The making of a table

[RivennHewn]

Looks like you'll be sleeping with that hand above the covers for a few weeks....

The nurse told me the were going to bundle all my fingers in the soft cast.

I told her that wasn’t going to work for me.

Hard to type on the computer with one hand, and I’ve got a large MS Project schedule to do over the weekend.

Was happy to see fingers when I woke up

 

[Jayman17]

Riv, hopefully you heal up quick and your finger works as it's supposed to.
How long is the recovery period?

Jay

 

[RivennHewn]

Thanks Jay.

It’s been 24 hours, and I’m not in any pain. Zero.

I’m actually a bit concerned. Shouldn’t I have some sensation?

Outside two fingers and palm cut area have no sensation.
Middle finger is half numb, half tingling.

Pointer finger is normal.

Hope they didn’t do nerve damage.

Looking at up to 6 weeks of PT

 

[drivesitfar]

sorry to hear about your hand. scheduled surgery or was it a recent accident/injury?

i'd stay away from OXY if I were you, but that's because i'm an Advil and ok with some pain guy.

looks like you made your garage a boat building shop.

yep i'm counting the days where this Seattle Drizzle ends and we have summer again.

cheers and hope your hand gets better soon.

 

[RivennHewn]

Drives,

Been awhile.

I have Dupuytren’s Contracture. Hereditary condition.

Pic is from my sister’s surgery.

I’m a bit opioid phobic. A little pain means your still alive.
I feel for those that have severe conditions that require such medications.

I’m really close to having two of the boats out of the garage and into service.
The wooden one be a good long while yet.

Best,

 

[Toolfool]

Can you hand me that 10mm socket?

Hang in there brother. Sometimes it ***** dealing with genetics ( ask me how I know ).

 

[RivennHewn]

Hang in there brother. Sometimes it ***** dealing with genetics ( ask me how I know ).

Almost afraid to ask

Genetics can be cruel

 

[drivesitfar]

Riv: sorry to hear you had to have surgery for yours. I have it too maybe to a lesser degree and had it checked out a few years ago while I was getting a ganglion cyst on my finger checked.

the Harvard grad Dr. said surgery was an option for both but not a cure so i pop the cyst (sort of like a zit is best I can tell you) about every week and i've been massaging the contracture every time I think of it and it hasn't gotten worse.

I hope your end result is a good working hand again.

are all the boats yours or are you doing one for a friend? looks like you are getting the hang of fiberglassing.

good luck!!

 

[RivennHewn]

$&!T

 

[drivesitfar]

Riv: BTW Bob Heines has been making long posts on here for years and he lost one of his arms when he tried to jump under a train maybe back before you were born. i'm sure it's not easy especially since you might be in pain so best of luck with this and the work you need to get done.

cheers

 

[RivennHewn]

Thanks again, Drives.

I just got a nice little package in the mail.

Might be my favorite new toy.

I bought it for my dog, but sure I’ll be using it on the boats and trucks too!

 

[Strouty]

Good like on the recovery.

You should have asked them for a picture of the inside of your hand. I had the doctors do that with one of my arm surgeries. The doctor asked me why, I said it is the only time I want to see inside my arm, besides he was there to close it up.

 

[RivennHewn]

Good like on the recovery.

You should have asked them for a picture of the inside of your hand. I had the doctors do that with one of my arm surgeries. The doctor asked me why, I said it is the only time I want to see inside my arm, besides he was there to close it up.

I asked for pics.

I think legally it’s not in their best interest to provide incriminating evidence if something goes wrong.

 

[Strouty]

I got lucky, it was kind of a rare surgery so everyone wanted the picture. I wish they had taken more.

 

[RivennHewn]

I got lucky, it was kind of a rare surgery so everyone wanted the picture. I wish they had taken more.

Post it up if it’s easily accessible.

I have a bit of a morbid interest

 

[Strouty]

If anyone freaks about it, just PM me and I can remove it.

 

[Monza Harry]

I wanted to see it and now I'm sorry I did! It does still work right? Thanx for sharing Strouty! Maybe next time you can make it a chose kind-of pop-up. Squeamish Harry [LOL]

 

[Jayman17]

Whoa, I usually check in while eating breakfast.....that was a mistake today.
Thanks strouty...I think!?

Riv, they sure carved up your sisters palm and fingers!

Jay

 

[PugetDude]

Riv, I gotta give this round to Strouty on style points.

 

[RivennHewn]

Riv, I gotta give this round to Strouty on style points.

I’m going to have to agree with you on that!

Awesome pic Strouty!

Tells us more about what was going on with this surgery.

 

[Strouty]

I had an overuse injury called chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) in both arms. It is common in motocross, they call it "arm pump", I couldn't feel any sensation with my fingers for over a year before it was diagnosed. At that point they were concerned that I may lose it forever. It was a good 18 months before I had the surgeries (three total), but it did work. So far no real negative effects and it has been about 8 years now. Your muscles essentially swell inside the fascia compartments and the fascia doesn't flex well, so it kind of cuts off the nerves. By the time they figured out what it was, I was over gripping everything I held, otherwise it would fall out of my hands. This in turn made the problem worse and it just kept compounding. My hands would feel like someone smashed them with a hammer after even the simplest of tasks. I went to many specialists, was told that I had carpal tunnel, tendonitis, that I just need to take a break, or loose weight. Nothing worked, in fact most of the things they had me do involved exercises that would exacerbate the situation. I sat at home for almost two months with my hands in my lap watching TV and going to physical/occupational therapy appointments. I had to change doctors and physical therapists over it as they just kept dismissing my issue. I pretty much lost my company over it, definitely ran my bank accounts into the ground, but I have been doing better and I don't regret the surgery one bit. I had the bottom of my left arm done first, then had to have them do the top, then they did both sides of the right arm together. It was an interesting year for sure.

The top was a much smaller slice.



Had lots of staples though!

 

[RivennHewn]

Damn.

Amazing what doctors can do, and amazing what the human body can endure and recover from.

It’s great to hear your doing better and that it was worth doing.

 

[Strouty]

Honestly, PT was 6 weeks and I was essentially back to doing things like before. Of course that was per surgery, we did break it up a bit so I had a little time to work in between. The nerves in the arms took years to feel somewhat normal, every once in a while it will still feel weird, but I can pretty much do anything that I used to do.

 

[Jayman17]

Strouty, glad to hear your problem was taken care of for the most part and you are feeling normal again. Must have been discouraging going through all the misdiagnosis

Jay

 

[Strouty]

That was definitely worse than the pain, I had a couple of doctors tell me there was nothing wrong at all. It isn’t a common problem, at least not to the extent that I had it.

Riv, I am sure you will be on the mend fairly quick, as soon as you can, keep massaging the scars, it will keep the lumps, bumps, and adhesions to a minimum. Will they be doing the other hand later?

 

[Firstram]

If anyone freaks about it, just PM me and I can remove it.

Love the alignment marks!

 

[Strouty]

When the doc did the surgeries, he tried to make the cuts identical on each arm. It was kind of funny. I could have opted for a laparoscopic procedure, but there were more risks of nerve damage doing it that way, I didn’t care about the scars. Chicks dig scars, right?

 

[Firstram]

Both arms at the same time must have been rough

 

[Strouty]

It was one at a time, when I said both sides, it was upper and lower of one arm.

 

[RivennHewn]

That pic kinda has a Da Vinci art/science vibe.

If that was my arm, that would be hanging on my shop wall.

 

[Strouty]

It would have been perfect if all of my hand was in the picture, not that I want a redo, but it would have been pretty neat.

Have any of you guys seen the Body Worlds exhibits? Those are very interesting, in some ways it reminds of the Hellraiser horror movie series.

https://bodyworlds.com/exhibitions/human/

 

[RivennHewn]

Took my kids to the Bodies exhibit years ago.

Scared them for life

My little Frankenstein-finger:

 

[Strouty]

Doesn’t look too swollen, when do you start therapy?

 

[RivennHewn]

Doesn’t look too swollen, when do you start therapy?

Stitches come out next week, then the fun of PT starts.

No swelling, still no pain to speak of.

So far I’m pretty impressed with how well it’s gone.

 

[Strouty]

One of my Dad’s buddies from the military was special forces, while on leave, the story goes he cut his thumb off with a circular saw, he didn’t want to get discharged, so he reattached it the best he could. He essentially held it together for the rest of his leave, then deployed to Vietnam and by the time they figured it out, the Doctor was amazed and let him stay. Now I have no clue how true this is, but there is a scar that goes all the way around his thumb and the guy is probably the least likely to BS anyone. The body is an amazing piece of kit.

 

[Bears Fan]

Damn! Can't believe your not having much pain, that looks sore as hell

 

[Jayman17]

Yep, I agree with BearsFan, that looks really painful.

Jay

 

[PugetDude]

My little Frankenstein-finger:

That'll buff out.

 

[harley jim]

Nice uch

Sent from my SM-A102U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[RivennHewn]

An old friend just outdid me.

But that’s usual.