Broken Hand Blues

Ever wondered who did most of the complicated guitar work on my album (I say most because my dad also contributed some)? That was my husband, Cuan, who specialises in the slide guitar (pictured below), but is also a master of acoustic and lead guitar.

Since we live on a farm, we “foster” dogs. That is, we look after the pups of some friends and family members who don’t have  as much outdoor space as we do. We currently look after three labradors (all of whom are related), and love them dearly. In October of last year, we started looking after a beautiful Siberian husky. He was a sweet thing, but sadly he and the male lab could not get along – they kept fighting for dominance. One day, they got in a particularly nasty fight. Cuan bravely intervened, and his hand got caught in the middle of the brawl. The labrador accidentally bit him (we know it was an accident, as he let go as soon as Cuan cried out in pain) and snapped his third metacarpal clean in two.

Since it was a displaced fracture, he had to have an operation to insert a metal plate and some screw, in order to keep the bone in place. But because we waited so long to be seen to at A&E, that the bite became extremely infected, and they couldn’t operate until the infection cleared. The result was that Cuan was walking around with a broken hand for three weeks! Eventually they decided it was safe to go ahead and slice.

Sleepy boy, having just awoken from the first operation

Titanium, keeping it all together

Initially, the doctors said that the plate and screws could stay in for good. But after a couple of months, it became apparent that the tendon was getting caught on the plate, and there was risk of it fraying and snapping (exactly what you DON’T want if you play guitar for a living!). So, Cuan had to go under the knife for a second time.

Battle scar 2.0

Thankfully, it was his right hand that got bitten – that means he is still able to play guitar (although finger-picking is a challenge). We’re hoping that he will regain full mobility in his middle finger. There have been definite improvements since the latest operation, so hopefully once the scar tissue disperses, he will make a full recovery! In the meantime, I can’t think of a better physiotherapy than this:

Thanks to everyone who has prayed for Cuan and his hand in the past few months – we really appreciate it!

Mali.xxx

Photos courtesy of Cuan Korsten