3 posts tagged “pinky”
So after my bike accident, and hearing from my insurance that it's totaled (cost of repair > value of vehicle), I decided it was time to get a nice, safe, reliable car to last me a few years. After a little shopping I ended up with a 2003 Volkswagen Passat. It's a really nice car, decked out with leather and sun roof, and a 1.8 liter turbo engine. Sadly it didn't come with an iPod dock. But I got it for a great price at $12k with only 65k miles. Not bad I figured.
Now if you know me, you understand that I'm not exactly made of money. Everything "extra" I have goes into the show. So when it came time to finance I had to make a choice about the warranty. The deal on the table was 2 years/24,000 miles for an additional $72/mo, or $5k over the course of the 5 year loan. So real quick I did some math and it turns out that 24,000 miles would only last me 1-1.5 years. (I drive to work in DC weekly, a 300 mile trip, plus all those visits to Toronto at 1400 miles each. Ouch!). So paying an extra 5 grand for a 1-1.5 year warranty didn't seem like such a wise investment, especially since I'd be paying for it well after it expired, and if I wasn't expecting to put more than $5k in work into the car in the first 1-1.5 years I'd come out on top, right?
Well, I'm not saying that I wish I had gotten the warranty. I still stand by my financial judgment. But I just wish I hadn't been struck by the bad luck faerie. First the finger, then the bike, and now, well... My new car died within the first tank of gas! I had been planning on taking a pretty picture of it and blogging about how happy I was, but now I'm back in the "Wess, can I borrow your car" boat. And though only semi related, Wess' car IS a boat (97 Crown Vic)!
So yesterday it got hauled off to the dealer, and hopefully they'll make it go again without costing me an arm, leg, or pinky. I like when things go.
So here's hoping my new broken car gets fixed, and that the insurance settlement money on my bike comes in soon. So what's your ride?
PS: Lego Star Wars is still shrinkwrapped. One of these days I tell you...
I've been getting a lot of emails and IMs asking about the finger and the surgery, so I'll try to wrap it all up here. Please forgive me if this doesn't make much sense. I'm on some heavy painkillers right now, and typing is a bit painful.
Tuesday the 12th was surgery. I didn't have a ride to the doctor's office to I rode Jozette (my motorcycle). After waiting in the lobby for what felt like forever while being bombarded with the overhypeness that is fox news I was escorted to a room to change... into a backless loincloth :(. After taking some anti-nausia meds, getting an IV, and meeting with the surgeon I was escorted to the O.R.
There I had the pleasure of being burned on my arm with a scolding hot clamp by an incompetent nurse. I've received a complimentary second degree burn and a "just put some ice on it when you get home". I bandaged it up myself, one handed no less, when I got home and it's not pretty. Whatever, another scar to remind me of my mistake, I digress.
Next up I was put to sleep (but not like cats or dogs). The general anesthesia had me out like a light in no time and I've got to say it was probably the best sleep I've had in a while. When I woke up Paul Tobias (Hak5 camera guy) came to pick me up. My hand was in a huge uncomfortable cast and I was in a lot of pain. The vicodin wasn't (and still isn't) doing much for me. The rest of the day pretty much consisted of seeing friends, receiving baloons, and keeping my hand elevated. Exciting times...
Until that night when my fingers had swolen up and the cast was pinching my pinky. The pain was unbearable so I called the doctors office and had the surgeon paged. After an hour of waiting without a return call I decided to go to the ER as suggested by one of the nurses. The wait to see a doctor would be about 2 hours. I slept for about an hour for the first time all day and the swelling subsided. With an important teleconference in the morning and having had no sleep all day I decided to sleep it off and reevaluate the situation in the morning.
Morning came, the teleconference was successful, and I was still in pain. This time swolen and tingling I wen't to the doctors office. The surgeon was out of town but the nurses got his concent to remove the cast and send me to hand rehab where I would be given a new splint. It took four nurses (vdot style) to remove the cast. Instant relief. Then I was wrapped up in just about the worst bandage I've ever seen. Thankfully the hand rehab place was only 2 blocks away.
This is the part where I thank Alli for driving me around between doctors offices on her birthday so that I could feel better. Thanks Alli, you rock. The physical therapy lady was very nice and took care of my hand, cleaning the wound and molding a custom splint just to fit my pinky. She was even kind enough and knowledgable enough to actually explain to me the do's and don'ts of the splint, something that the nurses over at the plastic surgeon's office didnt.
So anyway, that's my little rant. My incoherent rambling story. I guess I could have just said "ok" whenever asked about the finger but I suppose this will do better. Now if only I could get something to help with the pain. The vicodin seems to help everything *except* my pinky. The percocet was much better.
Next adventure is Thursday, the post-op visit. Wish me luck!
PS: Yes, I will try to get Wess to mod my splint with blue LEDs. :)
D
Last night i had a little injury while filming Hak5 episode 2x02. Thankfully the crew is the best and immediately drove me to the ER. It turns out that my right pinky is not a fan of the sheet metal set piece, and as a result I've torn a tendon. After some X-rays and consulting the hand specialist I got a few stitches, some antibiotics, and percocet. I go back to see a plastic surgeon Monday and may go to the OR.
My right hand is bandaged up and is pretty much useless right now. We've still got 3 more segments to shoot for 2x02 today and then will be rushed to edit before leaving for Toronto on Wednesday. I'm still really excited about the 4 awesome segments we've got on Friday for Call for Help. I can't wait to see our Tdot friends.
Unfortunately this little accident is going to impact 2x02 but we will get it out on the 5th no matter what. So please bear with me if I seem a little loopy on camera or if the editing isn't up to 2x01 par.
Anyway the show must go on and I really dont think this will detract from the high quality content we've got for this next episode.
Cheers,
Darren
