Re: One of my fears realized....

On Nov 28, 4:59 pm, Mike <tetri...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
There is a list of things I fear, we all have such a list I'd bet.  On
this list, things like running over one of my kids in the driveway,
etc.  Also on my personal list - hand injuries.  Everyone relies
heavily on their hands, but musicians have a little more at stake (or
I feel we do anyway).  I always wear gloves when loading/unloading
gear, working in the yard, etc. and I've been pretty lucky over the
years.  So it's Thanksgiving evening, it's nice outside and we've
already eaten.  The kids are looking for something to do, I decide to
take our 4-1/2 year old girl and 2-1/2 year old boy to a nearby church
playground.  We get there and are alone.  We start off on the swings,
I get both kids on swings and then hop on the swing between 'em and
start swinging.  I quickly get going pretty high and decide to slow
down a bit.  I'm at the height of a forward swing and on the way back
down, at the lowest point of the swinging arc, the left side of the
seat comes off the chain.  I hit the dirt HARD and my hands are
absolutely throbbing.  I'm rolling around on the ground moaning loudly
and both my kids are staring at me in horror.  I hear "Why did you
break the swing, Daddy??" about 15 times from both sides of me.  I
look at my hands and both are bleeding, a chunk missing from the
middle finger on my left hand, and the pinky on my right hand.  I
can't even really move either hand at that point.  I start telling the
kids that I'm alright as they are both getting upset.  I hobble over
to a bench and sit down and tell the kids to play a bit more.  I
finally get to the point where I can think straight, both hands still
throbbing.  Imagine tightly holding a chain with a partially peeled-
away plastic coating in your hand, and then having the chain ripped
out of your hand.  That's essentially what happened.  I drove home
with my thumbs (about 3 miles) and my wife cleaned me up a bit.  I
took a couple Tylenol, had a rum and coke and went to bed.  Got up
this morning and most of my fingers felt better, but the pinky on my
left hand (a very important finger for a bass player), and the middle
finger on my right hand (again, a VERY important bass-playing finger)
are black/blue and swollen.  I call my doc, he's off today, he says to
go to the ER and get x-rays.  I did that.  Both fingers are broken.
One on each hand.  Are you kidding me??  The right middle finger has a
fracture between the middle knuckle and the knuckle nearest the tip.
About the same thing on the left pinky.  I've been referred to a hand
specialist and given 3 kinds of medication.  Is this really
happening?  It seems it is.

I'm sitting here now with large metal splints on both hands, typing
with my index fingers.  I better get good at this since I work in IT
and type all day long.  I had rehearsal scheduled for tonight, gigs
next Friday and Saturday.  Forget all that.  Not gonna happen.  I play
guitar at my church every Saturday.  Not now (though they will still
want me to sing).  My New Year's Eve gig is in jeopardy, too.  Too
soon to tell.

Anyway, sorry for whining and feeling sorry for myself.  Just had to
tell this tale of woe.

Ya'll got any good hand injury stories (please include the recovery,
too...that's what I'm praying for)?

Mike


I have 2 of them ..
1) Jumping out of a boat in a parking lot ( on the trailer) after
filling the cooler with ice , beer,soda. my wedding ring ( left hand
ring finger - fret hand) got caught on a screw head at the rear of the
widshield . My feet never touched the ground !! Bungee jump & finger
is the bungee ---- ahhhhhhhhhh , I was hanging by my 1 finger. Nearly
passed out. Doc said the finger was almost PULLED OFF, not cut off.
The skin was peeled like a bannana and the tendons almost ripped from
my armpit. I needed reconstructive surgery and hand theropy for a few
months. It could barely move for months and could not close for a
year. They said I might be able to use it again but playing bass was
most likely never going to happen. Well I didn't give up, and now
play lead guitar and bass in a group.

2) Broke left wrist snowboarding but didn't think it was that bad,
hadn't been there very long and kids were having fun so I toughed it
out and took anoth run. Broke the outher wrist on the same icy part of
the slope. Called it quits.. 2 casts and a slow recovery to gain
strength again... back 100% after a few years.

Keep at it and don't give up.. Ed S.
.

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