Justin Update

Justin had a rough night last night after the surgery. The surgeon put a pin straight through the tip of his thumb into the good bone in his hand. I can't imagine the pain he's going through. I wish I could take some of it for him. Then my mom told me my older brother smashed his finger between 2 bowling balls yesterday. Needless to say, I'm taking extra care with my hands this weekend :).

Here's an x-ray of Justin's thumb. I'm not sure you really want/need to see the actual photos, they're pretty nasty. There was so much pressure when he crushed his thumb that it split the skin open and his thumb was grey and hanging to the side. He sat in the decompression chamber (remember, he's an underwater welder, so he needs to decompress after diving) and straightened his thumb, which probably saved his thumb because it started to pink up. The Life Flight helicopter came for him since he was out on a rig in the middle of the ocean and flew at a lower altitude because he can't fly after diving.

I'm really impressed with Justin's company. The worker's comp. workers met him at the hospital and he has a safety worker he can call as needed for help or advice. They've offered to help him with whatever he needs and even drive him places. I'm so sorry my brother has to go through this and I really hope his pain/sleeping pills will keep his pain at bay. I'm just relieved it was only his thumb and not his whole hand or body; although that doesn't take away from the pain he's dealing with.