Losing a hand...

Zombienosh

dunno if this is the right place but anywho...

I tore a tendon (fdp) in my little finger and because of that im left without my right hand for awhile. I cut it two weeks ago pretty deeply, put some plasters on it and went about my business, continued working etc. I just presumed the lack of bending my finger and the pain was temporary.

after two weeks i think to myself theres something wrong so i went to hospital, next thing i know im getting surgery on my hand and being told i cud quite possibly never bend my fingers again or use my hand properly.

all of this because i put off going to hospital, instead saying it was nothing and i was too busy with work.

I was then told that they could put silicone rods in place then take an unused tendon from my left hand and use it to replace the severed one in my finger. luckily this procedure was unnecessery and they could repair the old tendon.

all of this came as such a shock, i never knew how complicated it cud be. im out of work or using my right(good) hand now for between 4 and 6 weeks then i have to undergo physiotherapy. even after all of this its unlikely i'll ever use my right hand the same.

I've spent the past while looking up information on the web, I never knew how easy it is to damage your hands permanently!. I'm just glad it wasnt my left (fret) hand, so I shud still be able to play guitar.

I'm just wondering if this has happened to anyone else here?

apologies about typos( im using my left hand only):o

sweet-rasmus

hasn't happened to me, but i wish you good luck in the healing process

Nevyn

Ok you are in shock and disbelief about what happened and what is happening,

This is understandible.

Did they not offer you a contact for couselling ?
Someone to talk to about the shock and the fears and what maybe in the future ?

I would suggest that you get back in touch with the hospital or at least your gp and get in contact with some one for you to talk to about this.

The mental and emotional issues are stopping you from getting treatment and that is not a good thing esp with a nerve related injury.

Rb

Keep positive man, hope it heals up properly.

Black Swan

We had a older guy training (late 40s) in our taekwondo dojang who snapped his achillies tendon while sparring. Wow! He merely did a fast step to the side to avoid getting kicked, and pop! He said he looked behind him to see who kicked him in the heel, and no one was there. They stitched his tendon back together, but they told him it would take him a year to recover completely. He is in a special boot and on crutches now. I cannot figure out why it happened. He was warmed up and stretched out before his bout.

Overheal

Tendons are scary that way. I pulled the tendon in my pinky and I couldnt write for a week. Ill count myself lucky then.

dade

AlcoholicA wrote:

I've spent the past while looking up information on the web, I never knew how easy it is to damage your hands permanently!. I'm just glad it wasnt my left (fret) hand, so I shud still be able to play guitar.

I'm just wondering if this has happened to anyone else here?

apologies about typos( im using my left hand only):o

severed a tendon in my middle finger on my right hand about 12 years ago. pissed as a fart and went through a window. cut the one beside it too. managed to put the hand in icecold water and not move it til i got to hospital so they didn't have to dig up the arm looking for it. nice scar on the back of my hand to show for my troubles.

took about 4 weeks for teh cast to come off teh hand completly. basically they put it in a full cast for 4 weeks so i couldn't move my hand at all to allow it to knit back. 2 weeks later they toom this off and put a hald cast on the outer side of my hand with a long plastic rod attached. my finger was taped to this so that when i closed my hand i'd use teh finger but when opening the plastic stick would pull my finger back. this cast came off 2 weeks later. i spent that 4 weeks permenantly flipping everyone the bird

the docs in germany told me it should have taken 4-5 weeks for the first cast to be removed and a furtehr 4-5 for teh second. they where amazed at teh recovery. but those weeks where so painfull, eating, shaving brushing your teeth even wiping your backside. very difficuly when your right handed and ar unable to use it.

for about a year after if i worked in very cold envirionments then it would ache teh hell out of me. had to leave one job because it was a manual labour typer position in a warehouse and all teh lifting was causing me pain. now though i only notice it when i see teh scar and don't feel any pain from it and have a full range of moement.

my advise would be if they offer physio then take it (i never got any, no insurance to pay for it) and if they say you can move it then move it and excercise it. slowly build teh strenght back. in my case i was told to curl my finger in toward teh palm a couple of times, i spent most of teh day doing it to build it back up.

chamlis

One good thing. Guitar is supposed to be brilliant for rehabilitaion when it comes to hands. That may just be the left hand assuming you're right-handed, but it can't be too far off with the right!

You should check that out!
Really though, it could be alot worse...

Zombienosh

dade wrote:

but those weeks where so painfull, eating, shaving brushing your teeth even wiping your backside. very difficuly when your right handed and ar unable to use it.

had to leave one job because it was a manual labour typer position in a warehouse and all teh lifting was causing me pain.

I totally know how difficult it is to do all of said things without your good hand, I feel so stupid not being able to do basic things, also I'm worried about work. I don't know when I can go back, if at all.

dade

AlcoholicA wrote:

I totally know how difficult it is to do all of said things without your good hand, I feel so stupid not being able to do basic things, also I'm worried about work. I don't know when I can go back, if at all.

I was back in work 2-3 days after it happened. but i was a bar man in germany so i could get away with using one hand for everything except the keg changes.

that said when i came home about a 6 weeks after teh accident I started a job straight away and was working fine. i did have some bad days with teh pain. but i was lucky i healed quickly.

you didn't say what kind of work you do but i'll assume its labour intensive. just take it easy on it maybe have a chat to teh boss and if he'she's easy going they may be able to reduce your workload so you dont over do it.

i would advise though that pain is your friend. it it starts to get sore while working then rest it otherwise you could hurt it more. I'd arrange teh physio and talk to them about when they think you should go back to work. the only thing is that it is your smalles finger so it may not impair you when working that much. now imagine me working behind a bar permenantly flipping people off for 4 weeks

LegacyUser

'A bit of physiotherapy and it'll be grand.

Good job it wasn't your wankin hand.'