Almost Severed The Tip Of My Right Thumb

from WinCustomize Forums

Last Tuesday I was splitting wood for kindling for our wood Heater when the axe bounced of the log and came down on the tip of my thumb, almost severing it.  Thing is, there was little to no pain and I was able to stem the bleeding fairly quickly, so me being me just bandaged it and figured it'd be alright.  It wasn't until Friday morning when Shaunna was ready to put a fresh dressing on it and we could see the severity of the injury.  The thumb nail was completely severed about halfway up and the bleeding recommenced.

There was no argument [when there usually is] when Shaunna said that we were going to the hospital.  It took a while to get through all the hospital proceedures prior to seeing a plastic surgeon, but it was well worth the wait because he sheduled me for surgery right there and then.  I wasn't expecting that because non-life-threatening cases are usually placed on a waiting list before being allocated a surgery spot.

Anyway, the surgery went well and now I have a pin in there to stabilise a piece of bone which had become detatched.  Apart from a bit of throbbing the night after the surgery, I felt no real pain.  I took an oxycodone tablet to help with that and I managed to get some sleep.

All in all I'm happy with the result and am really grateful to all the hospital staff members who looked after me, they were brilliant.

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42,134 views 7 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Ouch.

Whacking yourself with an axe is like whacking yourself with a hammer and a relatively dull knife at the same time, the best of both worlds.  Glad everything held together for you.

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Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I managed to cut off [almost] the end of my left thumb....with a tenon saw....went to a plastic surgeon expecting some whiz-bang stitching etc ...all he did was look at it and say "are you allergic to band-aids?" ...;)

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Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Happy you met up with some great care, starkers old mate, and I'm glad you didn't have to give them the finger...wait...that doesn't sound right.  ;)

Of course, we knew all about it from the telly...

Hoping for a quick recovery, Mark!  

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Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

There was no argument [when there usually is] when Shaunna said that we were going to the hospital.  

All in all I'm happy with the result and am really grateful to all the hospital staff members who looked after me, they were brilliant.

Glad that it went well.  I've had some close calls with power tools in the past and I'm grateful to still have all of my digits.  And yes, hospital staff really SHOW UP when you need them; much gratitude and appreciation for health care workers.

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Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting DaveRI, reply 1

Ouch.

Whacking yourself with an axe is like whacking yourself with a hammer and a relatively dull knife at the same time, the best of both worlds.  Glad everything held together for you.

It wasn't all that painful when it first happened.  It hurt most after the local anaesthetic wore off after surgery... luckily I had some Oxycodone to ease the pain.  Only needed two of them, one on the first night after surgery and one the next morning.  Now I just use Ibuprophin when necessary

.

Quoting Jafo, reply 2

I managed to cut off [almost] the end of my left thumb....with a tenon saw....went to a plastic surgeon expecting some whiz-bang stitching etc ...all he did was look at it and say "are you allergic to band-aids?" ...;)

I was fortunate to have a really good surgeon who had a good bedside manner and took the time to explain the procedure to me.  I wanted to watch and told him that I'm not squeamish, but they covered everything up and I couldn't see or feel a thing.  Oh well, it all turned out okay and I'm grateful to those who cared for me.  Oh, and I didn't get stitches, either.  My whole thumb is in a bandage that has a plaster back-slab to reduce movement and the surgeon explained that because it was a clean wound it would heal well within the dressing

Quoting DrJBHL, reply 3

Happy you met up with some great care, starkers old mate, and I'm glad you didn't have to give them the finger...wait...that doesn't sound right.

Yeah, the care was top notch, and given that I generally don't like hospitals after spending so much time in them, this visit was a far better experience than I would normally expect.  The nursing staff was great, as were the support guys who wheel patients around when needing services in a different department.

Quoting Victechnical, reply 4


Quoting ,
quoting post
There was no argument [when there usually is] when Shaunna said that we were going to the hospital.  

All in all I'm happy with the result and am really grateful to all the hospital staff members who looked after me, they were brilliant.



Glad that it went well.  I've had some close calls with power tools in the past and I'm grateful to still have all of my digits.  And yes, hospital staff really SHOW UP when you need them; much gratitude and appreciation for health care workers.

Thanks for gladness, I appreciate it.  I think the worst injury I sustained from a power tool was a nail or staple stuck in my finger or thumb.

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting starkers, reply 5

I wanted to watch and told him that I'm not squeamish, but they covered everything up and I couldn't see or feel a thing. 

When I had my 'Vikings' Disease' Op on my hands...I wanted to watch the first one...but the 'sedation' was overly efficient and I was out like a light.  Wanted to watch the second one....this time with a different anaesthetic...this time I was fully awake...but the surgeon said I wasn't allowed to look...just in case I pinched his methods...so I sat there mentally lowering my blood pressure and heart rate...for something to do...while he talked to his assistants about golf...;)  First one had 18 stitches...second about 8 ...;)

Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Jafo, reply 6


Quoting starkers,
reply 5

I wanted to watch and told him that I'm not squeamish, but they covered everything up and I couldn't see or feel a thing. 



When I had my 'Vikings' Disease' Op on my hands...I wanted to watch the first one...but the 'sedation' was overly efficient and I was out like a light.  Wanted to watch the second one....this time with a different anaesthetic...this time I was fully awake...but the surgeon said I wasn't allowed to look...just in case I pinched his methods...so I sat there mentally lowering my blood pressure and heart rate...for something to do...while he talked to his assistants about golf...;)   First one had 18 stitches...second about 8 ...;)

Luckily, no stitches with this one but I've had plenty in the past... each of the ops [5 of them] on my right hip/femur needed 40-plus stitches.  Since then I had an appendectomy that required around 50 - 60 stitches, though mostly internally after gangrene was discovered and all my insides had to be taken out and scrubbed clean to prevent a further infection.  I also had around 40-odd stitches in my right arm after a workplace accident.

With one of the ops on my right hip/femur I was brought to before they closed up so they could check with me for sensation in my lower leg.  Yup, there was my upper leg all open and I could see it.... didn't faze me one little bit.  As for surgeons not allowing patients to watch under a local, even if the patient says I'm not squeamish, it's more to do with patients having panic attacks and such.  Surgery can be quite brutal at times and surgeons believe it's best that patients do not witness it.