> > Alan (who has a mangled hand due to incident with table saw).
> 
> Wow, it hurts just to read that sentence. I guess that this was a long
> time ago? Is it still fully usable? I hope so.

Ah, yes, I was cutting some sheet aluminium on a table saw without the
riving knife or guard, and the piece of metal caught and kicked back.
All my own fault, but I was in a hurry to get something done!!

All five fingers on my left hand got 'touched' - the finger print shaved
off the thumb, index finger cut off at the base of the nail, and was
taken back to the joint in surgery, middle finger cut right through the
bone just on the outside of the top joint, but still had the inside
flesh connected, ring finger cut part way through the bone, little
finger had some saw tooth marks down the side of the nail. There was no
"look what is happening", it wasn't done then it was done ...

The middle finger had two pins through it to stabilise it while the bone
grew back, the ring finger had one pin. The ring finger will not
straighten on its own now, the middle finger will only bend the last
joint slightly when making a fist. 

The piece cut off the index finger was found by the ambulance crew, and
kept in case it could be re-attached or the thumb needed a skin graft,
but in the end the skin graft wasn't required, and it was easier and
neater to take the ring finger back to the joint to get skin to wrap
around the end making a neat stub.

Luckily I am right handed, so it doesn't affect me too much, but
attempting to pick up items like electronic components or screws and
nuts off the bench with my left hand is very awkward as the index finger
doesn't have a nail and the thumb doesn't properly oppose the middle
finger because the middle finger doesn't bend enough.

The bit that always amused me was went I went back into work for a visit
while off on Accident Compensation (NZ has a wonderful compensation
system when you are an accident victim) and one of the salesman who I
always thought of as a pretty butch guy couldn't stand the side of my
hand with the pins sticking out of the end of my fingers. ;))



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