Finger amputation need a hand hold.

[jmh740]

My cat bit me in August when I was trying to medicate her. Ive been on antibiotics since 28.8 but it was still badly infected. On Tuesday they told me the bone was infected and the surgeon wouldnt know how much unti he opened it up. I went into surgery for it to be cleaned out (for the 4th time) on Thursday. They hand is well bandaged and it looks like they have amputated between the first and second knuckle.
It was a real sock and I'm struggling to cope with the pain. Does anyone know what the future looks like for me?

How long will it take to heal?
What will I still be able to do?
What wont I be able to do?
Any tips and hints to aid recovery?

Im having the dressing changed tomorrow and a bit nervous to see it.

Oh you poor thing, you must be devastated 😥My father had a finger amputation just above the first knuckle and it was properly healed in less than 10 weeks - sending my best wishes to you xx

@jmh740 thank you for the updates, I have been following your thread it sounds very tough and wanted to wish you all the best.

If any consolation a friend at university had several fingers mostly missing from meningitis, I didn’t notice for weeks, and everyone fancied her.

Oh gosh OP that's a really shocking tale, all that from a cat bite. I really hope you recover well and can adapt quickly.

Dave Allen the comedian also lost the top part of the same finger as you OP. He often used it in his comedy routines!

Sounds awful, I wish you a speedy recovery.

Sorry op, its a shock for you.

I was bitten by my dog when at the vets, he was manipulating her paw and it must have been painful, she snapped and caught my thumb.
The vet immediately washed my thumb and flushed it with antiseptic fluid. Although my thumb recovered without incident 6 months later the knuckle swelled up and is now permanently deformed and often painful. I assume the bone reacted to the trauma. However I consider i am lucky, could have been far worse.

Oh OP what a shock. I’m sorry you’re going through this, and from such an unexpected event. No advice, but I’ll hold your other hand for you. (Black humour also on offer if required!)
I hope you’ve got some damn good pain relief.

Meanwhile, on stories to tell the curious - when I was a kid, my dad had a friend who’d lost two whole fingers and a half to a puff adder bite. A bit out there, but I’ve always remembered it as an, ‘ah, ok then’ explanation.

Thank you for all the supportive posts, am a bit worried how many people dont notice people missing body parts 🤣

I’m sorry OP, I would definitely put in a complaint to the hospital. They should have gone through with you exactly what had been done and not packed you off home with misleading notes.

My Mum lost half a finger after getting a fungal infection from Pollyfilla, no less! She was delirious when she was admitted, and I had to sign to give permission for her to have as much removed in surgery as needed. I then panicked for 2 hours that they would take her arm off.... Luckily it was only half a finger, and as she still has her bottom knuckle, she can still grip.
Just be aware that, as you work with kids, they may sign you off for quite a while. My Mum was an infant teacher, and was off for 6 months, because of the risk of getting an infection after the sepsis. The kids all thought it was 'pretty cool' that she ended up with a stumpy finger, so maybe tell them a shark, or helping Spiderman, or something. It was less cool when it was from decorating!!

I was invited to a friend's house for the New Year period.

The cat kept following me to the toilet in the middle of the night and I accidentally kicked it one time as I was going through the door to the loo - I hadn't seen it at all and apologised to it. (Yes, I'm weird.)

Next day, I was reading in an armchair, minding my own business and the bloody thing came right up to me, jumped up and stuck its claws into the back of my hand.

It definitely held a grudge.

I'm so sorry OP, this whole ordeal must be so difficult but I think you're incredibly brave and funny about it too - wishing you strength as you get through this

Another one to say that it's amazing how few people notice stuff like this - two examples of my own, I had known my cousin's wife for over a decade, had dinner with her, gone on holiday with her, had her as a houseguest many times, been her houseguest many times, before I noticed that the fingers on her right hand were half the length of the ones on her right.

Similarly the actress in Slow Horses, Rozalind Eleazar - I was looking up when the next season was going to air and stumbled on an article where she spoke about her missing fingers. Literally had watched 6 seasons of the show with her shooting people and being a general badass, and never once noticed until I read the article.

Did you post your own thread about your this maybe 2 or 3 months ago? You were at home but then went back into hospital I think? If so, I have been thinking of you and wondering how you have been getting on

Oh wow seen photo . A shock for you. I had a colleague who got prosthetic fingers. They looked great. Might be option down the line. Or you might realise no one notices....good luck

They make you remove nail varnish, but not necessarily gel or acrylic nails, because they don't have the right stuff, and they won't flake. Which is why they need varnish removing.

😂. It’s really true though. Our bathroom fitter was missing almost all his thumb - cut it off on a saw apparently. I didn’t notice at all until about day 14 when I passed him a cup of tea! And he managed a skilled manual job with no obvious problems. It must be a real shock now but you honestly will be able to get back to full function.

This has given me another reason never to get a cat. Jesus christ.

Goodness OP, what a shock for you. Hope you get some stronger painkillers.

💯this.

I had no idea. Poor OP, what an utter ordeal, and you've been so badly treated by the hospital (and somewhat crazy replies on this thread too ... )

I've known a few people with part of a finger missing and it didn't seem to affect them at all once they were used to it. At school, we even had a teacher who had lost an arm (his right and he was right-handed) - he learned quite quickly how to write, etc with his left arm and did really well.

Once the shock and pain dissipate and you're fully recovered, I'm very confident you'll be fine and manage very well indeed.

Nothing near as traumatic as your situation but I sliced off the very tip of my finger in late May. Diagnosis was that I had only taken off the skin but I'm not sure that is true. It took weeks to heal and when I compare the same finger on the other hand I can see that the hurt finger seems to have a corner missing. (hope that makes sense)

It still hurts a bit, very sensitive, makes typing a tad difficult at times but if it's bothering me I get round that by not using that finger to type. What is likely in my opinion (not a medico!) is that the nerves haven't healed properly so are still jangling.

I'm had other nerve damage from surgeries in the past and know that I need to take lots of vitamin D to help with the nerve regrowth.

What a dreadful shock for you OP.
I knit and do some crochet and I broke my left shoulder a few years ago. I was able to crochet without really using my L hand at all to start off with. I am a "picker" when knitting i.e. I knit continental style and I hold the yarn over my left index finger but as it's kind of between the index and middle it would be easy to adjust to using middle only (occasionally I do this when I have a cut on my index finger), plus you can get knitting thimbles you run the yarn through and put them on the finger you use to hold the yarn.

I have a feeling that continental style would be easier than English style with a left hand that's just re-learning how to do things.

Also, OP: a guy from Task Rabbit came to assembly my husband’s pretty complicated rising desk he got a month ago. He had only one forearm - the other looked like it may not have formed properly due to Thalidomide perhaps.

Anyway there’s a Scots expression “haunless” which means “handless” or “not handy” - ie not good with your hands. My husband is figuratively haunless and invariably messes up flat pack stuff. This guy literally WAS haunless (well, one hand missing) and he still assembled that desk in less than an hour.

You might have to say farewell to the professional pianist career (I have all my fingers and I’m still crap at piano) but my Task Rabbiter’s situation shows it needn’t hold you back.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

You poor thing. I haven’t read the whole thread but it like 2 shorter fingers with the way it is bandaged.

My daughter (now 10) lost the tip of he her index finger when she was 13 months and it was the most traumatic thing I have ever experienced and SHE was the one who suffered the pain.

she has been teased and had endless questions at primary school, about it but most people don’t notice it now.

You probably don’t want to hear this but we had to move house because of it, every time I walked past where it happened, I felt awful, so much trauma.

Actually this week, my head teacher at school came and told me one of our children lost their finger in a door accident. 10 years later I found it really difficult not hear.

I’m not trying to be all doom no gloom but losing any part of your body is awful, so be kin to yourself.

i think adult prosthetics are very realistic, my child wouldn’t wear hers.

You poor lady, what a dreadful shock.

It's shocking the surgeon didn't see you afterwards, I've had day surgeries before and they always send someone by to talk through the findings/what they did. Its fair to make a complaint about this.

The surgeon should have clarified what he meant by the 'tip'. To me that would have been no more than the nail, but I can see the argument for if being to the first knuckle. It looks like they had to take a little more bone for 'reasons' but they absolutely should have debriefed you properly.

These are orthopaedic surgeons though, they mainly communicate by grunting.