Six months post op
My hands are still quite functional.
I still get the occasional twinge, but for the most part, I feel- well, I’m changed. I can use my hands again.
I am back to about full efficiency on the fingertips. I have two trigger fingers, but that’s not a related issue. I hope they do eventually go away. I expect they have something to do with how much typing i do, but at least one is a finger i never use to type.
In any event, the checkup pre surgery, the doc poked my fingers with a straightened out paperclip, and asked me to tell him if he was using one point or two. I could always tell him, so he had concerns about my actual need.
Post surgery, actually a couple months down the lone, he did the same test (You have to look away while they do it) and asked “one or two”? and I said “One is on my index finger, and the end is square cut and sort of the shape of a D, the other on my middle finger has a sharp bur and is flattened. ”
he stopped and I turned to look at him. He was looking at the end of the paperclip with some measure of incredulity. “Now I understand what you felt you were missing”. It’s good to have it back. I’m trying very hard to not take it for granted.
Good GOD, what do you use for a sense of touch??
…or were you actually making a subconscious inference based on your vast knowledge of metalworking?
I can barely even feel the dent on a .22 rimfire casing where the hammer struck, and that’s big and obvious. Man.
In the Dark Ages GM had a travelling road show one summer. It was in a geodesic dome they put up and had all manner of really cool things like sonic frying pans that cooked eggs in a frying pan in one’s lap, a small scale gas turbine that generated enoug power to run an electric range and enough noise to deafen you at 175 yards. They also had a demonstration of car body design done by an artist who faired the model car by guess and feel. He stated that the human fingertip could detect protrusions of 1/20000 of an inch and was much less sensitive than the fingertips of a racoon. That show must have been in about ’55 or ’56 and inspired me to crack a book and get through Jr. High and High School. I couldn’t afford college, so I went to Boatbuilding School, then spent my working life playing most happily with rich people’s toys. I’m one of the happy few who would have done what I did for free if I couldn’t get paid to do it. Thank G-d none of my employers over the years figured that out.
With the right amount of practice it’s possible to do quite a lot; I know of at least one card player that can tell you the face of the card based on it’s weight. We have a lot of gauges that are based onbeing able to feel .0005, and it’s less difficult than you’d think.
I am very glad to hear the surgery worked.
Good for you.
Speaking of finger tips. I sliced one of mine off yesterday while replacing the fuel pump in the sploder when trying to put the fuel tank back in place. I couldn’t get one of the front bolts in its hole and while trying to move the tank “just a fraction” with a crowbar the fkn bar slipped and applied a couple tons of pressure agin the tip of my finger. Copious amounts of blood was spilled and a prodigious quantity of profanity was uttered at high volume. I could not believe how “precisely” that tank fits into it’s space with no wiggle room.
The problem with CAD is that it allows engineers put 10lb of crap in a 5lb space.
Libs: I’ve done that job a couple times. It’s no fun.