Felled By Bow

Bow Fell.  I fell.

In early May I dislocated my finger. High up in the still-snowy folds of Bow Fell, I skidded on some loose shale, and caught my hand on an outcrop of rock. My finger looked so wrong that without thinking I snapped it back into position. It went numb and white and I thought I'd killed my own finger - bungling the relocation so badly that I'd cut off blood-supply and nerves. But before I'd had the chance to go down the gangrene-sets-in-and-the-finger-drops-off-before-you-can-get-to-a-hospital path, I started getting some feeling back. Pins and needles, and then a fair deal of pain - unpleasant but far more reassuring than numbness. Away from the fell-top cold, my finger swelled up like a sausage under the grill. The knuckle was blue-tinged, but with force it would still bend. So I reasoned it wasn't broken, and chose tea shop over casualty. Probably the closest I'm likely to come to cake or death.

Six weeks later, and it's pretty clear I should have chosen casualty. The finger is healing curled, so although I can bend it, I cannot straighten it. Belated visits to doctors and hospitals ('Why didn't you come earlier?'  'I thought it was only bent because of the swelling' etc etc). General medical consensus: my finger is fucked. Angry with self.

Go to physiotherapy in last ditch attempt to sort this out. Jermaine sucks his teeth, and makes me squeeze a tennis ball. He is surprised I've not been given a splint.

The Oval-8 - best in breed

I go online and buy a selection of splints. It's a three bears game - one is way too large; one is way too small, but one is just about right. Within days I can put my finger flat on the table. But unsupported for longer than a couple of minutes, my finger slowly starts to curl inwards again. So I leave the splint on.

Until earlier this week, when I lose it. Fear of finger curl drives me to force the small splint over my fat knuckle. Not easy or comfortable, but once on, this is a game-changer. It forces the swelling to go down and the finger to be ruler-straight.  

Why am I telling you this? Because you need to know that the best splint isn't always the most comfortable one. And that if given the choice of cake or casualty, you probably shouldn't choose cake.