An incident for thanksgiving!

April 17th at about 1pm... there I was in my son's bathroom replacing the shower hose which was leaking when I noticed that the shower head's jet dial was stuck. I was really not in the best of moods that day and was quite flustered and getting impatient trying to get it to turn. As the seconds passed, I was using more and more force when suddenly... SNAP!

I don't remember feeling any immense pain, but just knew that something felt not quite right with my right thumb. When I looked at it, I was shocked! There in front of me was a huge long deep gaping cut right from the base of my thumb to the top. It looked over 2 inches long and blood was gushing out. This is when I started panicking, held my thumb with blood pouring out everywhere and rushed downstairs calling for my wife.

We wrapped the thumb with a baby's napkin and I kept the pressure on rushing to the hospital's emergency ward. The hospital staff were quite quick in attending to it and controlled the bleeding until the doctor arrived very shortly. Here I was told that the injury was bad and that it looked like a tendon injury as well. I opted for surgery in the OT instead of outpatient treatment.

The 3.5 hours I waited for the insurance procedure to clear and to be admitted before finally being taken to the OT was one of the longest in my life. All kinds of thoughts kept rushing through my head... "what if the thumb never fully recovered?"... "how is this going to affect my day to day life?". The procedure in the OT used local anesthesia. I was prepared for the worst and the doctor confirmed that not only had the tendon being cut but a nerve had been severed. Both were sewn back before the wound closed with 16 stitches.

I stayed in the hospital for one night before being discharged the following day. It was such a restless night for me. Too much going through my mind. I was reminded of how uncertain life is and how we so often take things for granted. While the doctor said I should recover fully in 2 to 3 months, he did say that there was a possibility that the feeling and sensation to the thumb might not be restored fully due to the severity of the nerve injury.

I recalled how the bible reminds us of the uncertainties of life. In James 4:14 we are told... "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes". I was humbled and reminded that just as much as God has blessed and given us, He who has given can take it all away in a moment. Everything we have and everything we are comes from the Lord. We ought to then not boast in ourselves but rather submit everything to God with thanksgiving, being reminded of His love for us, seeking to do His will in our lives.

It's been over 10 days now since the surgery and the thumb is recovering well. I am able to use it for most things now without too much trouble, and the pain is tolerable. The numbness is still there and will take another couple of months for the nerve to fully regenerate and recover. I thank God for what has happened and for his grace and goodness in helping me recover and still have use of the thumb. The few days that I could not use the thumb was when I realised how important this small part of the body was and how I had taken it for granted. The large scar that will remain long after I'm fully recovered will serve to remind me of what  faithful and loving God I have. Praise be to God forevermore for He is faithful and His love is everlasting!

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving thanks.

 ¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

 ² Worship the LORD with gladness;
       come before him with joyful songs.

 ³ Know that the LORD is God.
       It is he who made us, and we are his  ;
       we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

 ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
       and his courts with praise;
       give thanks to him and praise his name.

 ⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
       his faithfulness continues through all generations.