One down, nine to go

[Matt Schmitt]

Three years ago I got my finger caught in a pinch point trying to move a fork on a gradall. Instead of tipping the forks all the way forward instead of about half way tipped, and sliding them I decided to lift and push, well I slipped and the fork came back down on the mast and skelotonized the end of my finger. Lucky for me the dr was an avid hunter and I explained how I needed my trigger finger lol. He took fat from my palm to rebuild my pad and then pulled skin over from the side of my finger to rebuild it all. I lost about my nail length but now it’s one less nail to cut haha! The pins were for a fracture mine looked black but he actually moved a vessel up my finger to get more blood and it healed good.

 

[Matt Schmitt]

It was by far the worst pain of my life 13 hrs after the operation once the numbing meds wore off. But all in all it’s healed and I’ve learned to deal with it well. My only issues are trying to start small nuts on bolts since the feeling isn’t great one the end of my finger. Don’t mind my dirty hand just got done changing oil and diff fluids in my trk and it’s a little stained.

 

[Matt Schmitt]

It’s been a little over three years now.

 

[sb47]

It’s been a little over three years now.

Man that makes me cringe, just looking at that. Looks like they saved most of it. Mine is gonna be a little shorter. I lost the first joint at the knuckle, about an inch off the end. They cut me up again the other day but it looks like I'm gonna have a rounder nub now. The temp was 50 today and I was out supervising a customer loading his truck and the temps had my finger aching something fierce. I'll be glad when it's healed up and I can see what I can still do with it.

 

[Matt Schmitt]

Ya even though I’ve got some blood flow this finger gets way colder then the rest now.

 

[sb47]

Today is Thursday just 3 days after they reconstructed the end of my finger. I'd say it's looking much better and is healing well. I'm sure it will be weeks before it heals but it's looking and feeling better. It's got a more rounded shape to it then it did before.

 

[sean donato]

Looks pretty good. Glad your in the mend!

 

[sb47]

I was counting something today and I realized I could only count to 9 1/2

 

[Del_]

I was counting something today and I realized I could only count to 9 1/2

You didn't lose the hole finger.




Just part of the one next to it!

 

[rarefish383]

Dang, SB, I only check out this forum about twice a year when I'm bored. I'm sure sorry to see you here. Glad you are healing up. I've had two friends loose their ring finger down two knuckles. Snagged their wedding ring and popped the finger off. They both said they never missed it, but theirs was not on the end. I was gonna make the joke about the nose pickin finger, but you had that covered. I know you are live and kickin, but I'm gonna throw a couple prayers your way, just for good measure.

 

[sb47]

Dang, SB, I only check out this forum about twice a year when I'm bored. I'm sure sorry to see you here. Glad you are healing up. I've had two friends loose their ring finger down two knuckles. Snagged their wedding ring and popped the finger off. They both said they never missed it, but theirs was not on the end. I was gonna make the joke about the nose pickin finger, but you had that covered. I know you are live and kickin, but I'm gonna throw a couple prayers your way, just for good measure.

Thanks
Monday ( tomorrow) will be a week since they reconstructed it and it's healing much better now that I have skin covering most all of it. I found a few more inconveniences this weekend. I had a good weekend of sales and found counting money is different having to use a different finger. I was tying some bags closed and kept trying to use that finger on the string. Zipping my fly is different to. lol Not a big deal but my brain has been wired for 60 years of having 5 normal fingers. Everything we do with our hands is muscle memory so it will take time to rewire my brain. I have another Dr. appointment tomorrow. I'm sure it will just be a checkup cause it's looking pretty good to me.
The problem now is the finger is still healing and sore and tender so I'm favoring and protecting it as I do things. Once it heals and is not sore anymore I can start using what I have left and things may get better. Typing is different. I make more typo's and have to go back and fix my mistakes. But it's definitely healing better now.
I was pushing a dolly and the vibration from the bumps was making my whole hand hurt. That makes me wounder how a saw is gonna feel. I might try cutting in a few days to see how that feels with the vibration in my hand. Might take a little time for that to go away. I'm sure I will find all kinds of things that will be different but manageable.

 

[sb47]

Doc said it looked good and I didn't need to come in anymore. It will still be a few more weeks before it heals up completely but no infection and it's healing well. It's still sore and tender but we are on the right track now. I was able to make a stop on my trip to the doc to pick up 2000 more bags and 2 more bolts of twine for my bagged wood inventory. The guy at the bag shop said they had 3 people from there shop die from the rona since all the madness started. So a missing finger ain't so bad after all. I'm gonna try the saw tomorrow and see how I deal with the vibration. I need to get back splitting wood. I sold 10 cords this weekend and I need to keep my inventory up for the coming winter. I've got about 40 cords of logs that have been sitting for about a year so they should dry fairly quick once I get them split. I've only got about 40 cords split in the big wood and about 50 cords split in the shorter 14'' wood for the bagged wood. Sick leave is over, time to get back to work.

 

[sb47]

I will have to say that the people at Ben Taub hospital have there **** together. The first visit to the ER I had to wait 3 hours before they got me into a room. But once there they kept me there for 5 hours while they ran test and did the amputation. But every appointment after that they got me in at the appointment time. Everyone was very nice and professional the whole time and were very sympathetic to my needs.
I did find out that they put me on what they call an emergency Gold Card witch made all my visits almost free.
The ER visit was 30 bucks and all follow up visits were 3 dollars. They even comped my parking. I'm covered till the end of January under the emergency Gold Card. I have applied of a permanent Gold Card but still waiting for approval.
If I ever need emergency care again, I know exactly where I'm going.

 

[sb47]

Today I was mowing grass and passed out while in motion. Tractor ran into a wood pile and my brother found me unresponsive. I don't know how long I was there and when I came to I had no idea where I was. Went to the ER and they said I might have had a stroke. I had scrapes on my arm and was not acting not right. I have never passed out before and I'm lucky the tractor didn't turn over on me. Guess I should not be driving till they figure what happened. I stopped the pain meds 2 weeks ago so I don't think that was it. First I loose my finger and I may have blacked out causing the accident and now it happened again. Guess I'm off power equipment till they find out whats going on. Something is going on but not sure what.

 

[Del_]

Sorry to hear it.

Best of luck.

 

[holeycow]

Well that's disconcerting, to say the least.

Hopefully they come up with some reasons.

Getting older sucks, in some ways.

Good Luck.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

SB quit whining as we have a bunch of work to do. I have one finger that got crushed while racing and it is just in the way most of the time. We will adjust. Trust me in that in five years we will have other concerns to worry about. At that time you will say what finger?? I have been thinking about a build with a 50% faster cycle time. And then maybe a adjustable log lift reducing the amount of time needed to have hand any where near the wedge. Then I think about SB and what would he say.. Thanks

 

[Ted Jenkins]

Today I was mowing grass and passed out while in motion. Tractor ran into a wood pile and my brother found me unresponsive. I don't know how long I was there and when I came to I had no idea where I was. Went to the ER and they said I might have had a stroke. I had scrapes on my arm and was not acting not right. I have never passed out before and I'm lucky the tractor didn't turn over on me. Guess I should not be driving till they figure what happened. I stopped the pain meds 2 weeks ago so I don't think that was it. First I loose my finger and I may have blacked out causing the accident and now it happened again. Guess I'm off power equipment till they find out whats going on. Something is going on but not sure what.

I have problems like that too and my best advice is to get a pesky dog that requires you to go for a good walk every day. By doing this it allows your heart to relax relieve stress and concern. I am betting you will get past this and have some wonderful stories to relate. Thanks

 

[sb47]

Ok it's been 40 days since my accident so I thought I give an update complete with pictures.
It's looking good and looks to be healing but I am still having issues.
Still can't bend that finger very much despite exorcising it and stretching it.
Still having some pain issues as well. I ran a saw for the first time the other day and the vibration was not an issue but not being able to bend it it sticks out and when the saw kicks around it hits the chain break bar and causes a lot of pain. Still having phantom pain and it feels like my finger is still there but when I go to rub it it's not there. I thought the vibration of the saw would bother me but it didn't. It's still very tender and sore as well.I'm still not gaining any flexibility yet. If in 30 more days I'm still having the same issues I will go back to the doc.
I have been trying to play the guitar some and I can still make some cords but many are difficult and some are impossible.
That finger still has some swelling in it as you can see in the photos.
Wood sales have been very good and I'm starting to get low on wood. I have about 20 cords left that is split and ready to go.
I know I will run out before new years. I'm still alive and still have my health so it's not that bad.
Any hoo, be safe running power equipment cause it can get ya when you least expect it.

 

[sb47]

Well I think I found a remedy for the constant aching that has kept me up me for up at night the last week. I found some old expired Ambesol toothache liquid that I had sitting around. I dabbed a bit of it on the almost healed wound and it all but stopped the aching that has been constant all night keeping me from falling asleep. It also took away most of the tender sensitivity to the new skin to. I was going to through the stuff out because it expired in 2004 but decided to see if it would help and it did. The scab is gone so I'm not putting on an open wound, just the tender skin that comes from when the scab comes off. Seems it works on more then just a toothache