someone even went far enough to say that ridges in fingernails were like wrinkles in faces. Not to worry.

Then things changed. For one thing, the joint below that nail got sore. For another, a red place developed, in the area right below the nail. And then last week, the nail started to separate from the nail bed. So finally on Wednesday, I called and made another doctor's appointment, just to talk about my fingernail.

This time I saw a different doctor, and he spent a few minutes poking, prodding, and hmmming over the nail (and finger). Then he said, "There's something under that nail, causing the problem. I suspect a cyst on the joint." Yuk. Then he said, "What I think I need to do is numb your finger, remove a piece of the nail right here (and pointed to the moon area), open this area up (pointing to the red area), and see what's down there." Yuk. Yuk. "Then if there's pus, we'll drain it out. And if there's something that we need to biopsy, I'll take a piece of it and send it off." Yuk. Yuk. Yuk.

So next Wednesday, if you see me walking around with my middle finger in the air (wearing a big bandage, I assume), you'll know why. It doesn't sound like fun.

Everyone go take a look at your birds and make sure they look normal to you. Love to all, and God bless.