[Chuckles]

So, my absolute best friend with whom I had a band 20 years ago just sat in with us last week, and we had a freaking blast. SO much fun to play together again!

Then, today he is out on a bike ride (aggressive riders, this group) and he takes a fall and has a compound fracture halfway between his right wrist and elbow ("a rare opportunity to see one of your own bones!", as his wife put it). Two plates and 12 screws put Humpty together again...

Has anyone here had to come back from this kind of injury, and how did it affect your playing/ability to play? How was the rehab process? My bud Pete's in for a long rehab, but I'd like to be able to tell him that some folks I "know" have dealt with this before - or give him an honest assessment of where his playing might stand. He's pretty freaked out about it all...

Thx
Chuck

[Rusty the Scoob]

I haven't had a compound fracture but I've broken my left arm 3 times including once where it was bent at a 90* angle right between my wrist and elbow. The sight of your arm with a brand new joint is pretty interesting.

Granted, I was 12 at the time and 14 when I last broke a bone... but the recovery process is not too bad. The cast itches like a mofo and your arm is all small, stiff, wrinkly and hairy when it comes out, and it takes a few days before you can do much with the fingers again... but he'll be playing again just like nothing happened within a week or two of getting the cast off.

[javalina]

One of my best friends I used to play with had a horrible construction accident years ago. All the bones in his left arm between the wrist and the elbow looked like shards of broken glass on the xray. Big plate and lots of screws. He was playing again even before the cast was off, he cut away part of the plaster so he could. He had a full recovery and even though he claims it made him marginally slower, everyone else feels like he got better; perhaps because it made him have to think before he played. Last thing anybody wants to happen, but it's amazing what you can overcome. He was thirty when this happened, 20 years later he's still playing his ass off.

[tcsned]

Les Paul shattered his elbow back before modern medicine was really good at fixing such things, had his elbow fused in a place where he could still play. Then had arthritis so bad he could not bend his fingers and retaught himself to play to compensate. Django Rhinehardt lost the use of all but his index and middle fingers on his fretting hand and made it through that.

I have an acquaintance who lost his thumb (on his fretting hand) in a water skiing accident so he could no longer put enough pressure on the neck to play. He retaught himself to play left handed and held the pick between his index and middle finger. While he wasn't quite as sharp as he was right handed with a thumb he still managed to be a working lead guitar player.

I'm really sorry your friend is having to go through that but if he's determined, he will find a way to make it work. I think what prevents people from getting back after something like that is giving up.

[hotasaPistol]

When I was 50 I was taking Karate with my daughter and had to learn a spin kick.....I am a twirler not a spinner....anyway.....I did a perfect spin kick for my instructor hit the mitt he was hold head high and on trying to end the kick my momemtum carried me around and to stop falling I stuck my left arm out and for 1 second my body was perpendicular to the floor held up by my arm then came a loud snap and pop...I won't tell you what I said...long and short of it is that I dislocated my elbow and broke the larger of two bones in my forearm....Surgery cured the break but after getting the cast off it took about a year before I could make a basic chord. The dislocation was much worse to recover from..stretched ligaments or whatever.....my left arm is now about an inch shorter than my right .....it took about 3 or 4 months after that to be able to start playing again.....six years later I have a great scar and no problems playing....also ended my Karate at half way to a black belt.....my daughter still goes and she is bad ass...any way I would guess that time will heal it and some adjustment and patience may be needed. Don't give up.

[Chuckles]

Cool - thanks for the tales of recovery. I'll pass them on.

Forgot about Paul's arm. Then there's Django and Iomi who also overcame serious physical setbacks (not to mention Jer's abbreviated finger).

Yoooz a good buncha folks!

[JonnyBoy]

I was playing football in the dorm in College years ago and a long story short, I put my arm through the old plate glass 1/8" window and cut through all my muscles, tendons, some nerves muscle, well everything to the bone. I was 18 and I am able to play just fine these days. He will be able to do it all again, tell him not to give up and we will help the postitve forces of hope, prayer, whatever your cup of tea, in mind and heart for him. Positive vibrations totally help out, no matter the distance or how close you are personally. Keep him positive and tell him no sweat, we've all been there and we can still do the most important things in life like eat, play guitar, and touch boobs. maybe not in that order!