I’m lucky to have lived in Syracuse for years without ever needing to know how long the drive to an emergency room is from my doorstep. But Christmas Eve morning, in a rush to bake the cookies I’d put off all week, I found myself wishing I had more than a general idea of how to get to the ER. It’s a funny thing to be embarassed by your own injury — I stuck my aching thumb up for the physician assistant to inspect and was compelled to explain: I tried to find the Urgent Care, but couldn’t, and I ended up in a place reserved for real emergencies — the kind that haven’t already stopped bleeding by the time you arrive. I was relieved to need three stitches, evidence that medical attention had at least been warranted. In less than an hour I was back in the car, resuming my pre-holiday chores, (baking cookies was amended to purchasing them). I owe a big thumbs up to physician assistant Bader Masoud for stitching me back together, and a heartfelt thanks to the rest of the St. Joseph’s emergency medical team, hard at work on Christmas Eve and throughout the holidays for those of us who really didn’t feel like baking cookies, after all. Contact Ami Olson, editor of The Eagle, at [email protected].