Bubble Wrap

More often than not, I don't consciously think about my hemophiilia; however, some types of activities necessitate conscious awareness. Today I was helping my boyfriend's family replace a broken window. I was replacing the broken window with plexiglass, so that it wouldn't get broken again. The store sold sheets a little bigger than what we needed, so I was cutting off the excess before I caulked the plexiglass into place. While doing this, I became well aware of my bleeding disorder.

Well, I had scored the plexiglass and had bent and broken off most of the excess at the score; however, a small piece didn't break off and was still attached to the score. I scored it a little deeper, and I tried to break it off again. Stupidly, I wasn't wearing yard gloves, and the plexiglass broke off and dug into my finger tip. When they say plexiglass is 10 times stronger than glass, that's true, and that means it's many, many times stronger than human skin.

Well, I now have a nice 1/4 to 1/2 inch cut on my middle finger. After it happened and I saw the blood run out of my finger, I went into the house to get some paper towel to stop the bleeding. While she was helping my bandage my wound, my grandmother-in-law said, "This is why we shouldn't let you do things like this." My response at that time was that anyone could cut themselves while replacing a window.

Now that it's a few hours later, I still ponder that statement. Just because I have a factor xi deficiency, should I not do things because I could get hurt? My students at school try and prevent me from passing out papers, because I could get a paper cut. I guess my question to you is this:

How much "bubble wrap" should we keep around those with bleeding disorders? Should I not do yard work or "odd jobs" around the house just because I have hemophilia?