The Finger

Chad had an old Little League injury in his left pinky finger. The finger had broken or dislocated at the middle knuckle and never healed properly. His pinky was always a little crooked.

Well flash forward 20+ years to last Wednesday night. Chad was playing basketball and jammed the aforementioned finger. No big deal. It just hurt a little. He paid it no heed - he was used to jammed fingers.

Thursday afternoon Chad notices that he is having trouble typing. He keeps hitting the wrong keys. Finally he looks down at the keyboard and discovers this:


Here's a closer shot:


That is his left pinky sticking out at a rather sickening 30 degree angle.

According to the orthopedic surgeon, a ligament snapped when he jammed his finger. And since the bone in his middle knuckle never healed properly after his Little League injury, the finger is now askew and will require surgery.

The surgeon will have to take bone and ligament out of Chad's wrist and graft them into his pinky finger. Pins will also be put in place to hold it all together. His left hand/lower arm will be immobile (with the exception of his first 2 or 3 fingers) for a month. Then he will require physical therapy and may expect to get full motion back within a year.

If the surgery does not work, they will have to fuse the finger at the middle knuckle, reducing the range of motion.

He can't play basketball for a long time.

This is devastating to a guy who eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball.

This is devastating to a woman who lives with a guy who eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball.

In other words, heaven help us!