I'm Out of The Ten Finger Club....

Good morning everyone…

This is not an April Fool’s story…though I feel like a fool.

I wanted to share my story from last week regarding my accident because of the amazing work the ambulance team and doctors did. I hope they let me share some pictures when I see them again later this week to thank them.

Late last Tuesday I was putting my bike in the garage. The door is not mechanical and when I pulled down the garage via the wood panel my right index finger must have slipped and got caught in the metal hinges between the wood panels as the door came down. It happened so fast, I really cant explain it and the top third of my right index finger was severed.

I was holding my phone in my left hand using the flashlight which I thought was the safe and smart thing to do so luckily I stayed calm enough to call 911. The amazing thing about Coronado is that the police station and fire station are within a few minutes of our home. I’ve never had to call either, but within two minutes of dialing 911 a police car and the ambulance were at my home taking charge. The 911 emergency system is really amazing now that I have had to use it.

I had run into the house to get some towels and quickly locked up as the ambulance arrived. The two men from the ambulance took charge and patched up my finger to stop the bleeding. They arranged to have me taken off island to a bigger San Diego hospital and let them know a hand specialist and surgeon would be needed. I will say that the pain was otherworldly even with my adrenaline running high.

My bone and finger were crushed and were flattened so I knew it was bad from seeing it get cut off in real time I assumed they would patch up the nub of the finger and I was trying to get my head around that as I waited for the surgeon to see me. My doctor was just 30 years of age which surprised me, but he sat me down confidently, numbed up my hand, looked at the x-rays and started doing test on the nerves and blood from both sides of the finger. I really was at peace with losing it because of how it looked and the throbbing pain. If he had told me that was what he had to do, I would have just agreed. Instead he summarized that he felt he could reattach it and try to save it. He said the bone was too messed up for pins, but the scar tissue would heal around it and it had a good chance of taking. Fourty stictches later he cleaned me up and sent me home around 3 AM.

Tomorrow, I go back to see the surgeon who saved it to see what is next. So far I can feel the tip of my finger and despite the throbbing and swelling and pain, it seems to be healing.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes

PS - A friend made me laugh sending me one of the funniest scenes ever from Silicon Valley. I would rather lose a comma than a finger….