Accidents happen

[LeftyJason]

Warning graphic content.

Last Thursday January 31st I was at work using a palm router to rout out foam for shadowboxing purposes. While reaching up to turn it off and laying it down, it slipped and my left thumb went into the spinning router bit.

I immediately grabbed a bunch of paper towels and ran to the bathroom to try and rinse out some of the foam. Told a coworker to get my supervisor who took me to the er. There they cleaned it up.

They also took an xray with a cool portable wheeled xray machine. I cut it down to the bone and doctor says I have a tiny fracture in it.

After that they numbed it and did the good cleanup. Thank goodness for lidocaine injections.

They then wrapped it up real well. I got a tetanus shot and antibiotic butt shot and drove the 43 miles from ogden to taylorsville utah. Then I had to wait til Monday to see the hand specialist. All I have been taking is 800mg ibuprofen and 500mg cephalexin (antibiotic) every 8hrs with occasional tylenol.

He unwrapped it and looked at it. I still have full feeling, full movement, didn't hit any tendons, and I'm not going to have any nail after surgery on Thursday. I currently have 20% or less of the nail left. The doctor said he might do a skin flap from the bottom side of my pointer finger and have them sewn together for 2 weeks and then seperate them and do a skin graft on my pointer finger. That is to fill in the hole on the top of my thumb and because a basic skin graft might not stick to the exposed bone and it would leave a sunken area. Yay! (sarcasm).

Drew on my right thumb basically all that is gone. So basically mirror image of my left thumb.

All getting paid for by workers comp.

So note to all. Be careful in whatever you do. You might lose a nail... permanently.

Will respond later with updates as things progress.

 

[LeftyJason]

 

[...]

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve run a drill bit clear through my hand....how I still have all 10 fingers is a mystery

 

[ShooterwithNoName]

Yep it happens to the best of us. I was putting Bamboo hardwood flooring down for someone about 8yrs ago. I was using a chop saw to cut the flooring. I was cutting two pieces of identical length. I cut the first piece, picked it up and held it with my left hand. Cleared the unused piece and put my next piece down onto the saw to be cut. Squared up my mark and brought down the saw. I didnt notice that the piece was holding in my left hand was sticking out into the swing of the saws path. So as I brought the saw down on the second piece... bang!!

The saw caught the piece of flooring in my left hand and pulled it into the blade along with my hand holding onto it. Luckily the flooring stopped the blade just shy of taking my thumb completely off. But it did saw my thumb in two, parallel with my thumb, right down the middle of my thumb bone and through the first knuckle. As soon as I heard that bang, I knew I had just fucked up...

Luckily, I had a great hand surgeon. The bone was in 7 pieces and all tendons were cut. No thumbnail, just hamburger meat. They removed all but the 2 largest pieces of bone and put 2 steel pins through them to hold them together. The surgeon pulled my thumb skin around and rebuilt my nail bed.

Today... you can hardly tell it ever happened. My thumbnail does still have a split of sorts in it, but I have full function. Good luck with it, I'm pretty sure theyll get you fixed up. Its gonna suck for a couple months, but hopefully you'll have a good recovery.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Well, thanks for sharing.

In all the years of the trades, as well as training, in all the different industries I've been in, I have seen a LOT of different folks with astoundingly various injury peccadillo's. The worst, is getting killed on the job (obviously) but the worst 'living' was when a gentleman got his arm caught in the dual screw-conveyor at the bottom of a dough vat. In a bakery. Said vat was the size of a volkswagon beetle, inverted.

In the machine shop, I saw a man get his apron and shirt torn off of him, and it took ALL of his strength in both arms to hold himself away from the chuck while it was all being pulled off him. After that, he REALLY took that 'no-long-sleeves' rule to heart. He was threading, so it was slow and drawn-out. That is why he was able to 'hold himself back'. Had it been a fast operation, he wouldn't have been able to react fast enough, and he too would have been wrapped around the chuck. Some of you have seen the video's of THAT, haven't you?

Not pretty. And not a fun mess to clean up.

 

[1J04]

And that's just another reason they call ya "Lefty".

Glad it ain't worse.

 

[LeftyJason]

My wife isn't too happy with me. She took me to the doctor. But I have to say it is nice having evenings off to spend with her. I work swing shift. And yes it was my left thumb which is my dominant hand. My wife has been laughing at me when ever I eat. She keeps trying to convince me to try to eat with chopsticks which I'm not good with in the first place.

 

[Northfl]

One of the serian brothers that work at the beer store up the road ( i call them both jihad jimmy and goat fuckers all the time to their face). Actually they are pretty good guys the both of them and christian to boot. ( so they say anyways)
One of them was taking his pistol out from its appendix carry position and had an a d right through his thumb from back of the hand to the heel, then into his foot. Rushed to hospital and still waiting to see how they are gonna fix it. Will see if i can get some pics. This was just last week I called him a dumbass and we both laughed. Didnt mention it was a .45 also

 

[QuickNDirty]

That's gonna be sore...

 

[Mike 556]

Could of been a lot worse. You were lucky, could of been your trigger finger! You’ll be amazed at how fast that will all grow back. Over 40 years working with power tools, I’ve had my share of mishaps, got a few digits sewn back when they where just hanging. Other than the occasional tingling, all worked out ok. One that stands out, I was just starting to build my home on the river, too impatient to wait for a machine to set the steel Ibeam, tried to set it by hand. Got it right by the pocket, ready to drop it into the pocket and the fellas on the other end couldn’t take the weight and lost the beam, it twisted and caught my middle finger against the concrete beam pocket. Was pretty ugly. Went to the emergency room, took me right in, the doctor cleaned it, soaked it in a solution. Said she’d be right back. After about 45 minutes no Doctor.WTF! Went out into the admission area, they said the Doc got an emergency call and had to leave but will be back. After another 45 minutes she finally showed up. I commented that i guess I’m in no danger of losing my finger, she said her cows got out and had to go round them up!! That’s what I get for building in Deposit,NY. She did a great job sewing the damn thing together. I’ll run into her once in a while and still tease her about the cows, but always let her know how grateful i am for the great job she did.

 

[Rthur]

Thats the stuff that'll make you piss your pants a bit.
My version, many years ago, was a sandcat belt sander and the continuous run button.
Trapped the heel of my palm in between the belt and the housing.
80 grit will sand it right to the muscle.

R

 

[Gunfighter14e2]

Die grinder into the bone of my trigger finger about 10 years ago, felt good once it quit hurting.

 

[Spblademaker]

My buddy is very accident prone. Sends me a text with pics that he had another table saw accident. Sends a pic of the tip of his finger missing. Me, being a good friend, asked him if it was his trigger finger. Because I’d buy his guns from him if it was. ??

 

[davsco]

all too easy to get just a little complacent. i've done a couple of dumb things, sure we all have, and fortunately got away with them. good to share stuff like this so hopefully the rest of us can learn (and hopefully remember) from someone else's mistake.

 

[jungle45]

Well ya still have a thumb print!!

 

[Scottie15]

Lefty, I'll give you one thumb up for this thread! Glad to hear you'll be okay and didn't do any nerve damage.

Good shop safety reminder for us all.

 

[Slash0311]

Ive done woodworking for 35 years and had some very close calls. Including one with a shaper and raised panel cutter. I just about shit myself on that one. My dad on the other hand has been to the ER more times than I can remember. The last one about 2 years ago was bad. Tablesaw to the thumb. It looked more superficial but screwed up a lot of bone and tendons. He lost most of his grip strength because of it because he can't bend it. I'm also sad to say he's likely giving up woodworking because of it too.

Just like with guns, we have to stay on our A game around power tools.

 

[Northfl]

Pic of jihad jimmys hand vs a .45

 

[acudaowner]

a few more fingers less and you could be the next balck sabbath. or be in the next jack reacher film . sorry about the accident does not look fun.

 

[Holliday]

Jesus dude, get better ..... I was a carpenter/ furniture-maker/builder for 25 years. Somehow I got out with all my fingers......

 

[Struggle]

Need to get rid of them warts.

 

[LeftyJason]

Going in for surgery tomorrow at 1045. Yay! /sarc

 

[Slash0311]

Good luck... smoke and prayers on a speedy recovery.

 

[woogie_man]

Must be all thumbs at work now.... sorry couldn't resist.

Have the pad of my middle finger on the right hand missing. Was doing some wood working and ran my hand through a jointer/planer. Took the finger tip off just about to the bone. Was years ago so all healed up, but still no feeling in the very tip. Lost all the nerve endings in the tip of that finger.

Take it easy and dont let the old lady give you to much crap..

 

[Alphatreedog]

Damm , good luck . When I was younger they were badges of honor . Gettin older and feel most of em . When I see that stuff on others now I cringe cuz that shit effin hurts .

 

[Carlos Danger]

Been around woodworking tools most of my life. Small mishaps and such but never anything major. Routers IMO are one of worst manglers of tissue in the workshop.

 

[ShooterwithNoName]

Dag... looks like jihad Jimmy really did a number with that 45...

Gotta watch that trigger guard. I have a good friend I grew up with did something similar. He was talking on the phone while cocking and dropping the hammer on a PPK. ND went into his thigh, shattered his femur and lodged under his kneecap.

Good graphic pics like those above are invaluable educational material.

 

[Steel+Killer]

Well on the bright side now you only got nine finger nails to trim you just saved yourself around five seconds every time you trim your finger nails......see now aren't you glad you did it......LOL

 

[dgc357]

Good luch with your surgery. A friend of mine just cut off the middle finger on his left hand with a table saw. He's the kind of guy you would expect to be missing a digit though. It wears well on him.

 

[Sam Dunham]

Tablesaw lost most of my nail but it grew back. Makes a good booger hook. Worked a T/A and the guy was out of the vehicle in some shock and asked me for a dip. He did not know then but did not have a chin or lower teeth. I looked and found his teeth and chin on the pavement when he ejected. Have looked for many fingers and even limbs and body parts and actually found some that were sewed back on. I always found it rewarding when I found the fingers and limbs for people.

 

[Scott_RAP]

Prayers and best wishes for a successful surgery.

Lost my thumbnail and tip of my index finger to a belt sander in high school shop class. Was concentrating on shaping a delicate piece when another guy bumped my elbow and knocked my hand between the belt and guard. Nothing nearly as bad as yours though. Everything eventually healed. The human body is a remarkably resilient design.

 

[DaleGribble82]

Hit my finger with a 4500 RPM Dewalt disc grinder. Happened while smoothing out the frame rails on my Jeep after I chopped two inches off to mount my bumper. Thank god I had a glove on. Thing was full blast and the wheel was hot as hell from the grinding. Instantly carterized!

 

[LeftyJason]

Surgery went well yesterday. Called a first dorsal metacarpal artery flap.

Took skin from finger to fill in thumb. Took skin graft to cover finger from the groin area. Thank goodness for pain meds.

 

[powdahound76]

Not sure how I missed this.

Heal well.

I have seen a few of these over my career.

 

[LeftyJason]

Better picture to understand the surgery. Picture found on Google.

 

[hankpac]

Wow, sorry you got hurt. Amazing how fast something like that can happen, before you even realize it.
Many years ago, (around 1958 or 9) my dad cut off all his fingers on his right hand, at the hobby shop at EdwardsAFB. He was on the X-15 project. When he got to the ER on base, two officers came down to look at him. They were surgeons, who had just completed a Fellowship in Germany on hand and micro surgery. They had just checked in and were doing their orientation tour of the hospital before doing the Aero-space Flight Surgeon rotation at Edwards. They conferred then came out and spoke to my mom. I was sitting listening, and had peeked around the corner to watch them at the bedside with my dad's hand on the Mayo Stand. They assured my mom that they could save the fingers, and went up stairs to scrub. He lft for upstairs about 15 minutes later. He kept the fingers and mostly they were functional. He finished 22 years in the military.
The science has grown, and Hand Surgeons are amazing. Good luck, and follow instructions.

 

[LeftyJason]

Finally got the splint off. Was an itchy week. Wasn't allowed to touch the wrapping at all.

 

[Slash0311]

Damn... I feel for you on that... good luck on healing and rehab...

 

[Spblademaker]

Phone call to wife immediately after incident..

Lefty: Honey, I had an accident.
Mrs. Lefty: Oh no what happened? Are you ok?
Lefty: Well I’ve go good news and bad news.
Mrs Lefty:Start with the bad news.
Lefty: Well I ripped my finger to shreds with a router.
Mrs Lefty: Christ. What’s the good news?
Lefty: It’s wasn’t your favorite finger. ?

 

[pmclaine]

I might of missed it.....

but for educational purposes what happened with the .45?

Im sure whatever you were doing many of us likely do and knowledge is power...

For learning purposes only please explain this incident or steer me towards where I can educate myself.

Hope you a speedy recovery.

 

[LeftyJason]

Phone call to wife immediately after incident..

Lefty: Honey, I had an accident.
Mrs. Lefty: Oh no what happened? Are you ok?
Lefty: Well I’ve go good news and bad news.
Mrs Lefty:Start with the bad news.
Lefty: Well I ripped my finger to shreds with a router.
Mrs Lefty: Christ. What’s the good news?
Lefty: It’s wasn’t your favorite finger. ?

It was more please don't kill me. She always tells me to come home with all my fingers and toes. Which was mostly true. None were shorter.

One time I removed a tiny bit of skin on finger with the corner of a 16" 60 grit wheel. Whenever you grind it away it's gone. Can't find where I did that now.

 

[LeftyJason]

How long will it take it to heal before your back to 100%?

By the way that looks like it hurts.

Not sure yet. See doctor on Wednesday.

Not too bad. Only on 50mg tramadol and 2 Tylenol alternating with 800mg ibuprofen. Was on 7.5mg oxy and 325mg acetaminophen (generic percocet) for first 5 days after surgery. Then I was on 5mg oxy for a couple days. No family history of opiod problems thank goodness.

 

[QuickNDirty]

Must be all thumbs at work now.... sorry couldn't resist.

Have the pad of my middle finger on the right hand missing. Was doing some wood working and ran my hand through a jointer/planer. Took the finger tip off just about to the bone. Was years ago so all healed up, but still no feeling in the very tip. Lost all the nerve endings in the tip of that finger.

Take it easy and dont let the old lady give you to much crap..

I did a similar thing with an apple slicer at ~12 years old. Ran my pinky finger right across the blade and shaved off a good chunk of it. Did what any good dumbass would do and duct taped some paper towel around it pretended like nothing happened. Damn paper towel became one with the finger. Ripping that off sucked. The scar is still numb 20 years later.

By some miracle I haven't been impaled or mangled in any serious way.

I never get out of bed without safety glasses on, though. You just never know when some bullshit is gonna try to blind you.

@LeftyJason - One less nail to keep clean =) Always a bright side.

 

[BadDogPSD]

Damn! I too feel lucky to have all my fingers. Hope you have a fast & full recovery.

 

[lightman]

Best wishes that you heal completely, Lefty!

Sorry, no pictures. Here are my last 2 mishaps! I have a nasty scar on the base of my thumb going down into my palm that I got from a broken insulator while working Hurricane Charlie in Florida. It cut through a glove and I ended up with 5 stitches.

I also have a small scar on my lip from getting smacked in the mouth from a electric drill handle. I was up on a ladder drilling 2-1/2 inch holes in 2X12 rafters with a Hole Hog drill. For those of you that are not familiar with a Hole Hog its a 2 speed offset drill that Electricians and Plumbers use to drill between studs. I hit a nail or a knot and the handle smacked me in the mouth and a tooth cut through my lip. It didn't hurt all that much but I bled like a stuck pig!

 

[LeftyJason]

Best wishes that you heal completely, Lefty!

Sorry, no pictures. Here are my last 2 mishaps! I have a nasty scar on the base of my thumb going down into my palm that I got from a broken insulator while working Hurricane Charlie in Florida. It cut through a glove and I ended up with 5 stitches.

I also have a small scar on my lip from getting smacked in the mouth from a electric drill handle. I was up on a ladder drilling 2-1/2 inch holes in 2X12 rafters with a Hole Hog drill. For those of you that are not familiar with a Hole Hog its a 2 speed offset drill that Electricians and Plumbers use to drill between studs. I hit a nail or a knot and the handle smacked me in the mouth and a tooth cut through my lip. It didn't hurt all that much but I bled like a stuck pig!

I'm pretty good 4 years later.

 

[lightman]

Yeah, you're looking good Bro! I didn't notice this thread was 4 years old!

 

[DarnYankeeUSMC]

I'm pretty good 4 years later. View attachment 8104031

Keep working with the watch and ring on and you may have another story to tell.
Even those rubber rings will do some damage.
I haven't worn either in twenty years. Damn ring almost cost me a finger.

 

[Bullfrog08]

I

I'm pretty good 4 years later. View attachment 8104031

Is the little piece on your thumb a surving nail?

 

[LeftyJason]

I

Is the little piece on your thumb a surving nail?

Went back twice trying to get it removed. Haven't gone back since covid crap started.