Almost lost my hand, possibly still might.

[OldHoosier62]

Thank you to whomever let out the word I was injured and apologies for taking so long to respond to the well wishes.

Gather round and learn from my mistakes.....

I was out of state doing an appraisal and pickup of several hundred firearms, knives, ammo and accessories ....and one very large 700+ pound gunsafe. This is something we do all the time and we have all the proper equipment to handle the job.

After doing the appraisal, consulting with the sellers, packing all the smalls up and getting them in the trucks it was safe moving time...from the basement up a set of stairs. HD dolly, straps, hand winch ....moved the beast to the stairs and began the trek up them and at the very top the "unbreakable" HD dolly...broke.

At that point things became a blur and happened VERY quickly. Myself and my business partner were on the bottom side of everything to make sure we did no damage to this very expensive house. The dolly broke and the safe came straight down the stairs breaking both safety straps and the guide rope, I kicked my buddy in the side to push him out of harms way and attempted to clear the impact area myself...unsuccessfully.

The safe caught my hand between it and the concrete wall and rode me down. If it weren't for a offset line of block in the foundation wall I would be dead right now as the safe would have hit the floor and flipped on top of me. Instead, it caught the offset and stopped...with my hand trapped. I had my people lever the corner off my hand and freed myself while 911 was called. I wrapped my hand as best I could from out aid kit and waited for extrication by the FD.

After I was taken out over the safe my folks finished the job with the help of a local wrecker service and we left. I refused ambulance transport because of advice of the local FD Chief and went to a larger medical center in a much bigger city about 3 hours away. I have spent a great deal of the last months in the hospital and ER.

This happened the last week of March .....my hand has multiple normal fractures, some crush fractures and a great deal of soft tissue damage......I have had 7 surgeries so far, almost lost my hand twice due to infection/circulation/clots/damage, etc...My drains were removed then put back in twice due to complications. And there is no guarantee that I still won't either lose it or have no use of it in the end. It truly sucks.

Folks, be careful. Even with jobs you've done hundreds of times. Complacency will kill you stone dead or maim you for life if you let it.

Spyderco connection.....I used my ever present and quite ancient 440V Military to cut up the initial wrap job to stem the bloodflow and hide the damage from everyone else. As always, it did its job well.

[James Y]

Sending thoughts and prayers your way for the highest and best outcome for you, sir.

Jim

[legOFwhat?]

Oh my, Prayers indeed!

[Manixguy@1994]

I’m so sorry to hear this news , I pray your recovery has a positive outcome. Dan

[benben]

So sorry to hear, hope it turns the corner and heals up, breaking hands and feet are tough, they're definitely taken for granted....until you can't use them! Praying for a great recovery, and for your mental wellbeing.

[ChrisinHove]

Holy cr*p. Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

[OldHoosier62]

So sorry to hear, hope it turns the corner and heals up, breaking hands and feet are tough, they're definitely taken for granted....until you can't use them! Praying for a great recovery, and for your mental wellbeing.

I have to agree. We take a lot for granted. I've lived a pretty "interesting" life... Lots of broken bones and stitches through the years from parachute accidents, racing cars and motorcycles, combat, rock climbing and rappelling, etc.... They all slowed me down for a short time. This is a long haul injury that I hope to get at least 50% of my usability back in the end. I'm almost 60 and darn well don't heal up like I use to.

Thank you for your good wishes Sir.

[benben]

So sorry to hear, hope it turns the corner and heals up, breaking hands and feet are tough, they're definitely taken for granted....until you can't use them! Praying for a great recovery, and for your mental wellbeing.

I have to agree. We take a lot for granted. I've lived a pretty "interesting" life... Lots of broken bones and stitches through the years from parachute accidents, racing cars and motorcycles, combat, rock climbing and rappelling, etc.... They all slowed me down for a short time. This is a long haul injury that I hope to get at least 50% of my usability back in the end. I'm almost 60 and darn well don't heal up like I use to.

Thank you for your good wishes Sir.

You’re welcome. I’m actually in a boot right now, broke my left big toe on vacation two weeks ago today, I turned 57 while on vacation, and you’re right about not healing up like when we were younger! This boot…what a PITA, but my toe is a mosquito bite compared to your injury, here’s to hoping you get well more than 50% of your use back!

[Jim Malone]

Thoughts and prayers send for a speedy recovery

[jwbnyc]

Prayers for your recovery Sir.

[Nick D. Fingerz]

Hoping for the best possible outcome.

[Cycletroll]

Prayers for a best recovery! Thanks for the reminder to pay attention.

[SG89]

Sorry you are going through this. Wishing you a speedy recovery

[Halfneck]

Prayers sent for a positive outcome.

Been going through life 1-handed since around 2000, while doable, it's definitely a 2-handed world

[wrdwrght]

I don’t pray. But I sure wish you a full recovery.

[Doc Dan]

Oh man! I am sorry to read of this OH. Prayed for you.

Another lesson: have a one hand opening knife.

[cabfrank]

I am so sorry about this terrible news. I wish you the best possible. Hang in there. I know you will.

[Bloke]

Wow, Jim! That sounds absolutely terrible and I’m very saddened to learn of this.

Hope it all works out and you make a full a recovery.

Very Best wishes, mate. You’re in my thoughts and prayers.

[max808]

Sorry for your terrible accident, that 3 hour drive to the hospital must've been excruciating. I hope and wish for your full recovery and if all else fails there's some pretty advanced prosthetics available these days.

[twinboysdad]

You must be a tough SOB to bite down on your mouthpiece for 3 hours of pain after that trauma. Hope you heal completely. Random question- was it your dominant hand?