Jimmy Fallon was forced to take a two-week hiatus from "The Tonight Show" after he injured his hand on June 26 when he fell at his home in New York City. But on Monday, July 13, the host returned to the NBC show and at the start of the program, he explained what caused him to stay in the ICU at Bellevue Hospital for 10 days.
He started off by saying that basically, what happened was that he tripped on a braided rug "that my wife loves and I can't wait to burn." He caught his fall but his finger ended up sideways, looking like a "cheap horror movie." He then said that he wrapped his hand in a towel and got into a cab to go to the emergency room, thinking all the while that he broke his finger.
But upon arriving at the Beth Israel emergency room, Fallon was told that what happened to him is called a "ring avulsion," something that the "Saturday Night Live" alum advised people should not Google due to very graphic images.
"My ring got caught on a countertop when I was going down and stuck there and pulled my finger out," he explained.
When he asked the doctors if they would be able to fix it, he was told to go elsewhere for microsurgery.
Fallon said that he had to go to Bellevue Hospital for the procedure, where Dr. David Chiu performed the six-hour surgery to save his finger. The 40-year old revealed that the odds of saving a finger from being amputated after a ring avulsion weren't good.
"Usually they just cut your finger off," he said.
"The Tonight Show" host said that his doctor had to take a vein out of his foot to repair his finger, and although he won't get feeling back for eight weeks, Dr. Chiu was able to save his finger.
During his 10-day stay in the intensive care unit of the Bellevue Hospital, Fallon said that he occupied his time by reading "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor E. Frankl at least three times, watching "The Duff" which he described as "the new 'Mean Girls'," and "The Real Housewives of New York."
During the show's Monday episode, it was revealed that it was not only Fallon who suffered over the past few days as his announcer, Steve Higgins, learned that he has Lyme disease.
"I was in bed for seven days," said Higgins. "I have Lyme disease…I'm on the Anthrax antibiotic."
"The Tonight Show" is scheduled back to regular programming with a star-studded lineup of guests including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, LeBron James, Bill Hader, and more.
