# I'm a complete IDIOT



## GaryHibbert (Dec 9, 2021)

Well like the man said * "Stupid is as stupid does"*.

I just pretty much wrecked my right hand--and of course I'm right handed.  No excuse, 'cause I know better.  I was using my skill saw to cut some pieces of 1x4 wood into 1 1/2" strips to use as shims on our freshly cut Christmas tree (the trunk was too small to lock into place in the stand), and holding the wood in my right hand while I sawed it.  Done it hundreds of times.  But this time, yep you guessed it, the wood suddenly kicked back.  It removed a lot of meat from my thumb across the palm to my little finger.  Miss Linda drove me into our local emergency and the doc put in 26 stitches to stop the bleeding.  Then an ambulance ride to the big city hospital in Red Deer to see what they could save.  Well, it turns out, the wood literally tore its way through the 2 tendons, nerves, and all the blood vessels in the first finger (next to the thumb) and through 90% of the 2 tendons in the next finger.

The surgeon--Red Deer's top Plastic Surgeon--is pretty sure she successfully repaired the damage to the tendons, but the blood vessels are another matter.  Turns out they're the size of the finest hair on the body.  How the hell do you repair something that tiny??  So only time will tell if she was successful or if that finger has to come off.  Now that's no big deal--don't really care as I can work around that.  But, for the next 2 months, I can't use the hand FOR ANYTHING.  And I'm just a couple of days away from the start of my Winter Log Haul.  

I'm going to lose at least 2 months of high dollar work.  So you can guess just how PO'd I am.  And it was my own stupidity for doing something that I knew had the potential to turn out bad.

Anyway, it took me half an hour to one finger type this with my left hand.  I'll still be reading all your posts, but........probably not posting for at least 2 months.

As a warning not to do this, I've included a pic of the hand Miss Linda took.  It's just a tad ugly so i put in as a thumbnail.  Open it or not, your choice.








Gary


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## chopsaw (Dec 9, 2021)

Damn man . It happens so fast . That looks bad dude . Rehab is gonna be key to getting the use back . 
dang man . I hate to see that . Good luck Gary . It hits home because I've seen it in person . Good luck to you bud . Man . That sucks .


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## SmokinEdge (Dec 9, 2021)

That’s a tough lick Gary. Maybe need to hire someone now. Hope it all heals up.


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## BigW. (Dec 9, 2021)

Oh my!  Glad you have your fingers.  Hope the healing happens as soon as possible.


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## TNJAKE (Dec 9, 2021)

Holy smokes bud. Looks terrible. Happened to my father in law using a drill press drilling through antler last year. His hand still ain't right. Take care of yourself Gary!


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## Bearcarver (Dec 9, 2021)

Wow Gary!!
Now Miss Linda has to take good care of you!!
That looks freaking deep too!
I got myself in the front of my left leg, above the knee, with a Commercial Hedge Trimmer, a few years back. The Leg Bone stopped the trimmer.
Hoping you heal real fast on this one, Buddy!!

Bear


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## sandyut (Dec 9, 2021)

WOA!  Geeze you sure went big on this one.  So sorry  - I hope she was able to save your finger.  Looks pretty bad.  But you will survive and that is the most important thing.  Missing work sucks for sure.  Hang in there.  we are all pulling for ya!


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## pineywoods (Dec 9, 2021)

That really sucks hopefully it will heal and you can keep the fingers. The work thing sucks as well but your health is more important. It's amazing how fast things can go wrong when using power tools and I think we are all guilty of doing things we shouldn't at one time or another using them. I hope the pain isn't terrible and I'm afraid the rehab is not going to be fun either.


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## bbqbrett (Dec 9, 2021)

Oh wow, that is terrible.  Hoping you heal up nicely and quickly.


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## uncle eddie (Dec 9, 2021)

Ugh. Don't do that again.  Good luck with the healing!


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## civilsmoker (Dec 9, 2021)

Oh man I hope things heal good for ya!  Just don't rush it just let it heal!

PS, I have a huge scar and titanium crew in my foot because of using a bar stool for a step stool......its a long story but in short I was confined to a couch/bed for 2 months because of pins poking out of my foot.... then 4 months to learn how to walk again after......I feel for ya!


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## DougE (Dec 9, 2021)

Ouch!! Damn!! Prayers for a speedy and complete recovery.


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## rileybowler (Dec 9, 2021)

Gary so to hear as well as see the picture of your hand, I will be praying for you


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## bauchjw (Dec 9, 2021)

Oh man, I’m so sorry. That’s a terrible hit over the holidays. Our families prayers for a quick recovery.


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## daspyknows (Dec 9, 2021)

Ow, ow, ow.  that hurts from looking at it.  Hope you can heal up and get some good meds to get through the next few days.


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## JLeonard (Dec 9, 2021)

Yikes dude! It looks bad and a long road ahead healing wise. But, it could have been a lot worse. Prayers of healing and comfort going your way! 
Jim


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## one eyed jack (Dec 9, 2021)

Prayers and best wishes for a full recovery Gary.


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## chilerelleno (Dec 9, 2021)

Damn Gary!
I hope you heal well and don't lose a finger.


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## 912smoker (Dec 9, 2021)

Oh man that's terrible Gary ! 
But sounds like you've got a good nurse at home. Prayers for a full and speedy recovery!


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## bigfurmn (Dec 9, 2021)

Dang man. Glad those digits are at least still attached. Hope you heal up fast.


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## OldSmoke (Dec 9, 2021)

As a major user of power tools, this kind of thing scares the heck out of me. Thanks.

I hope your healing goes smoothly and you have good support from your family and friends.


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## SecondHandSmoker (Dec 9, 2021)

That's a nasty one for sure.  Hoping for the best for you.


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## OldSmoke (Dec 9, 2021)

As a major user of power tools, this kind of thing scares the heck out of me. Thanks.

I hope your healing goes smoothly and you have good support from your family and friends.


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## Fueling Around (Dec 9, 2021)

I've seen worse.  Does that make you feel better?
Truck driving without a right hand starts with trying to climb into the cab.  Yeah, I drive trucks from spring to fall on the farm.  Is truck an auto or a stick?
.
I'm left handed.  I broke my left hand over 30 years ago.  I adjusted to eating, writing, and dressing easily as I wasn't so left side dependent on those skills.
I never adjusted to wiping with the right hand.  I have tried a number of times over the years and it isn't going to be an ambi thing

God speed on your recovery


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## Brokenhandle (Dec 9, 2021)

Best wishes for your healing Gary! Thankfully you still have your hand and fingers! Hopefully we all take heed and pay a little closer attention to our safety!  My wife has a cousin that lost both hands in a farming accident. He actually had to drive the tractor and corn picker home after losing both hands. But he also drove semi for the local elevator delivering feed. Has a hook on one hand and prosthetic on the other... coop had a semi tractor designed do he could continue to drive. I can't even imagine what that's like.

Ryan


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## jcam222 (Dec 9, 2021)

Man that’s tough! Glad it wasn’t even worse though. Hope things heal up ok for you


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## sawhorseray (Dec 9, 2021)

Ah Jesus Gary, I hate reading and seeing this. I was a union carpenter for 34 years, used a skilsaw dammed near every day. Cut the very tip off my right middle finger two years in being a dope, learned my lesson. Praying for your full and speedy recovery. It happens in the blink of an eye, I saw a couple guys cut their hand just about in half. Take care of yourself amigo! RAY


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## noboundaries (Dec 9, 2021)

WOW! Now THAT'S an oweee! Heal fast and let's all pray No nerve damage.​


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## daveomak (Dec 10, 2021)

Gary, hope you get close to 100% back...  Dave ..


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## DRKsmoking (Dec 10, 2021)

Wow Gary
That really sucks, like you and others said, You/we know better but we still do things that we know better. 
That is a real bad rip not cut. That normally happens late on a Friday afternoon when everyone is rushed to finish for the weekend.

Hope for a fast and good recovery. Good luck with the finger also

David


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## smokerjim (Dec 10, 2021)

Ouch! Hope ya have a full recovery Gary


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## crazymoon (Dec 10, 2021)

GH, Hopes for a FULL recovery on your hand !


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## texomakid (Dec 10, 2021)

Ugh!


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## kawboy (Dec 10, 2021)

Damn! That just made my neck scar hurt!


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## motocrash (Dec 10, 2021)

Damn, horrific injury. Hoping for your full recovery and Southpaw dexterity especially when wiping.


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## SmokinAl (Dec 10, 2021)

Good Lord Gary, you sure have to be in a lot of pain.
Hope you heal quick!
I blasted my leg with a 4500 PSI pressure cleaner with a zero tip many years ago. Couldn’t put stitches in it because there was no skin to stitch. Took a year & a half to heal.
Like I said I sure hope you heal quick!!!
Al


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## tallbm (Dec 10, 2021)

GaryHibbert said:


> Well like the man said * "Stupid is as stupid does"*.
> 
> I just pretty much wrecked my right hand--and of course I'm right handed.  No excuse, 'cause I know better.  I was using my skill saw to cut some pieces of 1x4 wood into 1 1/2" strips to use as shims on our freshly cut Christmas tree (the trunk was too small to lock into place in the stand), and holding the wood in my right hand while I sawed it.  Done it hundreds of times.  But this time, yep you guessed it, the wood suddenly kicked back.  It removed a lot of meat from my thumb across the palm to my little finger.  Miss Linda drove me into our local emergency and the doc put in 26 stitches to stop the bleeding.  Then an ambulance ride to the big city hospital in Red Deer to see what they could save.  Well, it turns out, the wood literally tore its way through the 2 tendons, nerves, and all the blood vessels in the first finger (next to the thumb) and through 90% of the 2 tendons in the next finger.
> 
> ...



Damn, Im sorry to hear this man.
I don't use my phone for SMF but if you did you could maybe use a voice-to-text type feature and speak out all of your words rather than type them here. This may keep you connected but still is just a work around.

I hope all of the surgery and healing goes well and as quickly as possible.  You have my thoughts and prayers for that hand of yours :)


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## xray (Dec 10, 2021)

Damn Gary that looks bad, here’s hoping for a full and speedy recovery.


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## normanaj (Dec 10, 2021)

Holy crap!

And I thought hitting my left pinky finger with a sawzall was bad.

Hoping for the best outcome Gary.


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## GaryHibbert (Dec 10, 2021)

Thanks everybody for all the kind words.  I'm slowly starting to gain some ability using my left hand.  But....I gotta admit that when it comes to using a fork, my almost 4 year old grandson is actually better at getting food from the plate into the mouth.  LOL!!!!
Gary


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## TNJAKE (Dec 10, 2021)

GaryHibbert said:


> Thanks everybody for all the kind words.  I'm slowly starting to gain some ability using my left hand.  But....I gotta admit that when it comes to using a fork, my almost 4 year old grandson is actually better at getting food from the plate into the mouth.  LOL!!!!
> Gary


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## sawhorseray (Dec 10, 2021)

Well it's nice to see you're keeping a sense of humor thru the ordeal Gary. I have to tell you, your post was a real wake-up call for me. My skilsaw is always plugged in and lays on the garage floor, I grab it without even thinking. I've gotten a bit lax and lazy, resting lumber on my shoe to cut it instead of a proper rest on a pair of horses. I've got a couple of garage projects coming up that are skilsaw intensive, I'll be paying a lot more attention to what I'm doing now, and get things done correctly without shortcuts or safety violations, I should know better. Take care and take time to let that hand heal, when you are hurt there's no rushing anything. RAY


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## zwiller (Dec 10, 2021)

Could be much worse but still feel for you.  Best of luck on the mend!!!  Props on posting the pic.    

I am a musician (REALLY like my fingers) and also woodworker and always use the girlie boy pushing tools and have no shame about it.  My fave one is the shoe.  My PM66 is 5HP American and kicked backed one time on me and hit the wall so loud it sounded like a gunshot.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2007/03/13/essential-push-sticks
This one also looks promising: https://www.lumberjocks.com/projects/410271


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## Winterrider (Dec 10, 2021)

My goodness Gary, that looks painful. I ripped my hand open with a pressure washer but that looked like a mosquito bite compared to that. Hope you have a successful recovery, and be kind to the nurse. Things like this can make some people irritable. Prayers


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## bigfurmn (Dec 10, 2021)

I also take slight issue with the title on this one. A complete idiot wouldnt still be here to tell the story!!


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## Fueling Around (Dec 10, 2021)

GaryHibbert said:


> Thanks everybody for all the kind words.  I'm slowly starting to gain some ability using my left hand.  But....I gotta admit that when it comes to using a fork, my almost 4 year old grandson is actually better at getting food from the plate into the mouth.  LOL!!!!
> Gary


I hope this doesn't offend you, but you started the thread ... ?
I found a place for you to visit


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## forktender (Dec 11, 2021)

That is a nasty gash, for sure.
Get well soon.


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## MCQSmoker (Dec 11, 2021)

GaryHibbert said:


> Well like the man said * "Stupid is as stupid does"*.
> 
> I just pretty much wrecked my right hand--and of course I'm right handed.  No excuse, 'cause I know better.  I was using my skill saw to cut some pieces of 1x4 wood into 1 1/2" strips to use as shims on our freshly cut Christmas tree (the trunk was too small to lock into place in the stand), and holding the wood in my right hand while I sawed it.  Done it hundreds of times.  But this time, yep you guessed it, the wood suddenly kicked back.  It removed a lot of meat from my thumb across the palm to my little finger.  Miss Linda drove me into our local emergency and the doc put in 26 stitches to stop the bleeding.  Then an ambulance ride to the big city hospital in Red Deer to see what they could save.  Well, it turns out, the wood literally tore its way through the 2 tendons, nerves, and all the blood vessels in the first finger (next to the thumb) and through 90% of the 2 tendons in the next finger.
> 
> ...


 Oh man , sorry to hear. That looks and sounds as painful as it gets.

Best of luck with the recovery, just listen to the doctors and do your best not to rush it back


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## tropics (Dec 11, 2021)

Gary good luck 
Richie


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## Steve H (Dec 11, 2021)

Jesus Gary, you know how to hurt yourself! I'm hoping you have no lasting damage.


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## Steve H (Dec 11, 2021)

zwiller said:


> Could be much worse but still feel for you.  Best of luck on the mend!!!  Props on posting the pic.
> 
> I am a musician (REALLY like my fingers) and also woodworker and always use the girlie boy pushing tools and have no shame about it.  My fave one is the shoe.  My PM66 is 5HP American and kicked backed one time on me and hit the wall so loud it sounded like a gunshot.
> 
> ...



I make my own push sticks. Only takes a couple minutes and a chunk of wood. But I bought the push block through Rockler.


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## BandCollector (Dec 11, 2021)

Wow Gary!

We all do dumb things with power tools and always thinking "Awe, nothing will happen".

Well,  your tragic incident has got me rethinking how I will do things from now on.  Taking the extra time to do it right and not rush into an accident.

I hope you heal quickly and there is no permanent damage. 

Take care my friend,

John


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