Scattered Thoughts . . .

I t has been about two and a half months since my table saw accident that resulted in a bit of an amputation of my thumb including part of the bone so it is probably time for an update.  I know that most people think that no news is good news so are also assuming this injury is probably long behind me at this point since I haven't mentioned anything in about two months, but...   it is not behind me.  My thumb is indeed healing well but it is not behind me just yet. It is still quite sensitive to the touch.  Trying to trim my nail is still very painful.  It's not that my nail is overly sensitive...  it is that area where the flesh meets the nail is still very sensitive and painful.   I'm still dropping things.  I'm still slamming it into things which, naturally, results in even more pain.  And, I'm still having great difficulty picking small things up with that hand.  I think I have difficulty picking things up because the ...

I 'm starting to do things around the house again.  Well...  still no woodworking but I'm doing more household chores. My thumb seems to be healing nicely and the pain has subsided a bit more.   What is interesting is that the thumb is healing in an upward direction, rebuilding what I had cut off.  That is really good news. It still hurts a bit especially if I use it or hit it against something (which happens a few times each day).  I've even started some physical therapy exercises very lightly to get it moving again and to build up some strength.  Typing is still a little difficult but I'm able to type far more quickly than a week ago. Writing has been difficult since I do that with my left hand.   Writing with my right hand has improved but I'm now able to hold a pen/pencil in an odd way with my left hand so I can write fairly well.  E ating has been difficult since I usually hold my fork with my left hand.  I'm still just as bad ...

A bout a week ago, I really screwed up. For over six decades, I've been almost religiously and ridiculously protecting my hands and fingers at all cost because I am a classical pianist.  No matter what activity I was doing over all these six decades, protecting my hands and fingers was always foremost in my thoughts. For at least five decades, I've been a carpenter too so I've always been extra cautious around all tools especially power tools.  I've built homes and everything associated with homes and only suffered relatively minor injuries.   The worst injury to my hands (until last week) was a drywall injury.  I was cutting drywall in freezing temperatures...  work gloves on my hands...  and accidentally severed the top of my left thumb with the utility knife...  my gloved hand had my thumb placed on the steel straight edge, unfortunately, slightly over the straight edge and in the path of the cut..  I only cut part of the nail and some fle...

This morning was my turn for the hospital.   Yesterday, I had disassembled our icemaker because it was frosted-over and no longer making any ice. I defrosted all the ice/frost... and started assembling everything again... as I was pushing the icemaker upward with my thumb with as much force as I could muster to get it to clip back into place, my thumb suddenly popped loudly and bent completely backward just like a fingernail does at times...  That hurt a bit but the thought of my thumb bending completely backward at the top joint gave me the heebie-jeebies more than anything!   I continued assembling the icemaker... finished... turned it back on... and then took a closer look at my swollen thumb... I somehow got my thumb back into place but it was painful and a bit swollen. I figured I would let it go for now and see how it heals since it was not bruised yet nor was it looking like a balloon.  By last night, my whole hand was swollen so I knew I'd ...