We Have The Technology, We Can Rebuild Him

My broken finger saga continues. I went to see the hand specialist, Doc Usami yesterday. It was actually a good meeting after the formalities.

Feeling a bit of deja-vu I swear to you, the first thing he said after the formalities was, "Why didn't you come in sooner"? Seems the humiliation ritual is common practice in Japan. I explained to him and his assistant....

That I just didn't think it was as bad as it is and so I could wait until after going to Ikea to buy and put together my new mineral display case.

He then proceeded to explain the situation and what he could do. While he was not totally optimistic, he suggested using a special splint. In combination with pins and wires the splint would extend my finger slightly to allow the bone to straighten out and heal naturally. It looks a bit like this.

Sorry, wrong finger extender. This one.

He explained the benefit of this method is he wouldn't need to cut my finger open, just drill some holes through it. I told him that I have to go back to the USA in mid April and he said, ok, no problem, let's schedule you in for this Saturday at the end of my shift. Should only take about 30min -1hr.

I was brought to tears by his kindness and sincerity.

He was squeezing me in at the end of his busy Saturday shift to help me out. It's the type of humanity that makes the world a better place and we need more of it, a LOT more.

After the consultation Doc Usami sent me to the x-ray for another imaging and then to have my blood taken to clear me of HIV and any other thing that might complicate the procedure. No problems detected.

When all was finished It cost me $88 for the consultation & tests. Doc Usami said the procedure and splint will run about $600 while jokingly reminding me it would be 10x that in America. So, Saturday it is! I'll become part bionic man.

I drill holes in things for a living, but I'm still not excited about someone doing it to my bones. Who knows what will happen after that. Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!