Devil's Club

Man, what a sigh of relief.
While on my hike on Tuesday up at Snoqualmie, I tripped over a mossy log and grabbed for the nearest thing to stop my fall.

It just so happened to be a thick devil's club stem.
After gaining my footing I peeled my hand from the stem.
I didn't get it as bad as I thought.
Two sizeable thorns remained in my hand.
Each on the inside of the finger past the last knuckle.
One in my middle finger, the other in my index finger.

That night I was able to work out the one from my middle finger, but the one in my index was deep.
After many painful tries (including at the pool) I gave up.

The next day I tried again. But a bit of puss and blood was all I could extract.
This continued for 5 days until last night, with a bit of help, I was able to create a crater in my index finger to pull out the deep-seeded thorn.
It was barely noticeable once remonved, but my finger felt the difference.
Now it's just a matter of that damn crater healing.

But at least I don't have to wear a band-aid at FM anymore to cushion the pain from the contact of items that I'd have to grab to cashier.

Why does nature have to be so cruel?