"Update on my broken "finger" - I just got home from surgery." Topic

Hey everybody-

So I just got home from surgery on my hand… apparently the Physicians Assistant who saw me in the E.R. was worthless, it's not my finger that's broken – it's my hand. My doctors appointment went well this morning, but since it's now 2 weeks from the time of my injury, the doctor wanted to do surgery on me as soon as possible. I skipped breakfast this morning, so "as soon as possible" meant "immediately". I went straight from the doctors office to the hospital operating room.

I'm kind of loopy at the moment from the anesthesia and Percocet, but the Toradol is supposedly keeping the swelling and pain down.. which I'm a little skeptical because it hurts *really* bad, worse than the initial break. The broken bone is in my hand (the 4th metacarpal) and apparently hasn't healed much in 2 weeks. However, it is bent at a funny angle (downwards, towards the palm of my hand), and also rotated! With the splint off, when I try to make a fist, my ring finger turns sideways and points toward my thumb.

This is of course unacceptable, so the doctor put a pin through my hand from my knuckle to my wrist. Because of the nature of the pin, it is actually sticking out of my skin and visible (although I haven't seen it yet because I'm wrapped up in bandages).

WOW. I can sure feel it though!

The doctor wants me to take two whole weeks off of work, but there is just no way I can afford that. Maybe it's time to Ebay some old miniatures or something, or hit up the bank of Mom (*argh*) for a short term loan. I don't know what I am going to do.

I'll have some peafowl and other bits back from the caster in a few weeks, putting those up for sale will probably help, given the positive response I've gotten from the pictures of the greens.

I also got a couple of updates on the shooting incident that led to my hand getting broken. It looks like the victim of the shooting is only paralyzed from the waist down, the swelling isn't as bad as they originally thought. That's still terrible, but it's good news since a few days ago they thought he would be paralyzed from the neck down.

The shooter isn't even going to trial until March, and I haven't heard any mention at all about charges being pressed against the couple who drove the shooter from bar to bar looking for the guy he shot. You would think those guys would be in deep deep serious trouble too, but if so word hasn't hit the newspaper or local rumor mill.

And that's about all I got for the moment. I think I'm going to go pass out now and sleep for 14 hours!

Hope you all have a good weekend!

-Alex in Alaska

Geez Alex, please set up a "Please help Alxbates keep his minis" Paypal account and simply post the link here on TMP; we'll help you out man! We take care of our own!

Rest up, feel better, and give the folks here a chance to show how much we all appreciate your company here on the boards.

Mark

Rest and get better.

I sure hope your hand gets fixed properly, Alex.

Take the time off and let your hand heal properly.

I hope you feel much better soon. Good luck with everything.

Dude !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope your feeling better soon, and sad to hear you are worse!

But I don't understand, you got hurt at work, in the line of duty, and you can't afford to take time off work?

Don't you guys have workers compensation? Here it would illegal to go back to work. The liability for the employee to make you work while you have a work related injury just isn't worth it.

i'm inclined to agree with Mrs P – at the very least I would expect you to be paid for time off in a works related absence!

Yuck! Sorry to hear about the hand, and hope it recovers well.

Steel pin sticking out of hand at below freezing temps? Gotta be uncomfortable, at the very least.

I broke my little finger 20 years ago and it is rotated inwards and now normally rests half way across my ring finger. I also cannot bend my thumb without pulling my forefinger to a 90 degree angle. And yet, it is not that big of a deal. It will seem like it's the end of the world for your hand when it happens, but honestly, I barely notice it these days, and it seems "normal" to me now.

What you don't want them to do is rebreak the bone in an attempt to "adjust" the rotation. The risks far outweigh the benefits. Even a 1% chance of losing the finger altogehter was enough for me to say no. Doctors want your business, and will downplay the negative side.

Is that you, Wolverine?

Get well and let the hand heal (besides, it has to be too cold to go outside)

Yeah, workers comp will reimburse me for my lost wages, but not for lost tips (about 20% of my income). And if previous experiences with workman's comp is any guide, it'll be months till I get that check.

My boss is a great person, though – I'm sure he'll front me the money till then if I ask.

I'm wrapped up in a thick layer of bandages right now, and I'm supposed to get a cast put on next Friday morning. The wire sticking out of my wrist is … uncomfortable, but cold shouldn't be an issueDespite our (STILL!!!) -40 temperatures.

Owwwwwwww!

We have been intending to order some of the primitive tents for some time, and we'll want some of the peafowl when they come out. You don't have a web store for Forge of Ice yet, right? Post something here about what you have and prices (including advance ordering of the peafowl) and I bet a lot of people'll make some orders, and we don't mind paying in advance for the peafowl.

I think following your Doctor's advice is a GOOD IDEA. You don't want to do anything that might risk more damage to your hand.

No, I don't have a web-store set up yet, I'm still just selling through email. I will post an update here (and on Frothers and TGN, a couple of Yahoo groups and maybe some RPG forums, too) when I've got the castings back.

I won't know a price for any of the new pieces till I get them back from the caster… I've got an estimate, but it isn't exact.

If you're curious about possible charges against the people who drove the shooter to the bar, call the District Attorney's office and ask the prosecutor to tell you what's going on.

He's correct about Worker's Comp. It could be months and you need to miss a certain amount of days to actually receive any payout. Not very good and really only helps with very long term situations.

Sorry about your injury. I feel for you. Perhaps' this is the man upstairs letting you know you need to get out of this line of work?

Take care, get lots of rest and get better.

That's awful Alex. So sorry to hear. Please take care and get lots of rest. We often overlook our hands but, as I've found out recently, they are more important than we think.

Please let us know how you are doing as you recover.

Dan

You get tipped by the people you throw out? Or you just like to call it so when you go through their pockets?
Good luck Alex

Alex,
You've got one good hand and a computer, start typing up your book of stories from the bar while you're off.
Once that thing gets published you'll never need to work again!

Hope the pain subsides soon and that the injury heals properly. Take care.

Should we start a list of suggested book titles?

Here is my offereing

Shaken not stirred

You're supposed to tip bouncers? Or does the whole bar share tips?

Ah, no, the bartenders give me a cut of their tips. Usually about ten percent, depending on how busy we are and how much b.s. I have to deal with (how much help I provide).

Mmmm potential book titles…

'Sticky floors and broken jaws – The view from the door'

"Sweeping up the eyeballs after closing"?

Get some pics of the stuff you sell up so that we, your fan base can support you!

Hang in there,dude.

Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts, everyone, I appreciate it very much.