No more Summer Projects for Ric!!!!!

There was a big fight in the barn yesterday morning about 10:30. Ric's hand verses the table saw.
We think Ric's hand may have won the day. He still has all his fingers and most of the parts. No cut tendons or ligament as far as they could tell. The saw did get a bite out of two of the bones on the thumb and index finger but thanks to the angle didn't cut completely thru them. There is a large chunk of bone missing from the thumb and the bone in the index finger is a bit narrower towards the tip. There is a lot of tissue damage but that is looking pretty good considering. They loosely stitched it just to hold it all together until some of the swelling goes down and tomorrow he will see the hand specialist.
That Ric will do anything to get out of a little work. ;-}

I am so sorry - and hope everything heals well and quickly! Perhaps phtography for awhile? THat picture is wonderful - would love to see more!

Thank you yvgfjayne, That pic was taken at Ladew Gardens. He was standing across the garden from me and I thought he looked so nice. But he had the camera so I went and got it and said "stay". He does take some very nice pic, most of the ones from garden tours, vacations and family gatherings he takes.
Here he is with our youngest GS Lucas

Holly, thank goodness his hand is all there!!!! Ric, you know better than to use a table saw without the proper protection! Yes, I'm yelling at you, but not too loud until you feel better.

Holly, make him go out and at least one get these, maybe one and a spare. I wouldn't go near the table saw without them. Marshall used to work for a wonderful cabinetmaker with three fingers on one hand. He made darned sure nobody in his shop worked on a saw without them. Too late for him but that's exactly how he lost two fingers.

http://www.toolking.com/products/3155210.aspx?siteid=Jellyfish&jellyfish=55210&FORM=GWCL

http://www.milescraft.com/product/3402.html

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=30067&cat=1%2c240%2c45884&ap=1

Oh gosh, thank God it wasn't worse......here's to a speedy recovery.

Hart, I'm still trying to figure out how I did this, (don't worry, I'm not reenacting it to figure it out:-), with what I was doing I shouldn't have been that near the blade. I do use push sticks and guides. I was actually surprised, one moment I'm ripping 8' pieces of bamboo and the next I'm gaping at a bloody hand. I'm PO-ed and somewhat embarrassed at myself more than anything. Ric

I hope you heal soon. Don't you also have arthritis in your hands? I'm sure the last thing you need is more pain in your hands.

I'm so glad you do know to use push sticks. I have a lot of respect for power saws and their ability to hurt you badly.

Do you have to cut the entire length of the bamboo? Maybe a handsaw would work better if you don't. The Japanese hand saws are wonderful if and you don't have any, you should get some. They cut on the pull stroke instead of push so it's much easier to do finer cutting and they cut faster too I think. We have a dozuki and a ryoba.

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=850

Ric,

Very tough luck about your hand. Now you need to get thru the PO'd feeling while you relax and heal. That's really the hard part for a hands on guy like we know you are. They say something good always comes out of something bad. Hope you find out what your little miracle will be soon.

Thanks again for being such a welcoming host at your swap.

Bob and Teri

Ah, thats a camera strap on Ric in the photo. At a glance I thought it was lederhosen but the hat's all wrong. LOL

No Hart that's his backpack. Doesn't go anywhere without it. They had a scavenger hunt at the family picnic and it didn't take the kids long to figure out that Ric was the "go to guy" for most everything they needed. LOL
RRR, You are right trying to keep him down will be hard. He's taking a nap right now, insisted on coming outside earlier to help drag hoses around the yard. Is already talking about how he is sure in a week or two he can move those RRties one handed with a strap. I on the other hand have started to plant everything that is still sitting in the driveway waiting for those patio beds. Maybe if there is nothing to plant in those beds he will just let it go till fall. One can only hope....sigh......

Two words - Mickey Finn. LOL

LOL Grin

Oh my - you really, really need to sit back and recover!!!!!! Be good!

Here's to wishing you a speedy recovery!

Therapy= wrap the injured part around a series of ice cold 12 ounce bottles of fermented beverage Sheesh--thanks heavens it wasn't worse and hope you heal quick.

Oh My GOSH, Holly - and Ric!!! So sorry to hear about the accident, but really glad it wasn't worse.

Take care and follow Sally's advice - cold fermented beverages work wonders - LOL!!!

Healing hugs from down the road a bit, Barb

Gee wiz Ric, gives me the willies just hearing about it. Hope it isn't too bad. And, Holly made it official, you have the summer off - take it easy, at least for a while.

http://www.sawstop.com/howitworks/videos.php

Somebody posted that a while back, but the site has changed. It's an instant brake for saw blades, and one of the videos showed the inventor testing it with his hand (it works). Now they use a hot dog. Amazing! I want one.

OMG, trying to catch up on the threads and sorry to hear about your accident Ric! I hope the hand specialist gives you a positive report today and you'll be on the mend in no time :) After spending almost a week in bed I know how frustrating it can be with everything you want to accomplish! The projects will still be there when you're ready :)

I must say, I was a bit afraid to open this thread. So glad you didn't do more damage, Ric. You'll be a hurting puppy for a while I'm sure. And you have acquired another body part that will predict a change in the weather. Take care, hope you get good news from the doc today.

Yes Good news, so far. The hand specialist said that there are 2 nerves that run down either side of the finger and Ric missed both of them. Just a little bit one way or the other and he would have either cut both nerves or seriously damaged the bone. He cut between the nerves and the bone and just shaved a bit off the index bone along the side. If we are lucky the thumb bone will fill in if not the specialist said sometime it will break and then repair itself. If it doesn't get infected and the blood supply to the skin flap is good enough things should be good. We go back on Monday to have it checked and then we will know more. Until then it is wait and see.
Of course as Ladyg said, This isn't going to help his already arthritic hands any.

Oh my goodness. Just saw this thread. So glad it isn't worse. Ric, just take it easy. The projects will wait for you. Ron sends his best wishes for an uncomplicated recovery. But it certainly isn't going to help the arthritis . . .

Thank You everyone, for the well wishes. The surgeons visit was very much a relief. The damage to the index finger is rather benign, in that it was already compromised by an earlier infection. As long as I don't get an infection, again, it should heal well. The damage to the thumb, my biggest concern, will be determined by whether there is enough damage to stimulate bone replacement or wait till it breaks. Once again, Thank You all. Ric

Wait until it breaks!? Ack! I hope not. I'm glad you missed the important nerves, Ric. Are you doing okay with the pain?

Hart, I also hope it starts without the break. As far as pain, two words, GOOD DRUGS. But seriously the worst is over and if I can sleep for four hours at a time, I will get better. Ric

Oh, ouch, Ric! I'm joining the chorus of folks who are glad the damage wasn't more extensive & hoping you heal quickly!

*HUGS*

Yesterday was pretty bad for Ric. He spent most of the day sleeping in a drug induced haze. He would get up every few hours pop a pill grab a bite to eat and crawl back into bed. I really thought he had done too much the day before as he insisted on doing the grocery shopping by himself and was pretty worn out when he got home. So yesterday I was thinking good he needs some rest and maybe it will give him a bit of a warning not to do so much.
Then this morning (note his 7:16 post) I woke up to this.
I asked why are you doing that his answer "Because I can"

LOL, Holly you can't keep a good man down for long! Just happy that he was feeling up to it :) I'm sure you were probably shaking your head the same way I do with Rick. Honestly, there are days I don't know what he's thinking - with the serious problems he has with his back there are LOTS of things he shouldn't be doing but try to tell him that!

Ric, now that Holly's shared your morning adventure with us, you take it easy the rest of the day!

rcn, He is helping Josh move boats, all he has to do is drive a few miles then sit and wait then tow another boat a few miles and sit and wait. He will get a couple of boat rides out of it too. All he has to do is keep it dry and Josh has strict orders to call me if he gets too tired and I will go down and get him. I on the other hand tried my hand at mowing, probably haven't mowed in 15 years. Jamie showed up with this little mower Josh just bought they call it a push mower you can ride. That is what Ric is on in the pic.

Obstinance and man-work? Sounds like he's on the mends!
You remain in our good thoughts.

When my dad first found out about the arthritis in his spine, the doctors gave him a whole list of things he must not do ever again, including lifting things, etc. Of course, being a man, about a week later he went out and hoisted a 100 lb barrel of nails in the garage. He was flat on his back for the next two weeks. He sort of got it after a couple more instances like that.

It's really hard for active people to sit still and do nothing until they find out the hard way they're going to pay the price big time if they don't do like they're told.

Ric, you need to stop worrying Holly with these shenanegans. You may feel like you just have to do this that or the other, but is it worth worrying Holly to flinders? No, of course it isn't.

Hart, thought of you yesterday when hubby and I went to Weber's Nursery in Winchester. You were the first one who alerted me to this hugh and fantastic nursery. It was a bit of a ride for us, however, it was worth it as everything was 50% off. A sign on the retail premises indicated that they will be moving everything from their Retail Store to their farm area on August 1st.

P.S. Hope your mom is doing better. Snug, :o)

Ouch! I hope you're healing up, Ric.

Snug, I'm so glad you got to the sale. Please post about your finds in the Webers sale thread! I saw the signs. I figured something was up because they were obviously getting ready to expand at the farm. Makes sense - they have a lot more space there than at the store.

Holly and Rick, What terrible news. So happy it wasn't much worse. It certainly seems unlikely that you'll be able to keep Rick inactive. Maybe you should redirect some of this year's home gardening budget and set off somewhere for a fun relaxing trip. Isn't he nuts about New Orleans? A week or two of good food and music with no work should start him mending!!!

I think we need to make Stormy Ric's rehab director. LOL

Stormyla, What a good idea, but we already have the vacationing budget blown on a Caribbean Trip in Nov. not to mention 4 weeks in Sept and Oct to the beach. I guess I will just have to find another way to entertain him. LOL We had a great time this weekend with a few parties. He opted for a festive beverage at one of them and pain meds and a nap for the other.
We saw the specialists, things are looking pretty good. So far no infection and most of it looks like it is healing well. They didn't take more x-rays yet so we don't know if the bone has started to regrow yet. There is a spot that is pretty rough towards the tip of the finger they are not sure if it will require surgery yet. We go back on Friday to have that checked. It is a wait and see either it will heal or die off, then depending on the depth it might need a skin graft or something more.

This message was edited Jul 7, 2009 9:57 AM

Sounds like he's doing pretty well considering. I hope he continues to heal so well and doesn't need the surgery.

No infection is GREAT news, Holly & Ric!!! So glad the progress is good - I keep thinking how much worse it could have been (shudder)...

And may I say that a November trip to the Caribbean, and beach trips in September & October sound like excellent medicine to me!!! LOL!

I will continue to send good thoughts up your way - hang in there.............Barb

Thanks for the well wishes. I saw the surgeon this morning, he was impressed with the condition of my hand. There appears to be some dead tissue on the inside tip of the index finger back to the first joint. The good part is it remains dry and uninfected, which he says can work like a scab and actually protect the healing below. As long as the tissue remains that way, with no break down, we will leave it alone. They removed all the stiches and debrided the thumb which also looks good. He also said I did enough damage to the bone to stimulate regrowth there but it will take 5-6 weeks for that to show well. Ric

Glad you had good news.

Ric, Let's hope all continues to go well.