----Begin E-Mail----

Here's a whole document I wrote up the day after I did this one. I stuck my finger into a very powerful electronics cooling fan. It sliced into my finger pretty good and broke the bone. Luckily, I had my camera with me, so I was able to take it into the ER. The PA doing the work was pretty cool about it and took a couple of pictures for me. It's been 6 months now and the nail did grow back, for the most part. I've gotten used to picking my nose with the middle finger, so it's no big deal.

The funny thing is, this is the second time I've whacked this finger. The first time was with a Makita cordless 3.5" circular saw. The only thing that saved my finger on that one was that the stupid saw was so wimpy that the bone stopped the blade. Don't have pictures of that one though.

*******
MS3200 Fan Tray Maintenance

1.Upon seeing a fan tray fault indicator on the front panel, open lower front air intake bezel to access fan trays.

2.Inspect fan trays to determine which tray exhibits a fault indicator on the front face. 3.Determine the location of the non-operational fan.

4.Reach underneath fan tray and insert finger into any of the operational fans. Remember, these are the highest performance fans of their size (high speed and torque), so operator should not have to keep finger inserted for very long for this step.

5.Remove finger from fan and inspect to determine extent of rework required. A typical result is shown in Figure 1.

6.Remove nail if necessary to access all areas for rework (Figure 2).

7.Suture nail bed with dissolvable suture. This may be difficult, as there may not be enough large chunks to anchor the smaller pieces to.

8.Suture outer lacerations with silk suture material. A finished example is shown in Figure 3.

9.If enough nail remains, shove it into cuticle to facilitate nail regrowth. If there is not a large enough section of original nail, fashion one out of the aluminum backing from the package the suture material came in.

10.Suture temporary nail to nail bed. A completed rework is shown in Figure 4.

11.Soak brain in yeast/hops/barley solution to promote healing.

*******

UPDATE- Here's an update for you. The nail is almost getting long enough to trim. It's kind of funny on the left side, but I'd say 75% of the feeling has returned.

----End E-Mail----

Editor's Notes:

Man, that's funny. Most original injury description so far, I think.

As I do with all instructions, I started at the last step. I liked it so much that I wrote it down and keep it with me so I'll remember it. It promotes healing!

P.S.- PA's are cool, don't underestimate your doctor's PA, they'll save your life. Of course, the few I know think this site is boring because they see life and death things every day. I offered to buy them cameras to take to work, but they mumbled something about an oath and HIPAA or something...whatever.

Sharky

Photos:
Figure 1- Inspect finger for damage
Figure 2 - Finger with nail removed
Figure 3- Sutured finger
Figure 4- Completed rework
6 month follow-up- Check every 6 months for healing progress