On Sunday, July 15, 2012 I had a very nasty accident. I was cutting wood on a table saw when the wood bounced back, and as I reacted to it, I badly cut through the first two fingers of my left hand. The top quarter of my index finger which was almost sliced completely off, was hanging on by a piece of skin and my second finger had a very deep cut.
I went to the ER and was told by the nurse who stitched me up that she was “only going to put a few stitches in the finger, because you’re going to lose it anyway.” The attending doctor said the same, saying she was 99% certain the top of the finger would be lost. The nerves and bone had been sliced through so it would never recover, and they referred me to a plastic surgeon and told me to prepare myself for having the top quarter of my finger removed.
I was told to report to my regular doctor 2 days later to have the dressing changed, and since I am a patient of LifeWorks, I went to see Sue Morgan. Sue was painstaking in her removal of the dressing, which was caked with dried blood, making it a very painful process.
What was revealed was not a pretty sight. The top of my index finger was totally white and looked completely dead. The lack of sufficient stitches had left a gaping hole, and the possibility of infection was considerable. The whole top of my finger was very loose and the outcome didn’t look promising. The second finger was also badly cut, but save-able.
However, instead of giving up, Sue made it her mission to save my finger. She consulted with Dr. Minkoff and the two of them mapped out my course of treatment. I had to visit LifeWorks twice a day for the following:
Morning:
- My dressing was removed, my fingers were sanitized and Sue put my hand in a plastic bag which she then sealed and filled with ozone. This got the oxygen directly to the wounds to minimize the risk of infection, and to speed the healing process.
- With my hand still in the bag, I then had MAH (Major Autohemotherapy) where 250ml of my blood was drained into an IV bag, infused with ozone and then returned to my body via an IV drip. Like the ozone bag treatment, this also helped heal and reduced the chance of infection. For me, an unexpected bonus from the MAH treatment was a big reduction in my blood pressure, which always runs a little on the high side, usually around 140/90. After 7 sessions, it came down to a very consistent 112/64, a level which I have maintained. Every second visit, I also had a Myers Cocktail to boost my immune system.
- Finally, hand still in bag, I went to see Mary Pat for a PEMF treatment which helps the healing process at a cellular level, and increases the uptake of the oxygen from the bag.
- Sue then re-dressed my fingers and put splints on them to keep them from being knocked.
Afternoon:
# 1, 3 & 4 were repeated.
After 10 days, Sue removed the stitches from my middle finger and we were both encouraged that it had healed well. Also, remarkably my index finger was no longer white, but actually had a pale pink tone which indicated that some blood was getting to the tip. A week later, Sue carefully removed its stitches. My finger-tip was still a bit loose, so Sue dressed it with Steri strips to hold it in place. Now I only had to visit the clinic 3 times a week.
Now, 8 weeks later my index finger is baby-pink and has made the most remarkable recovery. Its healing progress is beyond my wildest dreams, all thanks to the cutting-edge protocols at LifeWorks. Where else could I have gone to receive this treatment? Any other medical facility would have written me off as they did at the hospital, and I would have incurred the cost and trauma of having a surgeon remove one quarter of my finger, plus all the resulting re-hab.
I am forever in-debted to LifeWorks for making these protocols available and to Sue’s conscientious care. Winston Churchill used to put two fingers up in a victory salute – now I am doing the same.
G.L.
