I dropped my finger!

... No, I actually have a dropped finger or mallet finger!

While trying to remove a microSD card from my wife's mobile phone last night, I used my last finger (pinky) to exert pressure on the tiny little slot. The next I know, I heard a loud "snap" (similar to the sound of a piece of dried branch snapping under pressure) with a sharp sensation on my pinky. The last joint of my finger holding my nail was bent downwards, and could not be straightened on its own ie a "dropped finger". The feeling while having a dropped finger is rather strange - slightly numbish and lack of control.

This morning I went to the occupational therapist. He told me that I had snapped the tendon propping up the joints to my pinky. Putting on a splint for 6 weeks will align the two ends of the snapped tendon together and allow them to fuse together over time. Most times, this is all that I will need but I have to remember to keep the splint on. He proceeded to cut out a piece of material that look very much like plastic with holes and put it into hot water to soften it. He then used the softened plastic and mould it around my pinky. With a few snips, the splint was done.

Dropped finger is actually quite a common injury. It can be quite alarming to the uninitiated but with simple treatment, the finger could be straightened - althought not back to original form.

So, when i have finger sticking out at you - I am trying to insult you, but rather have compassion on me :-)