It’s been five months since I intervened in a dog attack on the beach in Kaaawa, a move which led to an emergency room visit, a “partial amputation,” and an involuntarily shortened index finger on my right hand (see “Not just another day at the beach“).

In the interim, Small dog–the one that was attacked–has recovered and is back to walking on the beach with her person. Small Dog’s person, though, now arms herself with a chemical spray “just in case.” Big Dog no longer visits the beach, and although I got back in touch with her–and shared another dog biscuit or two with her–I haven’t seen her recently. I don’t know what that means.

But here’s a quick update on the finger.

The good news is that I’m able to type with all fingers, no longer having to hold the injured finger out away from the keyboard while the remaining fingers straddled the hard-to-reach keys. I still haven’t gotten totally accustomed to the reduced reach of the short finger, so I still have to pay close attention when aiming for a “y,” and “n,” or a “u.” Even this is starting to feel more natural, and I don’t have to watch the keyboard so closely to avoid hitting the wrong keys.

Going back. The first 6-8 weeks were spent waiting for the wound to heal. It was pretty ugly for a long time. Doctors left the tip of the finger open to slowly heal and close up at its own pace. That took longer than I expected. During the second half of that period, I went through about a month of physical therapy. Yup, finger therapy. At that point, most was aimed at recovering a fuller range of motion in the joints of the finger, and in exercises to lessen the hypersensitivity of the damaged nerve endings. By December or so, I no longer felt I needed to cover the wound for vanity or medical reasons.

During months 3-4, the swelling of the finger tip slowed receded. For a long while, it looked a lot like shortened finger with a red, bulbous tip. Well, perhaps that’s an exaggeration, but it was quite swollen.

During this same period, the injuries to my thumb and hand, which got a little chewed, also healed. For a while, I couldn’t open a jar or uncap a bottle due to pain in my thumb. I just couldn’t grip anything, or at least not grip it meaningfully. But somewhere around month #4, I realized this was no longer the case. It just took time and patience.

Now that the swelling is gone, it’s almost completely healed. There’s still some pain and some points of numbness, and there are still changes as the nerves are still settling down. But it’s almost back to the new normal, I think. Maybe another month, perhaps a couple of months, and the experience will be in the past.

Meantime, it’s a joy to see Small Dog enjoying the beach again.

[top photo: Sculpture in the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts]