Typing with one hand ( my non-dominant one ) is a real annoyance.

After picking up my wife's new car, we went to breakfast to celebrate and lo and behold the car door is slammed on my left hand. Very little pain , suprisingly..

But, looking at my hand after the door was opened and noticing that the "pinky" knuckle was 5 Cm back from where its supposed to be made me humbly request to be taken to the ER.

After 1.3 hrs in the ER waiting room, it is quite evident that the bone is broken, I am fitted with a temporary cast, referred to the "ortho on call' and sent home.. I have an appointment on tuesday to see to the fracture.. ( this was pretty surprising as I figured i'd be seen right away )

They did give me good drugs though.. ( lortab 5 , not taken yet )

But, this would be a good opportunity to see how a verified gimp can make fire, etc....

any suggestions??

matt

Avoid cats

Here is something Reasonably Related, which might be somewhat Useful sometime in your situation.

And that's that I once Stumbled Onto, many years ago, of a Way of Writing Perfectly Natural and Fine!, -but with your NON-Writing Hand!

I Forget Just How. But I Do Remember it is a Way of Holding the Fingers of such Good, Non-Writing Hand, in a Good sort of Contortion. You so Hold the Pen or Pencil, -And you can Write as Well and Naturally as with your Normal Writing Hand! It's a kind of "Naturally Compensating Positioning", which you Apply to your Non-Writing Hand. I am Right Handed. But via so, I could also Write Perfectly Well with my Left Hand!

This can be a Very Useful Bit of Information to Physical Therapists and the Like.

And perhaps, at least Further Down the Road, for People in a Spot such as your's.

BTW, I've had the Experience of my Brother's Fingers or Hand getting Pinched / Caught in the Car Door, back when we were Tots. I've certainly Kept Mindful of This Area of Life Safety ever Since! It was Not Neccessarily totally Excruciating or Anything on him, -but he was certainly Crying!

There is a Way! And it Can be Done! I once Did Stumble Upon it! [color:"black"] [/color] [email]bat69[/email]

I believe i'll do that...

Murphy seems be lurking around my house these days..

Can't wait till tuesday to see if the doc's going to set the bone, or put me under the knife. What a drag. But at least it didn't happen out in the field.

I am definately going to try to find a few self hardening fiberglass casts, like the one they put on me. Simply wet it, mold it, hold it, and it gets hard as a rock in 20 minutes. Seems like a great item to have in the kit...

Bat, i haven't seen the fiberglass casts so i don't know if this is the same thing, but you are describing fiberglass plumbing repair kits. http://www.accessabletech.com/wrapproduct.asp You might want to check it out, and the manufacturer is located in central Florida.

I know nothing about this product, but would guess that some sort of chemical reaction occurs and even possibly heat in order for the product to solidify. If I am correct, you might want to check the feasibility of useing this product on flesh or else standing next to a good sized body of water to dissipate the heat when you jump in screaming. <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Bountyhunter

I've found a few medical suppliers for it so far. a bit expensive, but would definately be worth stowing in a backpack. or in a mid to large survival kit. The stuff in pure magic as far as i'm concerned. uses very little water.

Slight warm feeling, but molds right to the affected limb or area like a glove with no muss or fuss. hardens like a rock in under half an hour, pre-padded... The stuff of dreams in the sticks.. SAM splints hurt when being molded to the limb.

sweet...

I would not apply a cast to a limb suspected to be broken unless I had Xrays to confirm a fracture. If you are splinting a limb to reduce movement and reduce pain, we usually would like something easily removable to allow easy access to examine the said limb. To remove this cast, you would need a special saw.
Furthermore, after a fracture, there is the possibilty of further swelling to the limb. Swollen limbs enclosed in a rigid cast are a sure way of getting compartment syndrome, with potential risk to the circulation and viability of the entire limb in question. That's why, we put on backslabs or half casts over an fracture in the initial period and not a full cast.

HTH

Oh, I should have been more clear about its use!! I think it would be great as a half cast ( like the one the emergengy room put on me the other day ) material that I could easily packpack around with me. With an ACE bandage its perfect for immobilizing the affected joint or limb.

Sorry , I should have explained better...

In yhe Navy they taught us to mold them(SAM or mesh splints) to the opposite limb.This gets it to the right demensions with minimal adjustments to cause discomfort.
BOATMAN