OUCH! Trigger Finger Takes a Vacation!

[TXGunNut]

Cut my right index finger quite badly in a workplace accident this morning, could tell right off I wasn't going to fix this one using my beloved butterfly closures. :shock: This was just hours after getting a good weather report for a scheduled range trip Sunday with my old shooting buddy.
I think I did pretty good, immediately checked out the wound and applied pressure with my thumb. Reported to the boss, as required, and he immediately regretted asking for a better look, lol.
Got to the clinic and the poor nurse was queasier than I was, had to manipulate my finger to get it into the little irrigation tray. You'd think a kid with that many tats wouldn't be that way, lol. PA who did the sutures was a sweet girl, she and her husband are shooters and I showed her my latest SAA acquisition pics on my I-phone. We talked about the Cabelas rewards for a bit while she started work. Must admit I faded out while she was putting in the Lidocaine, I wasn't aware of that much pain but she was on her toes and stopped to let me catch my breath. Noticed I was soaking wet with sweat and decided my mind was doing a good job of blocking pain. She mentioned "fight or flight" response and as a veteran of more than a few fights I reluctantly agreed. On occasion I have "shut down" after a strenuous fight. Stitches were uncomfortable, to say the least, but my new friend got me thru it. Most of the cut she was able to tape and Dermabond closed, thank goodness.
E-mailed pics to my shooting buddy before the poor little nurse made a poor attempt at bandaging. Poor kid couldn't even tear tape and I was too spent to draw my knife with my offhand, lol. Probably would have been a bad idea, lol. Nice doc sent me home, gave my employer instructions that I wasn't to return to work until Monday. I can't take most pain meds but Advil is doing nicely. I was covering for another guy this week and put off most of my admin chores, next week is going to be a bear. Oh, well.
Good news, I shoot pretty well with either hand. I have a new-to-me Uberti/Cimarron .45 Colt that is begging for a range trip with a box of BP loads. I just can't picture cleaning my new treasure using one hand so I told Graham I'd tag along and spot for him with his new rifle. He's offered to clean my revolver but I think he just wants to fondle her, may even let him shoot her. We'll see.
Movie marathon, my house, next four days! Actually have tons of work to do on my mom's estate but I can dream, right?:bigsmyl2:

[nicholst55]

I try to avoid doing that sort of thing myself, after I nearly amputated the tip of my right middle finger many years ago. Glad you're going to be okay; hope your trigger finger doesn't bother you too much in the future!

[MaryB]

I could see the knuckle moving in the cartilage on this one, 5 internal stitched to put the tendon back together then the external ones.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd248/maryalanab/IMG_20140924_1815585741_zps84e9ae9c.jpg

[sav300]

Yikes.Folks,look after youselves,says a guy who cut his middle in a "v" shape to the bone at the first and second joint.
Am a right hander and will be shooting left hand come saterday.All little martini`s.

[BrassMagnet]

Yikes.Folks,look after youselves,says a guy who cut his middle in a "v" shape to the bone at the first and second joint.
Am a right hander and will be shooting left hand come saterday.All little martini`s.

Was that "sipping martinis" or "shooting little martinis?"
If they are little, does it matter if you sip six packs?

I'd love having a martini to shoot!
I lost the end to one finger working as a restaurant cook at 17. I was cooking just a little faster than my ability allowed!
Just the tip. People never see it unless I point it out.

[CastingFool]

Sorry you got hurt. Getting hurt is never any fun, however getting attention from pretty nurses make up for is, a little bit anyways. First machine shop I ever worked, the boss did not like the sight of blood, so whenever I got cut, I would squeeze the heck out of it, and really make it bleed before I went to see him. He almost hated to see me coming. "what now?" he would say, and I would be delighted to show him and watch his reaction.

[TXGunNut]

Guess I won't let a few stitches ruin a range trip. We stay pretty busy shooting the breeze so if I don't shoot it will still be a pretty good trip. I can't shoot the rifles I need to shoot and I think casting and loading for my other projects can wait. There might even be a Martini involved but it's a 22 Hornet. A glass (or three) of vino was a good backup to the Advil last night, slept pretty good in spite of a long nap yesterday afternoon.

[MBTcustom]

Dang! Sorry you got hurt! It's always a showstopper, but unfortunately cannot be comletely avoided.
Take care, and don't overdo it!

[Echo]

Guess I won't let a few stitches ruin a range trip. We stay pretty busy shooting the breeze so if I don't shoot it will still be a pretty good trip. I can't shoot the rifles I need to shoot and I think casting and loading for my other projects can wait. There might even be a Martini involved but it's a 22 Hornet. A glass (or three) of vino was a good backup to the Advil last night, slept pretty good in spite of a long nap yesterday afternoon.
I call my poison a Smoteroo Hotv - Sapphire Martini On ThE Rocks, One Olive - HOld The Vermouth. Usually a double,+, but only one per day (well, maybe 2).

[popper]

Was out with the elec. chain saw cutting some pretty good sized branches, must have nicked myself on the elbow tossing them in a pile. Son drove up to drop off the kids, they thought I'd cut my arm bad. Kids wouldn't even look at it, when the wife got home they told her I'd cut my arm off. Plavics will do that to you. Seeing my blood doesn't bother me much, seeing others does. Weird psycho. Heal fast!

[TXGunNut]

Blood, mine or others', generally doesn't bother me much. Same with needles and most types of pain. I dunno, maybe just getting soft in my old age, lol. My hands still heal pretty fast so hopefully will be good as new in a few weeks, Popper.

[Plate plinker]

Bummer hope you do not get scar tissue in the finger like i did.

[dragon813gt]

Sorry to hear about your injury. I feel your pain. Got nine stitches on my thumb over Memorial Day weekend. Right down the middle of it w/ a mandolin slicer. Really deep cut that kept me out of work for two weeks. Got hit w/ 480 volts at work today thanks to a wiring harness that was frayed where we couldn't see it. Hoping I'm not really cramped up over the couple days. I'd rather cut myself then get hit w/ electricity because you know how bad the damage is immediately.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Bummer. Time to learn to shoot with the other hand...

[lightman]

Glad it was not worst. Take a few days to let it heal, and do a little of what you can.

[leeggen]

Dang sorry to hear you got hurt, sounds worst than a paper cut. I got cut one time boss took me to hospital and the gal at front desk told us I would have to wait 20 people ahead of me. Ask to see the cut so I poked my hand thru the window and let the blood run onto her desk. I was sent back immediatly. I never liked the glue to hold a cut together, seems I'm a little to active. The old friction tape used to heal cuts in a short time.
Hope all is good to go with no long term problems.
CD

[sav300]

re; little martini`s.310 cadet,32-20 and a 17ackley bee.Packing gear now.
Wound was washed and glued,taped to third finger for support.

[Yodogsandman]

Hey Tx, Sorry to hear about your finger! Guess you'll only be typing at half speed now!:bigsmyl2:

[jmort]

Good to see you are on the mend. Last gash I got on my hand was wide open. Interesting to see what's in there. Thank God for Lidocaine, amazing stuff. 14 stitches and a scar that looks like Dr. Frankenstein did the work. The industrial clinic physician for sure never had any training in plastic surgery.

[country gent]

Hope you heal quickly and completely. Dont over do it popping a stitch can cause a pulled shot out of the group. It seemed like everytime Ive had stitches for an injury I pop a couple sometime along the way ( especially if I take the pain killers) by overdoing it. Kick back use the time to think thru and plan new projects while you heal up. Work the paper and pencil getting things set up for when your ready to go again

[fouronesix]

Yep- sorry to hear! No fun. Been there, done that. At least you'll have a trigger finger to use after it heals. A table saw got my trigger finger (as in removed), but I adapted very well to using my middle finger at least for long guns. Not so much for handguns.

As has been posted, it's the scar tissue and nerve damage that may be a problem- just something to be aware of and adapt to if it happens.

[TXGunNut]

Got stitches out today, that part seems to have healed OK. Other part they taped and glued; the combo formed a cap that kept it from healing. Now it's infected and I'm back on oral antibiotics....and the last joint won't bend. Nice start for the weekend, huh?

[762 shooter]

There goes all of your hand modeling jobs.

Feel better.

762

[TXGunNut]

There goes all of your hand modeling jobs.

Feel better.

762

Thanks, kinda got me a little cranky on a Friday. Right hand still purtier than the left one but that's not saying much. My left hand is courtesy of an orthopod that pretty much sucked with sutures. Hand modeling career long gone.

[country gent]

SOme rehab and daily use may help with the range of movement. Listen to DOctors and follow instructions. It should come back with a little time. Its hard and can be disappointing at times but get stubborn and dont give up.

[TXGunNut]

Plenty stubborn and it's early in the game yet. Thanks. I know I don't heal up as quickly as I used to, that's the hard part. It IS my trigger finger, after all. :mad:

[35 shooter]

Wow Tx. i just saw this thread. Hate this happened to you and i know it has to be frustrating.
I hope you heal up quickly. For sure you don't want to tear it open again by starting back shooting too quickly if it's in a bad spot (isn't it always in a bad spot though?)
I'm hoping your back at the range soon with no further problems!!

[TXGunNut]

Thanks, Buddy. Thought I needed a shot of tequila tonight, maybe a nice single malt. Instead I had a bit of Evan Williams and ginger ale. It is the night before our nation's birthday after all. No imported spirits tonight. ;-) After a second helping :shock: that pesky last joint started to work! [smilie=w:I should be a pharmacist!

[Mytmousemalibu]

Your misfortune reminded me of one of my own little escapades I put myself in. Before I made the move to aviation, I was a BMW technician, a career full of little injuries in of it self. I had an older Bimmer on the lift for a suspension part replacement and as you might expect with an older car, fasteners tend to seize up pretty good over time. I had my nice shiny 18" long Snap-on 1/2 drive ratchet over head giving it the beans to loosen a bolt and the darnedest thing happened, it slipped off and recoiled down and I beamed myself right in the chops! Man did that hurt! Enough I felt dizzy and saw all kinds of birds for a few min, that's a tender spot to get slammed with a big hunk of forged steel! Miraculously I didn't lose any teeth but the sharp edge of the ratchet head split my upper lip right open below my left nostril. After a lengthy wait at the minor emergency care place with time to swell up. When the doc stuck me with numbing agent, my eyes went watery! I got 4 stitches for that one and thats not a fun spot whilst healing, itchy nose, smiles, frowns, etc, feels like the stitches wanted to pop. All in all it healed pretty well and the doc did a good job, I figured I was in for a scar but you can't even tell anymore. I've been hurt worse and more so less many times but that one stuck with me. I traded those kinds of injuries from automotive work for getting pricked and snagged by safety wire and the occasional sharp bit of aluminum in aviation!

[JesterGrin_1]

I thought everyone needed to get stitches at least once a year lol. Oh that's me lol. I will never forget when my local emergency room at the hospital got computers it was a sad day for me. As in I was so used to going in and then asking my name and I would just tell them the first letter of my last name. Then I would say you see that very thick folder lol. Yeppers that is me lol. :) I have no idea where I am now but I stopped counting I think around 1200 or so stitches lol. You know they add up 5 here 10 there a couple of hundred now and then lol. :)

Keep working your hand to keep it working or working the best it can.

[TXGunNut]

I will keep working it a bit, JesterGrin 1. I want to keep it limber but also don't want to stress the steri-strips. I figure they should have put in a few more stitches and skipped the tape and glue procedure but I figure that's 20-20 hindsight at this point. Then again, what do I know? My sister's a nurse with a long ER tenure and she's a bit concerned but won't say what she may or may not be thinking. I was hoping to get some stuff done around here this weekend but the mower needs a new belt and a good deck cleaning. Loading room off limits as well. Seems I'm running thru my wireless data allowance pretty fast watching Hickock45 and RC jet videos so I guess I'll go buy a nice book for the weekend.

[JesterGrin_1]

I agree I always insist on full stitches as I know I will do something wrong lol.

As for RC Jets I am so glad we slowed them down as they were getting so fast that one really could not control them well. Or to say they were going faster than the brain and fingers could control them before they would get out of line of control sight. And believe me if something that weights 30LB's or more hits something at 200+ MPH bad things can happen.

I was more into the fun fly type of planes. My favorite old design with a bit of changes to the control surfaces was the Super Hotts by Manns Planes. The Super Hots kit by Midwest was a LB or so heavier.

When I was a kid and really before decent radio control I flew U Control and my favorite planes were the Little Jumping Bean for just flying around and the Little Satan and Jr Satan combat planes. :) But that is going back to the late 60's early 70's lol.

[jcwit]

Keep at it, I took most of the first joint of my first finger on my right hand in a punch press. I still use it when shooting, little problem at all. It's been 15 years now.

Ripped, not cut off, but ripped out 2 fingers on my left hand, picked them up off the floor and they reattached them, they now work just fine other than I can't completely close my hand when holding a bunch of small items. That's been 13/14 years ago.

Pay attention to the Dr.

[Budzilla 19]

TX Gun nut, I feel for ya! Get healed up soon. Those targets are running amuck at the range! I had one explosion,(lost left eyesight in that one, put a hell of a lot of scar tissue on left arm and both legs), one trash fire that went off in my face, thank god for my glasses , various cuts and mashed fingers, you know, just a farm boy/logger/pipe fitter type injuries.Then I figured out the way to make money was to tell other people the correct way to do their work as a Quality Control/ welding inspector type person. Yep, I am the fabled one-eyed welding inspector! Weak hand shooting?( HAHAHA, I can do it.) seriously, I'm glad it wasn't any worse. Take care. Fast healing to you.

[jonp]

I remember driving myself to the emergency room after a little chainsaw accident. The nurse took a look and yelled "hey, come look at this" or something like that. I drew a crowd. It's amazing what a good doctor/surgeon can do. Re-attached two fingers and tendons and I have most of the use back but no feeling on the inside of one finger just a little difficult to form a hard grip but nothing to bother me much. I thought I would loose both but nope. Just some scars and a good story.

[jonp]

Plenty stubborn and it's early in the game yet. Thanks. I know I don't heal up as quickly as I used to, that's the hard part. It IS my trigger finger, after all. :mad:

I found the best thing to get my finger back was to buy some horse wrap and a home hot wax machine. Wrap your hand up and put it in the hot wax then let it sit for a while to loosen. After you unwrap it work it right good and don't be shy about it. Worked very well for me. I also had some physical therapy which didn't really amount to much. I redesigned the finger thing they had with some wire and cloth fishing line. Worked much better and the physical therapist was impressed enough to adopt the design. The key is to stretch the tendons and not let them tighten.

[TXGunNut]

I can't get too aggressive with flexing that last joint, steri-strips still trying to hold it closed. Just glad it seems to be working OK again. I've had some good orthopods over the years but they've all retired, glad it seems I won't be needing one. This really isn't all that bad but it's rather inconvenient and the OTJ situation is a bit tense.

[Rustyleee]

Heal well and make the most of your time off. :-)

[MaryB]

Friend was testing his new RC jet out at the small runway the local airport let us use off to one side of the main runway. Long as we kept the planes out of the approaches no issues. He made a couple high speed passes that pulled out in front of a hanger door when some idiot fired up a transmitter on his frequency... $1200 worth of RC jet through the hanger door and made a heck of a dent in a Cessna sitting inside!


I agree I always insist on full stitches as I know I will do something wrong lol.

As for RC Jets I am so glad we slowed them down as they were getting so fast that one really could not control them well. Or to say they were going faster than the brain and fingers could control them before they would get out of line of control sight. And believe me if something that weights 30LB's or more hits something at 200+ MPH bad things can happen.

I was more into the fun fly type of planes. My favorite old design with a bit of changes to the control surfaces was the Super Hotts by Manns Planes. The Super Hots kit by Midwest was a LB or so heavier.

When I was a kid and really before decent radio control I flew U Control and my favorite planes were the Little Jumping Bean for just flying around and the Little Satan and Jr Satan combat planes. :) But that is going back to the late 60's early 70's lol.

[MaryB]

This is what the doc gave me to keep the tendon in place until it healed

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd248/maryalanab/IMG_20140930_2448133771_zps6ba04367.jpg

he said without it my finger would be curled under. I can almost straighten it now but scar tissue stops it from perfectly straight.

[TXGunNut]

I'm just glad I didn't need tendon repair, Mary. Bones & joints a bit compressed, shall we say, but I talked them out of X-rays. Had one orthopod awhile back who was something of a pioneer in some of the tendon repair procedures. Seems I have a bit of nerve damage but I'm still pretty hopeful they'll come back.
Went in for a check today, I swear I have ground venison in the freezer healing up faster than this thing! PA pulled the strips off in the wrong direction (I tried to tell her!) and pulled some of it open again. I'm not sure I'll make it thru 4 more days of light duty. Growled at a couple of co-workers today and they left me alone most of the afternoon. Didn't help that the A/C in my office was out and antibiotics generally irritate the heck out of me.

[TXGunNut]

Been off Bactrin (or whatever that evil antibiotic was!) for 36 hours now and my disposition has improved markedly. On my own with wound care now, big improvement! Butterfly closures and generic Neosporin have worked quite nicely on the remaining wound but it's still draining a bit, looking much better tho.
Seems I have a bit of nerve damage, tho. Hurts where it's not supposed to and doesn't seem to be moving right but I think that will improve in time.
I found something more effective than a password on my work PC, lol. I switched the mouse buttons and no one wants to "borrow" my computer anymore! On top of that I can use eating and cooking utensils or a handgun with either hand and that bothers some folks. Just between us I can write lefty as well, just as crappy as with my right hand, lol.

[35 shooter]

Glad to hear about the improvement. A bit of nerve damage always seems to go with deep cuts. Time and usage usually heals it all up. You and Ellie Mae will be back to the range before you know it!!

[JesterGrin_1]

That is why one should only fly in a controlled area. But actually they were lucky that the plane did not hit anyone. Heck a number of years ago a person was flying a 40 sized trainer and lost it in the sun and flew it straight into himself. Needless to say he is no longer here to talk about how it happened as he passed from blunt force trauma. And that was just a slow 40 sized trainer.


I might be getting back into RC flying but on the smaller end with a weed wacker engine lol. I am looking into building an Ultra Hots for this. Oh that plane design is old but flys GREAT. I have a scratch built 60 sized Super Hots with a Saito 91.


Friend was testing his new RC jet out at the small runway the local airport let us use off to one side of the main runway. Long as we kept the planes out of the approaches no issues. He made a couple high speed passes that pulled out in front of a hanger door when some idiot fired up a transmitter on his frequency... $1200 worth of RC jet through the hanger door and made a heck of a dent in a Cessna sitting inside!

[Andy]

Well I'm sorry to hear about your injury. On the positive side you will (hopefully) never have as good a chance as this to practice shooting with your off-hand. In other words, if you don't do it now, you'll probably never try it, so get proficient with your off-hand while you have a good excuse and mark that up as one of the positive things from this to offset the negatives.

I remember being forced to shoot off-hand for a team i was on and it was very hard at first, but the learning curve was very steep in a good way. Round 1 you feel totally incompetent, round 50 you feel like you can hit a target, round 500 you feel better than the average guy with a pistol. You'll never stop thinking about how much better you are with your other hand but you will think about how much better you are with your off hand than the next guy which is motivating to some extent. Better to learn now than when you really need it.

[MaryB]

This WAS a controlled area, some newbie didn't think the keep it off unless you are on the flight line or nobody is in the air didn't apply to him...


That is why one should only fly in a controlled area. But actually they were lucky that the plane did not hit anyone. Heck a number of years ago a person was flying a 40 sized trainer and lost it in the sun and flew it straight into himself. Needless to say he is no longer here to talk about how it happened as he passed from blunt force trauma. And that was just a slow 40 sized trainer.


I might be getting back into RC flying but on the smaller end with a weed wacker engine lol. I am looking into building an Ultra Hots for this. Oh that plane design is old but flys GREAT. I have a scratch built 60 sized Super Hots with a Saito 91.