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Update.

Recovery is going as well as I could hope. I’ve not needed a narcotic pain reliever over the past two nights. Today I’ve started weaning myself off of the beatdown I’ve been putting on my liver with Tylenol and ibuprofen. Still taking both but at greatly reduced doses. The pain is generally good. I get stabbing nerve pains occasionally but they tend not to linger.
I started daily dressing changes on Friday. That first one sucked… big time. Each has gotten easier. This morning was the first time my bandages didn’t have any wound drainage/blood. So the healing process is moving forward. My finger is still swollen. I keep it in a splint except for rebandaging.
The surgery required me to lose the distal joint. It was fairly damaged in the initial trauma. So in the end I lost my finger about midway. The remaining joint hasn’t moved since the injury. I’m sure the rehab for getting flexibility back is going to be uncomfortable to say the least.
Until then, life moves on. I spent the day making art with one hand. They’ll have to put me in the ground to get me to stop.

That's all good to hear, man!
Getting off the pain killers and NSAIDs as quickly as possible is always a good move, and movement will likely begin to return as inflammation & swelling reduce.

" I spent the day making art with one hand. They’ll have to put me in the ground to get me to stop."
Amen.

Hey all. Thought I’d give an update. So here’s my hand about 6 weeks post op. I’m healing well. I still have a few stitches that haven’t dissolved out yet. I think my surgeon will have to pull them when I see her next week. They kinda twang on nerves when touched. It’ll be nice to have them out so I can heal up the rest of the way and start desensitizing it as right now certain parts of my finger don’t like to be bumped or tapped. All in all the pain has improved greatly. Now I just feel like my fingertip, which isn’t there obviously, is being squeezed hard. If I stay busy I don’t notice it so much anymore.
Last week I was able to put my welding glove back on. That was a good feeling. I still can’t run a grinder as the constant vibration makes the nerves in my finger sing… it ain’t a pretty song. So I leave the grinding to others.
I’ve found a great prosthetic company that makes fully articulated finger tips. After my surgeon appointment next week I’ll go see them and start the process of doing battle with insurance. Cuz Murika. Hopefully it won’t cost me more than a couple grand to be made whole again. For me it’s about safety in the shop. It’ll make wearing gloves in the shop safer as I won’t have a dangling empty glove fingertip. Being able to grip tools well is also a must.
So anyway. It’s going as well as could be expected.
My recommendation to the group… don’t lose a finger.

I'm glad to hear things are going as well as could be expected to this point. You got this!

I’m just looking forward to the day when my finger doesn’t occupy 75% of my thoughts. Like I said, if I stay busy I forget about it for the most part… until I pull my welding glove off or have to slide it back on carefully… then look down and see the gloved finger not wrapping around what’s in my hand, etc. Everything I do with my hands is carefully calculated to prevent bumping it… while also trying to utilize it as part of my rehab to getting back to norm. So while the pain is good, it still occupies much of my mental space.
It takes time. I know.
I’m a bit impatient.

You'll be ok. Take that picture..............the pointer finger is just fine, but go at about a 30 degree angle - middle finger, ring finger, and pinky. That's what my cousin dealt with. He lost parts of all 3. He's back to playing guitar, doing everything he did.

I know how much worse it could have been. If my finger had been at a different angle the pipe roller would have just pulled my hand in… completely, until my buddy turned the machine off it would have just kept feeding me in right up my arm.
We’ve since build a guard around the actual rollers. It’d take an act of willful ignorance for anything similar that happened to me to happen again.

I still kinda mourn the loss of my wholeness. It’s hard to look down and fully comprehend/accept the permanency of what my hand is now.
It is what it is… but still kinda sucks.

Welcome to the club. This happened when I was 16. You'll adjust quickly, especially since it's the non dominant hand. Just be careful reaching for things, bumping the tip of that stump hurts like hell. For a few years, you'll have phantom pains and itching, but nothing severe. I have more issues with the middle finger, that got cut badly also and they had to put in a prosthetic knuckle, which never worked.

Bumping the tip of my finger sucks. Really really sucks. I’m hoping the prosthetic works out. It’ll help protect it from inadvertently bumping it when reaching for things.

Not to make light, but you will adapt. Might make holding a pen a bit difficult for a while if you are right handed.

Glad you look to be healing up infection free.