engaged no more

Remember my engagement ring and how it wouldn't come off?

Well it's off now.

I was sitting happy as can be at the It's a ...   party. When my sister came up to me with a cup full of ice.

"Put your finger in this" she said.
I could tell where this was going. But as she had a large container of dental floss in one hand I figured this was as good a time as any. I sunk my finger into the ice cold water till it hurt and then gave over my hand to the mercy of my sister.

She was somewhat familiar with the procedure but needed a few tips from nurse mama.
The technique goes a bit like this.
Gem wound the floss under my ring and then round and round my finger the first time she had done it with too much space in between the bits of floss. She needed to start again. I inspected my finger. It looked a lot like a salami. You know the ones with bits of twine around them. I decided I probably shouldn't look from now on.

Quite a crowd had gathered. Onlookers were a little freaked out but not enough to look away.

Take 2 was more successful. It was a bit painful having my finger forced into a tight band of dental floss. But I endured the winding. It would all be ok in the end.

That was until the pulling off of the ring started. Theory goes that the floss makes the finger smaller and then you pull the ring off using the floss in the same way a screw works. (Yes my finger was a giant screw.) This part really hurts.

No really.

I'm usually ok with pain but I was telling begging my sister to stop and it was ok we could get my rather expensive diamond ring off with bolt cutters instead.

She said it was ok she was a quarter of the way through. A QUARTER! Not what I wanted to hear.

Also what I didn't want to hear was.

"Uuughhh!"
"Oh that looks bad."
"It's turning blue."
"Mum what do I do!"
"No, it's really blue."
"Don't look Erin."
"Wow that is one blue finger"

etc.

I started to make pain noises. Ow, Aiii, Eeee, Ugh are some of those. And then I needed Myles. I needed to hold him and for him to tell me it didn't look to bad and that it was all ok.
He was called for and did exactly that.

It was about then that the whole experience was likened to the very one I will be experiencing in late March. The pain, the begging for the end, the husband by my side saying "You are beautiful" and not "Oh wow there is quite a lot of blood." or "Wow, that thing is blue."
Maybe there will be less gathered friends and family?

Finally there was some relief. I could feel that the ring was almost over my knuckle.
"Is it almost off?" I asked
"Almost." Came the reply.

I relaxed and off came that ring. There was a cheer and my blue finger went straight into the ice again. Mum came and inspected and when she said it was no longer blue I had a look. It was quite red and pretty numb and sore. But ringless. Hurrah!

It's still a bit swollen and red and there is a dint in the bottom where it used to sit but all is well.
I now wear my ring on a chain round my neck. The wedding band on the other hand will need to come off soon as well I guess. It'll be off before it cant come off anymore.