'Just glad I got to keep my finger': Kitchener jeweller helps woman after wedding ring injury

A Kitchener jeweler came to the rescue after a woman said she she fell and her wedding rings dug into her finger, cutting off circulation.

“I lost my coordination and in a panic, grabbed something and it must have pressed my rings, which pushed them right deep into the skin,” Lesley Powell said.

The Kitchener woman said she fell off a ladder at home on Friday and as soon as she got up, she knew something was wrong.

“My finger was five times the size and it was already blue and purple like immediately, so I knew this was [time to] think fast,” she said.

She called John Anthony Jewellers in Kitchener, where the rings were made, for help.

“It was just sheer panic and it was just tunnel vision. Just get here, get help. As soon it came off, there was such an immense amount of relief because I could feel my finger again,” said Powell.

Michael Dunnington, the manager of the family-owned jewelry store, said while emotions were high, the process of cutting off the ring only took a few seconds.

“We use a special hook that goes under the ring and has a guard that protects the finger. You press it down and put our drill on it. The diamond saw will cut clean through most materials,” explained Dunnington.

Dunnington said it’s not the first time they helped someone cut off a ring that’s stuck and it’s likely not the last.

“Over the course of the year, we’re cutting off 100 to 150 rings give or take,” he said.

He said the most common reason people are unable to take off their rings is arthritis.

He advised anyone stuck in this situation to avoid taking advice from the internet and instead, seek help from a jeweler or medical professional.

Lesley Powell's finger days after the incident. (CTV News/Carmen Wong)

Powell said she didn’t go to the hospital because she wanted to avoid wait times in the E.R.

“Parking the car, getting into the triage, checking your health care. I knew minutes were counting,” she said. “Even when I went to see my family doctor yesterday, they verified that I had just a few hours before I had to possibly have my finger amputated.”

She said her plan is to get her rings fixed in a few weeks after her finger is healed.

“I feel a bit naked, I miss it [wedding rings]. I’m sad, but just glad that I got to keep my finger,” said Powell.