Unbreakable (well...maybe lucky)

Last weekend I went with Colin and Carson to help the Scouts collect firewood as a fundraiser. I ran a chainsaw for a little while, carried a lot of wood, and really enjoyed working with my two boys.

For most of the day I worked on the splitter, a machine with a blade attached to a hydraulic press that slowly and evenly applied pressure to the logs, splitting them with minimal effort (other than lifting the logs onto the press).

I had worked the splitter off-and-on for several hours when, without warning, it BIT ME!!!

I was securing a log that had been cut unevenly while the splitter applied pressure, when the log shifted and trapped my finger between the log and the end of the machine (not the blade). I didn't realize it until the pressure built and sent off alarm signals (in the form of pain) in my head.

I was able to get my finger out quickly (the young man operating the machine alertly released the pressure when he saw what happened). I pulled off my glove, afraid of what I might see. Thankfully, it wasn't too bad: a nasty scrape, and an angry welt building under my fingernail. (The picture is five days later.)


When the pain didn't respond to ice, Melissa came and picked me up for a run to urgent care to find if I broke it (and how bad it would be). Melissa took good care of me, filling out forms for me and laughing when I signed my name left-handed.

X-rays showed a fracture -- but in the form of a dent. No floating pieces or shattered fragments -- a real sigh of relief. [Note on the x-ray that the top bone of the middle finger (on the right) is symmetrical, in contrast to the top bone of the index finger which is...dented.]



After a shot of industrial strength Motrin (but no narcotics), I teased Melissa that I was unbreakable -- all the machine could do was dent me.

In reality, I acknowledged how lucky I was. It could have been a lot worse. So no playing football on Thanksgiving or playing basketball at night for a few weeks, but that's it. I can still type and all that mundane stuff. And I've still got my finger, and it still works, and it doesn't hurt (too much). Yep, I'm lucky.