My $136.14 Trip to the Local Thrift Store

I love a bargain and appreciate thrift shops, however, my recent quest for a new travel purse cost me a little more than I anticipated. In fact, when it’s all said and done, I ended up spending triple digits last weekend but not just for the purses.

Let me throw this disclaimer out right now – I feel so frickin’ stupid and silly for what happened this weekend and because it was my own doing, I’m not naming which thrift store this occurred. Okay, now with the story…

After browsing the discount shops of Marshall’s and TJ Max, I ended up at a thrift store searching for a simple purse for my upcoming trip to Vietnam. Not only did I find a basic, cream, over-the-shoulder bag, I spied the colorful Anne Klein clutch and decided I would give it a nice home. Besides, my current purse can hold the kitchen sink and more and I really need to downsize.

Sidebar: Out of boredom one day, I weighed my purse and with the contents, it weighs 10 pounds! 

I should have left the store once I found what I was looking for but made the sweep through the aisles to see if there was anything else I could not live without. My favorite is the book section and out of curiosity, I started flipping through the prints and posters bin which meant I had to bend over and look between the big plastic sheets to see what was between them.

With my head down, I quickly turned it to the left and WHACK! The left side of my forehead, above my eye, met the corner of a metal shelf and it stung like an S.O.B. I blinked a few times, saw stars, shook and rubbed my head and hoped to God no one saw.

I went on my merry way and didn’t pay attention to the incident until I put my head down to go to bed. My forehead had a killer, sharp headache and I felt pressure above my left eye. I consulted my go-to medical source, Google which led me to WebMd, for head and brain trauma.

“Should I go to the ER?” I wondered.

I got out of bed and looked in the mirror to see if one of my pupils were dilated.

No. That was good.

But I noticed a raspberry-looking wound on my forehead. Ugh. The site of the collision.

Grabbing a frozen ice pad from the freezer, I reasoned that I did not have a concussion and it would be safe for me to go to sleep, which I did.

My head ached so much that the next day I drove myself to Fawcett Memorial Hospital’s ER (Port Charlotte, Fla.) to spend quality time with the local medical community. Being single, it was part paranoia that spurred the ER road trip. After Googling “head injury” and reading stories about people who died from what seemed to be innocent head injuries, I opted to be safe than sorry. Besides, I didn’t want to die at home with the fear the cats would eat my body before someone realized something was wrong.

I apologized to each hospital team member I met and they all seemed to be understanding and nonjudgmental. Long story short, my two hours in the ER was a pleasant one, especially after learning I was going to live from my silly incident and was given the green light to fly, however, was told I will probably have a headache for a month or two. A week later, I still have several sharp headaches a day.

As for the day’s tab, the ER visit cost me $125 (I was given a discount, not sure if that was because of my employer of because of my stupidity), painkiller prescription was $6.14 and purses were $10, totaling $136.14. You better believe I’ll get the most out of those purses!

The Fawcett medical team was quick and courteous, especially since there were real emergencies happening. Yeah, I realize a trip to the ER isn’t the typical travel story I share but an important one in that it’s better to be safe than sorry.