A retired carpenter needed an urgent trip to hospital after slicing two of his fingers to the bone in an accident at his garden workshop. Colin Taylor said his middle and index fingers were "hanging off" after his electric wood cutter slipped and went into his hand.
The grandfather-of-three from Tredegar was taken to Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil by his daughter but was then transferred urgently to a specialist team in Morriston Hospital in Swansea for an operation to try and reattach the tendons. Despite them almost coming clean off, the medics were able to save his fingers.
Colin, 73, who was working on turning a piece of wood into a teapot-shaped plant potholder, recalled: "I had put the wood in a vice and started shaping it with an electric cutter. I had a new blade which was able to cut everything including metal. It had gone well, when I had an itch on my nose and went to scratch it. I took my hand off the cutter and it cut across the timber and across my hand.
Read more: Lives 'will be lost' if hospital A&E is shut down, campaigners warn
"There was blood spurting up in the air. I knocked the cutter off immediately, and my wife called my daughter who is a good first-aider. She came up and my fingers were hanging off. I'd damaged them all, but particularly my middle and index finger, and had severed two tendons."
While he was in Morriston Hospital, Colin said he received "the best treatment" he has ever encountered and described the staff as "nice and courteous". He added: "I was seen to first by a young lady who cleaned me up, and then the doctor came and took a look at it and said I'd have to have an operation.
"They injected my finger and the operation didn't take too long, and I went home and my left hand was in a plaster for in six weeks. The surgeon fixed the tendons. It is not 100%, but it is what it is. I have got to get on with it. It's a bit stiff in the morning and I can't bend my middle or index finger like I used to."
To thank staff at Morriston for saving his fingers, Colin produced a couple of paintings which he presented to them earlier this month. He added: "I did some painting a long time ago. I always enjoyed painting and carpentry, although I know I'm no Picasso. But the people in hospital were so good to me I just wanted to do something to thank them. I'm not surprised the NHS has such a good reputation with people like that working there."
Specialist hand physiotherapist Iona Davies added: "Following surgery and initial assessment at Morriston Hospital, Mr Taylor was able to access our specialist hand therapy services virtually at a time when local therapy services were constrained due to Covid. This eliminated the need for him to travel from Tredegar, where he lives and cares for his disabled wife.
"He has been dedicated to his rehabilitation and exercises, and as a consequence has been able to achieve his treatment goals, returning to woodwork and painting. The outcome following such an injury is dependent as much on patient's motivation and commitment as it is on surgical skill and therapy input. We were delighted to receive his gift." To get more Blaenau Gwent news straight to your inbox subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
READ NEXT:
How to check if your polio vaccine is up to date and how you can arrange one
Two health boards fail to balance the books as waiting lists grow
