I need a hand!

[MartyNeilan]

Late last fall, my left index finger became partially incapacitated, most likely permanently. (I put a butter knife through it while separating a pack of frozen hot dogs for the kids.) I have been able to mostly work around this with the exception of faster lines on the bass guitar and thus have largely kept this out of knowledge of the general public.

Last night, I was working with my oldest son Jacob in preparation for his black belt testing. The aim on one of his board breaking spinning back kicks was a little off and instead may have broken my right hand, particularly the area near the index finger. Having very limited use of this hand severely impacts my general usefulness, especially when neither index finger is now currently usable.

When I had a Schillaphone tuba a few years ago, I had broken my right hand. I was able to reach over and work three of the valves with my left hand and use my right hand cast to catch the fourth; my current tuba is too big to allow that and my left hand is now down a finger. My right hand may be well enough in a few days (the severity is unknown), or I may be able to at least work the first three valves using my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers, thus only loosing the 4th valve - left hand can still pull slides. Another option may be using bass trombone (I have a Benge 290 on longterm loan from a friend at church), as I only need a "claw" of sorts to grasp the slide; individual finger agility on the right hand is not necessary. That will not help when orchestra season starts up in a few weeks but will get my by at church in the mean time and still keep me playing and the chops moving.

For someone who learned to type two fingered using only my index fingers, this whole experience has been interesting as I have switched to my middle finger on the left hand and the ring finger on the right hand.

[gwwilk]

For someone who learned to type two fingered using only my index fingers, this whole experience has been interesting as I have switched to my middle finger on the left hand and the ring finger on the right hand.

You're doing mighty well for a two-fingered typist. Here's hoping you experience a rapid and full recovery.

[iiipopes]

Damn the luck. Hope you get better soon. If the worst happens, and you don't regain your full use of your hands, there are threads out there about converting a tuba, especially a rotary, to left hand action, like Dan did:
http://thevillagetinker.com/projects.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Or having a mixed valve arrangement with some on the left, some on the right, as we know well from some of the 5- and 6-valve F and CC tubas.

Even though I am in good stead right now, I have been close to a similar situation. My theory teacher in college (now deceased) was an excellent woodwind man. Being the self-sufficient type, he trimmed his own hedges. An accident with the trimmer left him short a couple of fingers. With the help of the techs in town, they rebuilt a bass clarinet with alternate linkages and modified paddles so he could continue to play in orchestra.

Hang in there. An instrument is only a collection of mechanical parts that can be tailored to the needs of the player, whatever the situation.

[MartyNeilan]

You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but can't pick your friends noses!

Shoot, dude, you can't even pick your OWN nose right now!

Hope you feel better soon!

Hey, both my pinkys still work fine!

[scottw]

[/quote]
Hey, both my pinkys still work fine![/quote]
I can tell you that you will find alternate ways to do most everything when needed. You may or not remember that I cut off 3 fingers of my left hand in '04[2 of them replanted and the index missing half] and had my right wrist fully fused a few years later. It is amazing what ways you discover! Hang in there.
Scottw

[ralphbsz]

Wow, another index finger that's busted. How did you manage to make it permanently unusable with just a butter knife? Did you tear tendons, and now they are permanently stuck? If yes, would a tenolysis operation maybe help? Or did you damage the joint?

On the broken right hand: Did you get X-rays and has an expert looked at it? Being in physical therapy 3x a week, I now get to meet lots of people with injured hands. And it seems that delaying necessary treatment only makes it worse.

A year ago, my right index finger had a nasty accident: it was partially torn off, the bones were crushed, and the soft tissue mangled. Fortunately, I found an excellent hand surgeon, and the finger itself is attached. Unfortunately, one joint had to be fused, the other is very stiff, that's unlikely to get much better. I posted X-rays on a motorcycle forum: http://www.southbayriders.com/forums/sh ... p?t=113826 For everyday stuff, including typing, the finger works well enough. There are two sports that are now out: dirt motorcycles, and pistol shooting. This bums my son, since we used to go to dirt bike riding very regularly.

I used to be a pretty good piano player, but then I didn't practice for about 30 years. The good news: Now I have an excuse for not having to be good at the piano any longer! I can still accompany my little tuba student though.

Good luck with your healing!

[MartyNeilan]

Update: the right hand still hurts, but I am gaining mobility in it, even limited mobility in the index finger. That is definitely good news. I should be able to play tuba in a couple weeks. I actually got a call about playing trombone this weekend, I can most likely grab the slide, but I may still want to hold off another week or two.
Left index finger (nearly year old injury) now hurts worse than usual, due to increased usage to grab stuff.
Haven't missed any work, a few things have just gotten more difficult.

[MartyNeilan]

Went to see specialist today and got xrays.  The doctor himself was good, just had to go through a lot to see him. Hand is not broken but sprained. Will wear a brace next 4-6 weeks but fortunately no cast. Also had him look at my other finger. He gave recommendation of a hand surgeon downtown. May pursue that when hand heals.

[MartyNeilan]

Well, I have been successfully playing the tuba since this past weekend. Flight of the Bumblebee is not an option, but with a little creativity most valve combinations are readily accessible. The hand brace leaves my thumb and last two fingers exposed, and the index and middle tied together. I can use my thumb on the first valve and my third and fourth fingers on the third and fourth valves or move them over to the second and third. I can also turn my whole forearm/hand and use my bound two fingers to work either the first valve or second valve if the passage is slow enough. Between the different options I have to work with, I can pretty much hit all fingering combinations at a reasonable speed, except 1234 takes a little more work (but how often do you play 1234 on a CC?)
Left hand (minus the index finger) still pulls the 4th slide for 2-4, 1-4, and 1-3-4 combos, and occassionally moves the 1st when necessary (but with alternate fingerings for 5th partial D that isn't too necessary)
Right now, I am glad I haven't finished the 5th valve because I wouldn't be able to use it and the thumbring and linkage would probably just get in the way and be removed.

[Tom Mason]

Hopefully, you have learned how to fix the other problem you mentioned, the dersire to hold boards while your son attempts to break with foot techniques.

Having been there, (My daughter and I are both 2nd degree black belts and certified instructors), we have learned the easy way that you can work technique with practicing accuracy with out breaking. Holding for my son (a reccomended black belt) and my wife (a blue belt) can be dangerous when they try to work on strength without having the accuracy addressed.

I hope he passed. What form does he study?

[MartyNeilan]

Hopefully, you have learned how to fix the other problem you mentioned, the dersire to hold boards while your son attempts to break with foot techniques.

Having been there, (My daughter and I are both 2nd degree black belts and certified instructors), we have learned the easy way that you can work technique with practicing accuracy with out breaking. Holding for my son (a reccomended black belt) and my wife (a blue belt) can be dangerous when they try to work on strength without having the accuracy addressed.

I hope he passed. What form does he study?

He only broke 1 out of 4 at the test (he has to break a board with each hand and foot to pass, using different techniques) so he remains a "recommended" and not "decided" black belt for the time being. He did much better on board breaking in his previous testings, but will try again soon.
My 8 yr old daughter is a blue advanced belt, and my 5 yr old enthusiastically started at the beginning of June, even though we were going to hold off until he turned six next year.
They are currently in the Choong Sil Taekwondo Federation (CTF) founded and led by Grand Master Robert H. Hardin.

I did a few years of Shorin-ryu and Isshin-ryu karate in the 70's and early 80's, but the emphasis was on self defense as much as the formal karate, since that was in urban NJ. Things like breaking out of bear hugs and choke holds was given as much emphasis as kata.

Back to topic, the hand still hurts a lot, but mobility is increasing. I have stopped wearing the brace since last Thursday, as I needed all fingers to play a dress rehearsal and then a Pops concert on Friday evening.

[MartyNeilan]

Right hand still hurts a lot when playing tuba. I think it is due to the wide spacing and long stroke of the Meinl Weston pistons. I played my son's little 12J this weekend for a Christmas brass ensemble thing, and was surprised at how my hand did NOT hurt afterwards. The valve buttons are much closer and the stroke much shorter. It was suggested grafting a similar sized valveset onto the massive BART, but I really doubt a .658 bore will work well on a 6/4 horn; with continued tweaking that horn plays very well with the MW .750/.787 pistons. I am sort of in the process of building a 3/4 Eb with a 5J valveset that I am shortening; .658 pistons should work well for a horn that size. Time, hand, and many other projects have been slowing that down.
(I honestly think the 5J/12J would play better with a valveset in the .687-.689 size.)