Because I reached for the governor on a Detroit diesel I now get a10%
discount on a manicure. The turbo sucked my hand in. Old guys I had been around were always saying
When you get hurt really good it don't hurt right then.

Clearly getting the bone ripped out of a finger,leaving a bloody tube with the profile of a turbo blade routered into it doesn't count as
Hurt really good

Cuz it hurt,, felt like a red hot sledgehammer mashed my hand,,
It's been 29 years, I'm still careful with it, cuz thumped just right it's Very unpleasant.

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 12/25/14 at 00:54:34:

I'll 2nd that!  Later on though....

Dave
that guy's hand looks real familiar !  

Wow, there's more of us missing digits than I knew.  I thought it was just me and Frodo!

Glad you're recovering and that it wasn't worse than it is!

I lost the first joint of right thumb - amputated due to sarcoma about 5  years back.

Some Thoughts:  

Don't be afraid to use pity to manipulate your wife

( "Owww... honey could you hand me another beer?")  



In my case it was really tender at first, but now doesn't bother me.  After it healed up, but was still very painful, I used to tap it as hard as I could stand on the table, chair leg, whatever was handy.  Doc said that would eventually desensitize nerves. He was correct.  Once you get the area less sensitive, you'll learn to use it like before.

I think you'll be able to learn to do whatever you did before, maybe easier than you expect.  I have a stubby right thumb (I'm right handed).  At first it seemed very difficult to do things like tie shoes, button collars, but within a few months I was figuring things out.  

Phantom feeling was weird at first.  I used to close my eyes and "touch" my thumb tip with my index finger I swear I could feel it!  Also used to itch some.  That's been done for quite a while.  

I would say very roughly a year until I seldom thought of it.  

About the only time I feel handicapped by it now is when I'm trying to start a small screw or bolt into a threaded hole I can't see.  (You know, when you're reaching down in the tiny space beside your car engine)  Thumb just not long or sensitive enough now.  I just have to use my left hand.  

good luck MMranch!

Way before my time my daddy worked at the milk plant in town, one machine waxed the paper cartons they put milk in and everything associated with it. The proper procedure was to shut the machine down and steam clean it to get the wax off, especially off the chains and sprockets. The improper procedure was to use your finger to pop the wax out of the chain links before it went into the sprocket. You can guess what my dad did. Worked out fine, until chain, sprocket and finger connected.

He mashed his finger right index finger off at the first joint. He talked about many doctor visits with the doctor telling him he was going to make his finger pretty, none of the mushroom shaped stuff that was common back in the day. The doctor would take some kind of snips and trim the end of the finger, basically whittling it down. Daddy said the dr would slide his glasses down on his nose and snip away, pieces flying around the room. Occasionally, the dr would hit a live part, and daddy would tell him it hurt. The dr would reply, I' didn't feel anything and never slow down. In the end, it looked just like the last joint was simply pulled off, like a new end would just fit perfectly on there.

Daddy was right handed and never seemed to have any trouble, I believe he pulled the trigger with his middle finger, but that's the only change he made. And that bone on the end of his nub was bad when it came smashing down on your head! It was as hard as the bone underneath, he often amused us kids by busting things with it, besides our heads.

I have no idea how long it took him to get it toughened up or before he could use it, like I said that was before my time. But it never was a handicap to him. MMRanch, probably won't be to you either, once you get used to it.

Yikes... that looks painful...but...

An adventurous life is measured by scars...
Seems wasteful to leave this life without wearing this body out...

Congratulations on living this life, instead of just existing ....