Bummer John.
Sorry to hear. It isn't any fun. I had a similar incident with my primary hand. I ended up losing the tips on both. Those two fingers don't stick out far enough to get me in trouble now. A friend also jokes that I've lost my effectiveness when I try to give the "finger", it only means half as much.
Wow! Being a carpenter myself and growing up around carpenters and woodworkers our fear is that we will accidentally cut a tip off with a saw, not smash it off! I cant imagine the "throb" that you had. keep that thing clean and take care.
You are correct about the "throb". I'm usually not much of a wuss, but that took me down more than expected. I asked the doc. why it was so bad. He explained it in with this analogy. There were just enough nerves left to connect the pain with my smashed tips. The fingertip has a lot of nerve ends. It is similar to your whole back from the neck to waist.
I had to decide whether or not to keep my finger attached before the surgery began. I would have had more luck with it being cut off. There are cleaner ends to the nerves and vascular system with a cut. Smashed tissues are harder to successfully attach and live with after surgery. (Basically, the tip could be cold and useless if it does stay alive.)
Oh my. Nasty is right!! Hope this isn't your "primary" hand? Guy I know tore his biceps tendon in his primary hand. He said biggest thing he learned is to practice things with your opposite hand once in awhile, bathroom being the big one, because you just never know....
I still try to practice some things with my opposite hand because of what I learned. Simple stuff like gripping pencils, tools, and swinging a hammer. I felt like I was starting from scratch when I hurt my hand. Getting back to the thobbing pain subject, I also looked like a dork at first. Those fingers hurt a lot less when I held them above my head. So basically, I could hardly do anything well, and I was holding one hand above my head while trying.
Good luck John.
A little tidbit I also learned - maybe it will help? I was told that the joints closest to the amputation would likely lock in place. I asked what I could do to try and prevent that from happening. Their answer, do everything you can to keep your range of motion and strength in the remaining portions of those fingers. I ripped out stitches bending my fingers because the remaining skin had been stretched so tight over the bone. It wasn't fun in my situation, but it worked.
%&#*! that has got to make a person shudder. better times ahead
