This is what your hand looks like...

...after you very nearly slice off the pad of your finger while cutting watermelon which is especially stupid considering you spent 3 1/2 years working in the fruit and veg prep area of BYU's food services department while you were in college in which position one of the very first lessons they taught you was how to safely peel and cut melons without hurting yourself and thereby avoiding spilling copious amounts of blood, getting five stitches and traumatizing your 5-year-old.

I feel very stupid...and ow.

Big Sigh of Relief!

Nathan had his follow-up visit with the finger specialist this afternoon. Nathan was terribly excited to get his splint off and Kev and I were just hoping that everything had healed well. Luckily for Nathan (and us), everything seems to have healed just fine. His finger is no longer drooping. In fact, it is perfectly straight and he cannot bend it right now. The doctor says that is normal and that flexibility will come back with time. He also says that a finger that heals with less than a 10 degree bend in it is considered a success and Nathan's finger is actually nice and straight. This type of injury can recur and if that were to happen Nathan would go back into a splint for six more weeks. If it should be re-injured a third time, then the doctor would do surgery. But the doc thinks that Nathan won't have any trouble because he is so young and heals quickly. But in order to prevent problems while the finger continues to heal, Nathan will wear the splint when he sleeps and during rough play for another month. He has done a great job keeping his splint on and it seems he has reaped the benefits of that!

And as a random side note, the doctor told us mallet finger is a very common injury. He sees two or three patients a day with the same injury!

Six Weeks is a Long Time When You Are Eight

It looks like Nathan has an injury called mallet finger.  Basically, the tendon in his finger that allows the muscles to lift up the tip of his finger has slipped out of place making it impossible to lift his finger by himself.  It is an injury that is caused by forcibly bending the finger from a straightened position and is most commonly associated with sports that involve catching balls and such.  Of course, getting a finger smashed in a door is another way to forcibly bend a finger.  The doctor said that often this kind of injury will heal on its own if the finger is kept perfectly straight for 6-8 weeks.  So Nathan will be in a splint for six weeks at which point we will follow up with a hand specialist.  We’re all hoping things will heal well so that surgery won’t be required.  Nathan is a bit bummed about needing the splint for so long, but he is managing just fine.  And although it is a bit messier than usual, Nathan’s handwriting is still neater than Daniel’s.

F.H.E.

Instead of our typical Family Home Evening, last night we had a Finger Hurting Event.  Instead of a song and a prayer, we heard a bang and a yell.  Our lesson was replaced by some basic first aid.  And the activity was a trip to the instacare.  However, we did still have our refreshments.

At about 7 o’clock last night, Matthew slammed Nathan’s right ring finger in the bathroom door.  Door slamming and the subsequent finger smashing are one of those topics that are included in the “broken record lectures.”  You know the ones I mean: the topics you have broached so often with your children that they kind of just zone out due to the repetitious nature of the conversation.  Anyway, our lecture focuses on 1) not slamming doors (which never seems to sink in) and 2) no matter what the circumstances, never ever put your fingers where a door will close.  Obviously both points could use some revisiting.

The story that Nathan and Matthew give us is that Matthew didn’t know Nathan’s fingers were in the door and Nathan didn’t know that Matthew was going to close the door.  Not much of a story, but that seems to be pretty common where finger smashing events are involved.  While he could straighten out most of his finger, Nathan could not lift the portion from the first knuckle to the tip.  It just stayed bent down which is rather disconcerting considering how difficult that is to do with an uninjured finger.  Nathan was nearly hyperventilating (Kev thinks he may have been in mild shock) and Matthew was scared half to death when Nathan and Kevin got in the car to go to the doctor.  In spite of the fact that they fight like cats and dogs, Matthew really loves his brother and he was devastated to think that he had hurt him. 

Three and a half hours later, Kev and Nathan finally got home.  While there appear to be no broken bones, the doctor had some concern that surgery will be needed to repair a displaced tendon.  He said there is a certain kind of break that lets the tendon slip from where it should be so that the tip of the finger stays bent down the way Nathan’s is.  We will get everything checked out again tomorrow or Thursday at which point the swelling should have gone down enough to be able to determine whether or not Nathan needs to be seen by an orthopedic surgeon.

Moral of the story (although it is fairly self explanatory): Don’t slam doors and no matter what the circumstances, never ever put your fingers where a door will close!  Sound familiar?