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Re: [onceahardman] Majid's thumb story...:
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majid_sabet
Jun 16, 2009, 7:02 AM
Views: 1488
Registered: Dec 13, 2002
Posts: 8390
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Better late than never so there we go
On the first week of October 2008, while working on a metal fabrication job, I momentarily lost the grip on the high speed angle cutter and partially cut my thumb off.
Once, I had showed up to the local hospital, doctors confirmed that I separated; Extensor Policies Brevis, at the top and the lower joint of my left thumb, cut several nerves , tissues and muscles in between the extensors as well as cutting the top part of my joint capsule. So, after 30 years of working with all kind of machinery and without any kind of injury, I won the jackpot and fuc*ed my hand pretty good .I left hospital that day in some bandage and marked my calendar for 10 days later to return for a sugury operation. Two weeks later I went back to the hospital for surgery and left the hospital few hours later with my hand in a big fat white cast. Three weeks later (five weeks after the accident), they remove the cast and I was given a shorter hand splint so I could exercise but everything was still felt painful. In March of 2009, I return to Yosemite and partially climbed a 5.11 crack in pain, and in April of 2009, I climbed a 5.12 face with lesser pain but still… my thumb hurt. In May of 2009, I climbed the same 5.11 crack and noticed a big different on how much more I was able to extend my thumb down.
Alright, lesson learned;
1- Industrial tools love meats so you need to pay extreme attention with extra care while working with any type of power tools especially the fast speed cutters/grinders
2- I was not wearing any kind of working leather gloves that day even due to my gloves were right next to me. Gloves would have definably reduced the injury if I knew I was hit by the cutter and the whole thing happened so fast that I did not feel a thing till blood was splashing all over my face. That’s when I knew that I had screwed up big time.
3- Knowing first aid does help even if you are in the urban environment .In my case, I was able to immediately provide first aid to myself at a place where they were no other people to assist me.
4- Positive mental attitude is the best way to fight out injuries and I was not allowing the thumb injury to take me down. Not physically and emotionally even due at first, I have to admit that I thought, I would never get my thumb’s motion back.
5- Doctors and most hospital staffs are extremely knowledgeable in USA, but overall, they are more concern about the liability issues and the corporate policy rather than taking care of their own patient. In eight months since the operation, I did not even get a call from any of them to see how the thumb was doing but I was n’t surprised. They are robot in many ways and programmed to do certain things ……blah blah blah
6- I also discovered that scar tissues get build in between extensors, micro muscles and joint. What limits the thumb movement is the massive tissue built up that acts as glue (liquid concrete as I call it) inside several layers of tissues. To break this glue (internally),massaging the thumb's skin does help but in addition to massaging the thumb, I came up with my own MS trick where I used a clear flat shipping tape and had stick it from the top of my thumb (right below the first joint) to several inches past the last lower joint. The clear tape keeps the upper thumb skin intact and with minimum skin movement and holds the skin together from top to bottom. By extending the thumb up and down, this motion slowly breaks the tissues at the lower muscles right below the skin where everything is bonded. Anyway, I this invention and it helped me to gain much better thumb movement in a much faster time.
7- Warm massage does help but early on exercise is the best.
8- Doctor also mentioned that the best way to damage any extensor is to cut in half like how I did mine. Cutting the extensor in a straight line makes it much easier to sew them by pulling both ends toward each other. This is like cutting a rope in half with a sharp knife vs. cutting a loaded rope with a set of jumars and then trying to sew the individual strings together.
Doctors also mentioned that there are few of extra tendons within each wrist. The few tendons are not in use since we transformed from a monkey to human (kind of ) and they can always use and take these extra tendon to repair damaged tendons . Basically, they cut a section of these un-used tendons and they sew it in between the two broken tendon to extend the damage tendon or replace it.
10 - Doctor mentioned that it may take a year for extensors to become 100% functional but never like day first. I am not surprise nor ever expected 100% but very happy to have the thumb back.
11- After about seven months, I got about 50% of my thumb functions back, but that is good enough to do my most daily jobs.
12- I consider myself extra lucky and I truly believe that this incident was some kind of ex unpaid Karma related so I have no complain what so ever about my injury even due my thumb still hurts.
13- Thirteen is a bad number so always think safety.
Cutting tool
Medical term
Cut area
Four weeks after surgery
Three months later
Extended motion five month after surgery
Seven months later
Left thumb
Right Thumb
Left hitchhike motion
Right hitchhike motion
edit to add photos
(This post was edited by majid_sabet on Jun 16, 2009, 6:07 PM)
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Edit Log:
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Post edited by majid_sabet
() on Jun 16, 2009, 7:04 AM
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Post edited by majid_sabet
() on Jun 16, 2009, 7:05 AM
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Post edited by majid_sabet
() on Jun 16, 2009, 7:06 AM
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Post edited by majid_sabet
() on Jun 16, 2009, 6:07 PM
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