Wake up call...Ouch

[somethingclever]

-I was recently reminded how important taking care of your hands is, particularly for woodwind musicians. I cannot seal the G hole of my whistle or play any proper notes on my chanter because of the bandage on my finger. I cut off the very tip of my finger yesterday at work.

So...i want to hear some pipers' stories about accidents which hindered or ended your ability to play temporaily. Im sure there are alot of stories out there.

-alex

[waymer]

Michael Hubbert is missing the tip of an index finger (I can't remember which) he claims it actually make it easier to play

[tommykleen]

My owie was a trifle in comparison. I detached the tendon that connects the distal phalange from the intermediate phalange on the second finger of my left hand. So you could just go doingity-doingity-doingity with the floppy end of the finger. This happened while removing the sock from my left foot. I plunged the finger into a bag of frozen peas within minutes. Once again a bag of frozen vegetables saves the day

I had to wear a splint for 8 weeks. I was able to pipe by carving away the pad area of the splint. There was some clacking in my playing during that period as I recall.

t

[magroibin]

Tendonitis!!!

Luckily for me there was a local physiotherapy clinic specializing in treatment for musicians.
Even better the doctor was a Highland piper! A few good stretching excercises put me right back on track.

[misterpatrick]

I had a close call yesterday. I take part in that extremely finger-friendly sport of rock climbing. I had two fingers deep in a little tiny hole, my other hand holding the mere suggestion of a rock, while both feet are more or less parallel with my two hands (much like frog, yes). I was so intent on leaping up towards a hold that I forgot to remove the fingers from the tiny hole.

Luckily, I managed to avoid breaking the finger lovingly referred to as "the bird" and it seems to more-or-less work for piping. It make a lovely cracking sound every once in awhile when I move it side-to-side.

OK, I'm off to ice it some more.

[qwertymarka]

I was carrying a big die block from the grinder to the bench at work and didn't notice a .020" shim standing on end, propped between two other blocks on said bench. While setting the block down, I caught the corner of the shim with the outside of my first finger. the inertia of the 40-50 lbs of steel helped the shim slice my hand off at the elbow. . .

Or at least slice the finger clean open almost all the way between the first two knuckles. At first I tried to just wrap it in a paper towel and tape it up... then I realized just how deep it was and how much it openned when I moved my finger. It was fascinating and ugly. I kinda couldn't stop looking at it. My second thought was that the forthcoming stitches were gonna wreak havoc on my enthusiastic practice regimen... It'll royally mess up my C's, so it will.

I was actually able to pick up the chanter without any trouble again in a day or so... so it turns out to not be a very dramatic story... but it is my favorite work related scar to date. All the smaller cuts have actually had more impact... essentially paper cuts from freshly ground corners, little things you don't notice until you get coolant or soap in them and then bother you for a week thereafter. And always on parts of the hand important to gripping things or covering the odd tonehole here and there.

[Joseph E. Smith]

I once had a nasty accident while trying to figure out and implementing (what I thought was a clever) way of getting a cask full of bricks from the ground to the roof of a 4 story building.... but I won't bore you with the details.

[John O'Gara]

I was coaching my son's soccer team a few years ago and putting up the net on the crossbar, which was made of square steel tubing. I wasn't using a ladder and when the net got hung up on the crossbar I just jumped up to tug it off and hung my wedding ring, and myself momentarily, on the edge of the crossbar. The ring cut into my finger to the tune of nine stitches. I had a gig that evening and just took off the bandage to play(gingerly yes, but still played.)

I knew it was only a matter of time before that ring would bite me.

[rgouette]

I nearly spilled a fresh bottle of Guinness,before a practice session but recovered quickly & went on...


phew..
man...

[daveboling]

I nearly spilled a fresh bottle of Guinness,before a practice session but recovered quickly & went on...


phew..
man...

That'll teach you to drink Mother's Milk directly from the pint glass (or tap if the barkeep's not watching) instead of bottles.

[djm]

<high-pitched voice>Well, son, let me tell you the dangers of shaving a reed on your lap. </high-pitched voice>

djm

[Marcelo Muttis]

Last week I burnt the side of my left point finger flat, so I had to play in the right position and relaxed, just to avoid contact with the damaged zone. Ooooohhooooo!!!!

[reedbiter]

..boy do I* have stories! I can't believe I can still count to 10! The worst involves an entire can of 4f black powder which happened to explode 6 inches from my right hand.

...uh Joe...that brick story...er..um...never mind...

[Scott McCallister]

Ya, well this one time, (no, not at band camp) I picked up this folder at work and it gave me this really nasty paper cut...

It kind of hurt a lot, you know?

[MikeyLikesIt]

I was building a patio last year for my roommates mom, went to the rock supplier, was unloading some very large flagstones off of their pallet, the metal restraint for the stones snapped, a 250 pound monster of a piece comes crashing down on the middle of my left thumb. Long story, well, not so short my thumb needed 12 stitches below the knuckle and I severed a nerve. At least i won't be able to feel a badly finished back D hole now.