This story also reminded me of the first time I made corned beef and cabbage. While slicing the cabbage with a HUGE butcher's knife (my husband loved to cook and had all this neat cooking stuff), I accidentally sliced off the tip of my middle finger. Hubby rushed me to the ER, but had to go back home to retrieve the tip of my finger. It was successfully reattached, however I walked around for several weeks with *that* finger bandaged in the upright/extended position It healed perfectly and you can't tell anything ever happened to it, however I can't make corned beef & cabbage without thinking about my "first time."