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Table Saw ate the tip of my thumb off

Melensdad

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I've had this particular saw for the past 20 years.

Been using table saws since high school.

Last week I cut the tip of my left thumb off.

Lost about 1/3 to 1/2 inch of my thumb. Basically cut my thumb through my thumbnail. So it is cut off above the base of the nail, well above the joint. So I still have the joint and movement.

Honestly it was quick and painless. Shortly after it happened I started going into shock, but I was already on my way to the hospital with my wife driving when that started to set in. Shattered the bone in the end of the thumb so they had to dig out the broken pieces in the emergency room before stitching it closed. I still have 1/2 the bone in there. The other half shattered into the remaining 'meat'. Not something you ever want to go through.

Still hurts. Pain killers help, but even with those it still hurts. Was at the hand surgeon today, no real surgery is needed. He said it was actually looking pretty good, stitches come out next Monday if everything continues to heal.

SO HOW DID IT HAPPEN?

Honestly I don't know. But I've been over-tired with the baby in the house. We don't have time to do anything. Being 59, pushing 60 and having a 4 month old baby in the house is really a challenge. Huge challenge. So take that stress, add the fact that the only time things get done is when the baby is asleep, all projects seem to be rushed. Add the lack of sleep, we are always tired. Mix in a power tool and there is a problem waiting to happen.

I will say its been somewhat traumatic mentally. A few nightmares. Some flashbacks. And this is a fairly mild power tool injury. Can't imagine what it would be like if I would have lost an entire finger instead of just a tip.

Not going to post a gross photo. This is what you get.
 

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Doc

Bottoms Up
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Ouch. Man, I bet that did smart.
From my wife watching the grand kids I sure understand a baby in the house changes things....a lot. I admire you taking on the foster parent responsibility; I do not think I could handle that. I'm relieved when the parents finally come to get the kids. Of course as they've gotten older it's gotten a bit easier but still they get on my nerves. I've often said to my wife I understand why God arranged things as he did where we normally have our kids when we are younger. No way I could keep up with them day to day at this point in my life. Thank goodness I don't have to.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
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Ouch - I still remember my Grampa hounding me to always use push sticks/blocks.

My neighbor did that a few years ago. He may have cut off a bit more than you. He initially had a hard time racking the slide on his Glock but otherwise I think he has gradually adapted to it over the years.
 

m1west

Well-known member
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I've had this particular saw for the past 20 years.

Been using table saws since high school.

Last week I cut the tip of my left thumb off.

Lost about 1/3 to 1/2 inch of my thumb. Basically cut my thumb through my thumbnail. So it is cut off above the base of the nail, well above the joint. So I still have the joint and movement.

Honestly it was quick and painless. Shortly after it happened I started going into shock, but I was already on my way to the hospital with my wife driving when that started to set in. Shattered the bone in the end of the thumb so they had to dig out the broken pieces in the emergency room before stitching it closed. I still have 1/2 the bone in there. The other half shattered into the remaining 'meat'. Not something you ever want to go through.

Still hurts. Pain killers help, but even with those it still hurts. Was at the hand surgeon today, no real surgery is needed. He said it was actually looking pretty good, stitches come out next Monday if everything continues to heal.

SO HOW DID IT HAPPEN?

Honestly I don't know. But I've been over-tired with the baby in the house. We don't have time to do anything. Being 59, pushing 60 and having a 4 month old baby in the house is really a challenge. Huge challenge. So take that stress, add the fact that the only time things get done is when the baby is asleep, all projects seem to be rushed. Add the lack of sleep, we are always tired. Mix in a power tool and there is a problem waiting to happen.

I will say its been somewhat traumatic mentally. A few nightmares. Some flashbacks. And this is a fairly mild power tool injury. Can't imagine what it would be like if I would have lost an entire finger instead of just a tip.

Not going to post a gross photo. This is what you get.

I feel for ya, no lesson like the one that hurts you. Whenever I have hurt myself like that, it always felt surreal for a few seconds where I was asking myself, did that just happen. Wish you a speedy recovery.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
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Ouch - I still remember my Grampa hounding me to always use push sticks/blocks.

My neighbor did that a few years ago. He may have cut off a bit more than you. He initially had a hard time racking the slide on his Glock but otherwise I think he has gradually adapted to it over the years.

As dumb as it was I got lucky.

If it was a 1/2 inch lower it would likely have severed tendons, a bit
more and it would have nipped at the joint. So adjusting should be easy.

The key is that I can’t keep pushing myself to the limit of exhaustion on a daily basis. There must be relaxation, sleep, etc. There must be time to have a clear head. And when engaging in anything involving machinery, tools, etc then rest and a clear mind is a must.
 

EastTexFrank

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I bet that brought a tear to your eyes. Good Lord Bob.

It happens so quickly, doesn't it? Years ago I fed the middle finger of my left hand in to a band saw. My wife drove me to the emergency and I cursed all the way, not so much because of the pain, but because I was so mad at myself for being so stupid.

I hope that the pain is short lived, that it heals good and your recovery time is short. I know that it's a horrible thing to say but you were kind of lucky that it was just the tip of the thumb. I know that right now that is no consolation but hang tough my friend.
 

Melensdad

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... My wife drove me to the emergency and I cursed all the way, not so much because of the pain, but because I was so mad at myself for being so stupid.

Exactly the same as my ride to the emergency room.

:th_lmao:
 

mla2ofus

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Yeah, Bob, overall I think you got lucky, very lucky. Did they cut the bone back a little so when it heals up it will have sufficient cushion for the bone end? I had a little injury yesterday. A friend brought a driveline over to heat up the nut retaining the yoke so the hanger brg could be replaced. We got the nut off with a little heat from the torch. I was driving the yoke off with the 2 lb hammer and my large brass punch. Second hit I totally missed the punch and hit the left hand right above the thumb and it removed about a 1/2"x3/4" patch of hide. Not really too sore but it will take a while to scab over good.
 

Melensdad

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Yeah, Bob, overall I think you got lucky, very lucky. Did they cut the bone back a little so when it heals up it will have sufficient cushion for the bone end?...

I hope so! They were digging around the end of my thumb and pulling out bits with a pair of pliers so I sure hope they got enough.
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
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Table saws have no mercy when they bite into your meat. They like it rare. Hell, they even provide their own ketchup.:hammer:

Here's hope for a successful recovery. One needs their thumbs and quite frankly, should use them more than the middle finger.:thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
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Melensdad

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:bolt:
 

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NorthernRedneck

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Dayum. That's gonna hurt in a day. My FIL did the same thing this summer on a table saw with his middle finger. He had to have a skin graph and surgery to repair it.
 

Melensdad

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So just an update ... Last of the stitches was taken out on Monday.

It's Friday and there is still a bit of drainage of the wound.

It has been about a month since this happened. I'm not taking pain pills, mostly stopped those last week, although I took 2 in the morning before that last stitch came out. None since then. That is not to say its not painful. It is uncomfortable. And if I bump it into anything I see stars. I would describe it as hyper sensitive but not generally painful.

General advice from me: leave the guards on your saws
 

Melensdad

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So this accident happened approx 35 days ago.

Today was the first day that I rode my motorcycle, just a short ride about 10 miles. Pretty amazing that just the tip of a thumb can cause such pain and inconvenience.

I have some nerve damage, the tip of my thumb is not yet healed, but the top 1/2 inch that remains tingles like little electrical shocks when I touch anything. I don't see the hand surgeon for another 2+ weeks and I'll be asking him about that when I go back. It really wasn't all that noticeable because that was masked by other pain, but now that there is essentially very little pain I am left with the tingling sensation. What little real pain I have is at the edge of the thumb nail at where it connects to the nail bed. That part is still healing. The nail looks bruised. The end of my thumb, other than being shorter and a bit more squared off, is healing pretty well as the wound is closed over so there is now visually there just scar tissue, some discoloration/bruising. That is visually.

From my perspective its very sensitive to contact, I protect my thumb from touching anything. Accidental bumps don't cause me to see stars anymore but they still hurt like hell if the impact is at the tip. I was driving yesterday and while turning the steering wheel my thumb impacted the wheel, hurt for about 2 hours. WTF!?!

Basically what I'm saying is I don't recommend anyone do this :smileywac
 

bczoom

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Do you use a finger splint at all? That should help stop the pain when you bump your thumb.
 

Melensdad

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Do you use a finger splint at all? That should help stop the pain when you bump your thumb.

No, it was not recommended, as the doctor wants me to exercise the joint as much as possible. I have somewhat limited range on the thumb movement but I have most of it. I need to keep using it to try to get as much of that movement back as I can. So he never put it in a splint or recommended it. When I flex it into a fist is actually pulls against the wound but that is what he wants me to do.
 

Melensdad

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Almost 2 months ago I did something stupid.

Paid a (hopefully) final visit to the hand surgeon and he said it’s healing well.

I have nerve damage, it will probably take 4 more months for that to heal to whatever point it is healed. He’s optimistic I won’t have too much trouble with it tingling/hyper-sensitivity after that point.

The wound is still not 100% healed over, the scar tissue along the edge of my newly shortened thumbnail is very thin and the slightest impact to that spot is, shall we say, unpleasant. It’s just going to take a couple more months for that thin layer of scar tissue to thicken up. If I don’t keep it bandaged and wrapped it feels like the end of my thumb is going to rip along the edge of my thumbnail.... of course it won’t but it feels like that.

My thumb is swollen and he suggests that may start to shrink back towards normal in another month or so.

And then there is the nail. It is raised at the cuticle. They don’t know why. There are 2 theories. Either it’s due to the swelling or a new nail is pushing up and growing out from below. Either way it’s not a big concern but it looks a bit odd.

I have retained most of my ability to move what is left if my thumb, so that’s a good thing.

So 3-4 more months of healing, but the majority of the real wound healing is over. Can’t say I recommend sticking your thumb into a saw blade. And I still don’t quite know how/why I did it. This is my left thumb. Blade was on my right side. I was pushing the wood with my right hand. What possessed me to reach across and do this I will probably never recall. I know I was exhausted and rushing to get things done. That state of mind likely is to blame.
 

mla2ofus

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Glad to hear!! In future a push stick, even a home made one, will help avoid this. I have a plastic one that has had some light encounters with my radial saw blade.
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
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One must keep in mind that table saws, like many tools, will eat whatever you place near their teeth. They have no remorse. I find it unfortunate, that inanimate objects do not themselves feel any pain.
 

EastTexFrank

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I'm glad that it's healing but it's going to be a long recovery time.

In my last post on this thread I mentioned that I ran the middle finger of my left hand in to a band saw. Like you I was tired and in a hurry and have no idea how it happened other than I got distracted. The thing that did stick in my mind, even with blood spewing everywhere, was how white and shiny the bone was. It's strange how your mind works at a time like that.
 

Melensdad

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Glad to hear!! In future a push stick, even a home made one, will help avoid this. I have a plastic one that has had some light encounters with my radial saw blade.

I use push sticks all the time. Probably was using one at the time of the accident.

But this was my left hand, and the blade was on my right side, and I reached across my body. I still don’t know why. My left hand should have never been near the blade!

I was cutting an 8” strip of particle board to make 8” squares. There was no reason for my left hand to be near that blade that I can reasonably conjure.
 
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