musicbassman Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 So, I've been doing a few gigs (remember them ?) with a soft jazz rock band over the last few months. Very nice. We were due to do 2 gigs at a restaurant (semi outdoor) just before Christmas. All fine, and any gig is a rare event at the moment. But yesterday the drummer, an excellent player and good friend who I've known for many years, sent me a picture of his arm....... not a pretty sight. Apparently he was trimming off some floorboards with a hand held circular saw and it kicked back. The saw landed on his bare arm......... my wife nearly threw up when i showed her the picture. He is having emergency surgery today as he has cut through a couple of tendons. It's quite possible he may never have proper use of his hand again, so his drumming days might well be over. Please guys, don't be like my drummer friend. I know he always had a habit of charging into things without stopping for a brief moment to plan his work out carefully. The thought of having an accident like that fills me with horror - being unable to play properly ever again is almost unthinkable. So, spare a thought for my dear drummist friend today, and please, please, look after yourselves! 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMoon Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Oh my, that's terrible! let's hope the medics can do their best for him. Life can change in a split second indeed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaytonaRik Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 (edited) That's a horrifying thought - I really hope that the medical team (who can perform wonders) manage to retain as much use of his hand as possible so that with time, patience and physio your drummer continues to be able to play. When I think of the daft things I've done on motorbikes, snowboards, and mountain bikes I'm stunned that I've never had a serious injury. It does make you wonder! Edited November 27, 2020 by DaytonaRik 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Sending positive vibes and good wishes to your drummist chum - what an awful thing to happen. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickD Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Sorry to hear that. Here's hoping for the best. My brother works in a pattern shop and over the years there has been a number of hideous accidents, usually involving mangled hands, most of which had a much better outcome than the initial carnage suggested. He himself had to have tendons reconnected after an incident the left his fingers curled uselessly into the palm of his hand. That didn't look good for a while, but after the surgery and a period of recovery (ie, doing what he was told), everything is largely back to normal, with no significant loss of function or strength. He's a climber, so finger strength is important, and he still kicks my a$$ when we climb together. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madshadows Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 That's so horrible, best of luck to your drummer pal, here's hoping the Doctors can fix his arm so that he has use of it again !! John 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 That sounds pretty awful. I'm extremely careful/scared around power tools, having seen the damage that they can inflict. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Whilst I’ve never been massively into DIY, since I went pro in the 90’s I’ve always been overly careful about damaging myself, on the basis that if I couldn’t play then me and my family couldn’t eat! Although my mates and brother often take the mick about me having ‘artist’s hands’, I’ve always got help with stuff that may be dangerous or run the risk me not working. My brother has just done his back in lifting paving slabs - he’s retired but had he been still working then he would have needed weeks off. It’s amazing when you are self employed how much it focuses you on being able to carry on working whatever happens, and the older I’ve got the more important it is. Sorry to veer OT musicbassman, really hope your friend manages to regain full use of his arm and hand, all the best. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 many years ago when a student, I had a job part of which involved installing robots in car plants and at bicycle manufacturers. It was basically using industrial power tools with no training. I'm lucky i've still got all my limbs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 A case of "this thread is better without pictures" methinks. Best wishes to your drummer and lets all be careful with our musical bits. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 12 minutes ago, Nail Soup said: A case of "this thread is better without pictures" methinks. Best wishes to your drummer and lets all be careful with our musical bits. I think much better without! A friend who works in A&E said that first lockdown they expected uplift in COVID patients, instead they saw uplift in DIY patients. Some of them arrive looking like they’ve been in a road accident apparently. Combined use of ladder and power tool appears to be an especially effective formula 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howdenspur Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Having retired earlier this year, I thought I might brush up my DIY skills having spent summer gardening - no chain saws involved! Having read this, think I'll get someone in... Best wishes to your drummer for a speedy and full recovery👍. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubbybloke68 Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 I’m a flooring contractor by trade so use knives everyday,it only takes half a second to slip but weeks even months to heal! I’ve had a few nightmares over the years.Rushing a job and not thinking through is the usual recipe ! Less haste more speed is the way indeed! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Best wishes to your drummer, sincerely hope there's no long lasting damage. I've got a circular saw and I really don't like them to be honest. I'm massively cautious using it. If it doesn't cut with just gentle pressure applied I stop. The power tool I hate the most are those large angle grinders. Used one when we built our extension, awful things. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicbassman Posted November 27, 2020 Author Share Posted November 27, 2020 An update - Steve (drummer) was sent to East Grinstead Hospital today where they apparently specialise in reconstructive and micro surgery. He had a two and a half hour operation which was apparently fairly successful. Obviously only time will tell, and there will be 3 months of heavy duty physiotherapy also to follow. And, because of it's impactive nature, playing drums will be out of bounds for even longer than this. Poor guy, he lives for his drumming. 🙁 Thanks for all your BC kindness and good wishes, and, don't forget to take care! 6 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Really sorry its aw. awful news I hope he is OK considering and wish him a speedy recovery 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Hope he recovers fully. It's routers that scare me and I have two including a very big one... One of my nephews is an ambulanceman/paramedic and his worst stories are about 'degloving' accidents. Don't wear gloves near a drill press... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky 4000 Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 ::shudder:: Best wishes to the OP's drummer for a full recovery. 🤞😬 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Best wishes for a good recovery to your drummer. 👍🏼 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeastieB Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 That's just terrible. Wishing him a successful recovery. Thank goodness for the wonderful NHS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basinski Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 There’s a guitarist I know on Facebook actually sliced through his hand with a power saw, cutting his hand in half across the palm. Just for a very split second his attention was distracted. They managed to reattach the severed part - though I think the little finger was too badly damaged. I’ve always hated power tools, I can’t even bear to watch other people use them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 Sad and horrible to read. I have a tree surgeon live next door to me who does all my tree work for me and a few years ago he made an error of judgement. He was lightly pruning a tree, holding small branches and cutting them off, at the time roped up about 30ft into the canopy. However he misjudged how heavy a branch he was cutting was and once he'd cut through it the weight pulled his arm into the chainsaw. He had already taken his pressure off the throttle so the blade was braking - it only went through skin, fat and muscle but no further - but it made a mess of his forearm and kept him off work for several weeks. Made worse, of course, by the fact that he was way up in the tree and his buddy had to try and get him down. And that is a guy who spends all day every day using a chainsaw. Luckily there was no permanent damage other than some slight nerve damage. Mrs S won't let me anywhere near power saws. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 1 minute ago, Paul S said: Sad and horrible to read. I have a tree surgeon live next door to me who does all my tree work for me and a few years ago he made an error of judgement. He was lightly pruning a tree, holding small branches and cutting them off, at the time roped up about 30ft into the canopy. However he misjudged how heavy a branch he was cutting was and once he'd cut through it the weight pulled his arm into the chainsaw. He had already taken his pressure off the throttle so the blade was braking - it only went through skin, fat and muscle but no further - but it made a mess of his forearm and kept him off work for several weeks. Made worse, of course, by the fact that he was way up in the tree and his buddy had to try and get him down. And that is a guy who spends all day every day using a chainsaw. Luckily there was no permanent damage other than some slight nerve damage. Mrs S won't let me anywhere near power saws. Wood, as every bass player knows, is a very unpredictable substance! I made the same mistake cutting down a dying tree in our garden; what seemed a small branch came down like a ton of lead and pinned me to the ground. Comical, yes, dangerous, hell yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 Funny how tree branches always look so much smaller when attached to trees. We have an ancient Lombardy Poplar in the corner of my place with lots of 'small dead branches'. One of the 'small dead bits' blew down earlier this year in a storm and it was 30ft long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 43 minutes ago, Paul S said: Funny how tree branches always look so much smaller when attached to trees. We have an ancient Lombardy Poplar in the corner of my place with lots of 'small dead branches'. One of the 'small dead bits' blew down earlier this year in a storm and it was 30ft long. Trees. Yes, deadly beauty. I’ve been crown-lifting a large silver birch. It’s always a surprise how heavy the branches are when they start coming down. I guess it’s the water inside that adds to the weight. Interestingly, I was recently talking to an acquaintance who is a hand surgeon (our kids socialise). He told me that one of the commonest non-trauma related injuries he deals with is related to dog walking. The dogs lurching and pulling on the lead causes chronic hand and wrist injuries. I must say I’ve noticed a recent trend for people to buy one (or more) expensive dog and seemingly not do any training whatsoever. That’s a different topic though. Hope the drummer comes back strong. Not rushing it will be important. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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