The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Generic wrote:No, I'm sorry, Chris, but you're not a doctor, and your medical knowledge is anecdotal and piecemeal.

Hey - but at least it's free!

Seriously though - looks like a nasty injury Jon. I hope you can find some way to get it properly treated. Hands are...handy.


Got to admit though - I am totally gobsmacked that cost would be an issue for getting treatment for something like that. I thought you guys had some sort of universal healthcare nowadays? Doesn't that cover it?

Is it feasible to go to Canada or Mexico or somewhere to get it done? I know here, while medical stuff is free, we still don't have dental work covered under Medicare. So I have heard of a lot of people, when they need expensive dental work done will fly to Thailand and have a nice holiday on the beach at Phuket for a week, while getting wisdom teeth and crowns and whatever done - all for a lot cheaper than seeing an Australian dentist.

A month or two after graduating with a music degree I put a paper cutter on the counter and preceded to slice the tip of my left index finger in two (through the nail) down to the bone with one fell swoop, after the paper cutter slipped as I enthusiastically chopped down on what I now completely forget what the hell was so important to cut with a paper cutter. It looked like the headstock for a Kramer guitar (those split aluminum neck models). Friday night at the ER in Brooklyn in 1984...I had to wait while all the gunshot wounds were taken care of first. I was lucky I didn't cut the finger off and lucky it's only a little weird under the nail and only requires occasional self-surgery when it grows strangely. I'm grateful it didn't require further treatment other than stitches (and hash) and sympathize with your worries about nerves, etc. Good luck!

Caravan Ray wrote:Is it feasible to go to Canada or Mexico or somewhere to get it done?

Yeah, Mexico is where most people in the western part of the States go for the expensive surgeries if their med insurance doesn't cover enough or if they don't have medical insurance. Our medical system here is pretty pathetic, especially for dental. We pay out the ass for insurance and our co-pay or deductibles are so high, a lot of people can't afford treatment, like in Jon's case. Going to Mexico is a fraction of our fricking co-pay! It's insane.

Obama care (the fair healthcare act) hasn't started yet. I'm not sure if or when it will. It's getting a lot of resistance from our right wing conservatives. Obviously because our med system is completely corrupt and billions will be lost giving Americans fair/affordable healthcare. So basically, people that "truly" need medical assistance that can't afford it have to go in debt with a loan if they don't qualify for medicare. I'm assuming Jon has applied for medicare and was denied or he'd be going that route. The middle class is always between a rock and a hard place. First world problems I guess.

Billy's Little Trip wrote:

Caravan Ray wrote:Is it feasible to go to Canada or Mexico or somewhere to get it done?

Yeah, Mexico is where most people in the western part of the States go for the expensive surgeries if their med insurance doesn't cover enough or if they don't have medical insurance. Our medical system here is pretty pathetic, especially for dental. We pay out the ass for insurance and our co-pay or deductibles are so high, a lot of people can't afford treatment, like in Jon's case. Going to Mexico is a fraction of our fricking co-pay! It's insane.

Obama care (the fair healthcare act) hasn't started yet. I'm not sure if or when it will. It's getting a lot of resistance from our right wing conservatives. Obviously because our med system is completely corrupt and billions will be lost giving Americans fair/affordable healthcare. So basically, people that "truly" need medical assistance that can't afford it have to go in debt with a loan if they don't qualify for medicare. I'm assuming Jon has applied for medicare and was denied or he'd be going that route. The middle class is always between a rock and a hard place. First world problems I guess.

Chris, that was one of the smartest things I've ever seen you write. No, really.

It seems the solution here is making a benefit album called That Damn Avocado.

Niveous wrote:It seems the solution here is making a benefit album called That Damn Avocado.

I liked my original
Holey Guacamole
or
Vegetarian The Barbarian

Billy's Little Trip wrote: Obama care (the fair healthcare act) hasn't started yet. I'm not sure if or when it will. It's getting a lot of resistance from our right wing conservatives.

These I assume are the same people that think machine guns are a necessity and global warming is a myth.
While we certainly have a few similar loons here, they are an idiot minority. We get the impression here though that these people seem to form a significant part of one of your major parties. That is scary.

Sorry Jon, just saw this thread, and all I could think was, "Jesus CHRIST." Completely unintentionally, too.

Also sorry about your expenses problem. Let me know if I can help out.

Caravan Ray wrote:These I assume are the same people that think machine guns are a necessity and global warming is a myth.

One and the same.

ow! I hope things improve. Keep everyone posted of course. Work on your other hand in the meantime even if the hurt one gets jealous and wants to play songs too. Sometimes writing one-handed songs helps. See what you can do with a few notes if you get music-antsy. And I really hope everything gets fixed as it should in timely fashion.

RangerDenni wrote:Work on your other hand in the meantime even if the hurt one gets jealous and wants to play

I do that, but not because the other one is hurt. It's more of a way to keep things "interesting".

I really was thinking of the piano when I wrote that! zeeep!!!

Piano...organ - whatever

just be glad I didn't go into detail suggesting fingering exercises for the non-dominant hand!!

BLT know them.

He even suggests sitting on your hand for half an hour beforehand so it goes numb and it feels like someone else doing it.....playing piano. Or organ.




....who else went to a Catholic school? Looking forward to Mass tomorrow?

Wait, we are talking about the hole in Jon's hand that he got from trying to extract his seed, right?


edit: sorry, that sounds gross. I meant to say, from too much pitting.

BTW:

Yes, that is the way. I use that technique and it's a piece of cake every time, and pretty fast.

Lunkhead wrote:I use that technique and it's a piece of cake

Yep, that's how I do it, except it's an avocado pit.

You guys are hilarious.

In my defense, fluffy, that is how I usually pit an avocado (with the adjustment that I've been placing the pitted end on the countertop instead of my hand, ever since this incident). I got into trouble when that technique didn't work because the avocado wasn't quite fully ripe. Then I got impatient, and that's when things took a turn for the darker.

Two things:
1.) The fingers that had no sensation when I first wrote about this now do have sensation again. But it's mostly pain. They feel really tender, as though they've been scalded with boiling water and are now recovering from the burn. About once or twice an hour, I get a searing jolt of nerve pain in addition to my baseline burningness, just to keep things interesting. And of course, any time I stretch my left arm out too far in any direction, that exacerbates it, too. I've called the doctor to ask whether this affects his diagnosis and whether surgery is still his recommendation. We've been playing phone-tag for five days now.
2.) If the surgery is actually still needed, I've obtained the money to pay for it. I'll be paying it off for the next three years, but I have it when I need it, and that's the important part. I really do appreciate the offers for help.

Of course, I will keep everyone posted.

(Also, I hate to be "that guy," but if I only have so much energy and pain threshold for typing, and I have to pick a site to post to, Google+ usually wins, simply because that's where my largest audience is, so if you want more up to date info, you can check my profile there... http://gplus.to/joneric Almost all posts are public, which means you should be able to see my updates even if you don't have a G+ account.)

Nice pic Jon.



....take a wild guess as to what I'm going to photoshop in place of the mic?




I'm happy that things are looking up for your hand.

That joke has already been made by Denise, JoAnn, several of my co-workers, and my girlfriend.
Bring it, Sandwich Boy.