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(Follow up on a previous post: oops. ouch.)

I get a few questions every day about the state of my left hand, so I figured I would put way too much information here:

I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago for a six month checkup (Six months already? Time is completely out of control and must be stopped!) and was told that…well…not much will change for quite a while. The initial trauma to the unsevered parts of the ulnar nerve (it was sliced about 70% through) has gone away, so I have a certain amount of movement back, but there’s still the lion’s share which has to slowly regenerate (at about 1/2 inch a month, from just below my elbow to the tips of my fingers) and won’t be back for at least a year, more likely two.

The current state of affairs is as follows: The outer side of my palm, pinky and the outer half of my ring finger are numb, with a serious sensitivity to cold and exciting random flashes of burning/itching/tingling. My grasping strength is about 70% of what it was, and my lateral/stretching strength is 10-20%, depending on the finger. I can move the pinky, but I can’t control it very accurately.

I’ve relearned most of my songs on the guitar. There’s a few that haven’t been as easy to remap, but I’ve been able to work most things out. Some songs have lost subtle harmonic or countermelodic parts, some have had to be capoed up the neck so I can use chord shapes I’m better able to play. My hand won’t do barre chords and can’t stretch further than a couple frets. It’s been interesting to simplify voicings and satisfying to see that most things come across just fine.

Mentally? Usually I’m pretty good. I can’t imagine what this would have done to some of my more virtuostic friends (it’s been the first time in my life I’ve been thankful not to be a better guitarist). As it is, I can still sing write, and I can play passably. Considering I was sitting on a glass table, I am lucky to have not been castrated or have my guts impaled. It’s given me some good perspective and a healthy dose of gratitude. I’d been wanting to have new challenges and a reason to play more music with other people – this wasn’t quite how I imagined it happening, but it is exactly what I had wanted. Be careful what you wish for…

Anyway…there is is. Getting better slowly but surely.

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