My Sky Color

A forty something Dad, Husband, Engineer guy living in Western Oregon. Reflections on all things in life. A few technical things and whatever else comes along.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

You Never Know Where That Finger Has Been

In an earlier post I shared my x-ray of my broken pinky finger on my right hand. I had a checkup with the orthopedic to get an x-ray to make sure the bones had stayed in place as seen in the first x-ray. As luck would have it the very short piece had rotated downward and was not going the mend in line. I was then scheduled with a hand specialist to most likely do surgery. In the mean time, time is slipping away and my finger isn't fixed. The hand guy said the second week of February was the next appointment. My Doc got on the phone and impressed upon them that more immediated attention was required. I got scheduled for 5 days later, the 21st.

I got a surprise and they wanted to see me on Friday, the 18th. I didn't know ifit was a consultation or what. I ate breakfast, went to work, and called them to find out what time to come in. I had to go to St Vincent's clear across town. So I see them around 9:30 AM and they want me to check in for surgery at 3:30 PM. No food and no drink to pass my lips. I finally rolled to the operating room at 6:30 PM and we got home close to 10 PM. The picture below is what I ended up with. It is a little difficult to function. Typing is interesting. I am relearning to run the mouse with my left hand. A few years back I drove left handed running AutoCad.

Today I had a follow up appointment. They cut all of the bandages open and made sure no infection was present and not too much swelling. After I got home tonight I had to rework the bandages and wrapping. The picture below is my finger in all of its Frankensteinian glory. The blue things are caps on the end of the pin running through the bones. Nice big nine stitches that will come out next week.


The purple arrow is the pre-surgery identifier so they don't open up the wrong finger. The fun continues. DMP Luckily it doesn't hurt much now.



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Monday, January 14, 2008

The Big Dog


Remy is 14 months old and weighs around 85 lbs. She stands as tall as the average lab. We chose her because she was small and the Bordeaux is the smallest of the mastiffs.

That is a face only a mother could love. Most people think she looks mean. Little do they know she is very sweet. I call her face, "a gargoyle face." She is a puppy and gets into mischief.

Chewie, the little black dog, is the boss of the two. They play all the time and Remy gives the little guy equal time. Sometimes when she is tired she lays on her side and puts one front paw on top of him. This allows her to limit his enthusiasm but still be part of the fun.

The little dog and the youngest lad won't be left behind in a photo op. DMP

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Uh-Oh!



Right hand little finger. Dropped a 100 lb flywheel from Ford diesel engine... The ring gear got its way. This happened on Thursday about 6:45 PM. I don't see the orthopedic surgeon until Tuesday. This really cramps my style.

This is the first truly fractured bone I've ever had. DMP

Friday, January 04, 2008

Shop 17

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Stuff
Quick update. Saturday after Christmas the sun finally deceided to shine. The shop now has a complete roof and the north wall is complete. It was a good thing I got that much done as New Years Eve and New Years was a blow. A big blow, like 50 mph gusts. I haven't had an inspection in a long while so I am trying to get little framing odds and ends done for that.
I have used the shop for its intended purpose and tried to fix an exhaust leak on the '94 Ford PU. Anybody know what to do? The manifolds have a taper cast into them and the pipe has a bell formed on them. I took both sides loose and gradually tightened them together and applied a little hydraulic jack force here and there to the pipe. I though I had it whupped. It still leaks just the same. I wonder if I need to cut the one side of the pipe loose with the sawzall, get it nicely fit up and tightened, then weld the pipe back together. The Y pipe is really stiff and I think it is the problem.
I have been working on the neighbor's Ford tractor rebuilding the lower end of the engine. I have the front end off the tractor and thought I could change all the bearings. Of course not, I had to pull it the rest of the way. I don't have a hoist to lift the engine in his shop so I bolted some angle iron to the bottom of the block, positioned a HD steel dolly underneath and welded angle between those on the engine and the frame of the dolly. It worked really well. Maybe the easiest engine pull I've done. I had to call around to figure out how to install some new fangled side seals on the rear main bearing cap. You slide the rubber seal strip in then pound in the steel rod, next to the cap, to "energize" the seal. The rods are supposed to have a pointed/rounded end so they don't tear things up too much. I am putting in some hours to get this tractor rebuild behind me.
After the inspection and weather permitting I will put up the other walls. The remaining ones require lots of cutting and fitting. I bought a shear attachment for a drill, off Ebay, to do all the cutting.
We had a great Christmas and a good new years. Both lads had oral surgery over the holidays for various extra teeth and extra gums. Not long in the tooth but long in the gums... DMP

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