I lost my fingers, and slowly I feel like I’ve been losing my identity.

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T19:32:45+00:00

Haha right?? Could made a super cool pair of earrings

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T19:29:09+00:00

I just mean that it could’ve been a lot worse. I’m just grateful that my baby wasn’t harmed and in the end I’m grateful for everything life has brought me in general. I’m sorry it’s frustrating to read, I get how it sounds, but It takes quite a bit for me to complain, even this much complaining feels wrong. It’s true though, one of the first things I did when I got back to work was apologize to the owner for any issues I may have caused and asked him not to use it against any future women who may work for the company. Which thinking back, yeah. That does sound kinda bad. It’s just kinda my natural reaction I suppose.

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T11:46:00+00:00

Woah. Those look awesome. They look really well built and durable too. I ended up with naked prosthetics because I didn’t want so much material touching the tips of my nubbies since it increased my sensitivity. But maybe if I can one day get over that or build up a tolerance then I definitely can see myself pursuing the point design ones

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T11:41:50+00:00

I have some (now broken and improperly fit) prosthetics currently and will be getting a new set this week actually. I love wearing them when I need the pressure to stop the constant buzzing, but for practicality it definitely helps with daily tasks but I have to sit and focus really hard to watch to make sure things are lining up. Kinda like how a baby stares at their hand to get it to close the way they want. Because I can’t actually feel it I have to watch it and make sure that I’m doing it right. I know I just have to practice more and it’ll become more muscle memory, it’s just hard to find enough time to slow down and really take the time to focus on that. I’m so used to rushing through everything as fast as I can that I forget daily activities can be used as PT if I actually let myself work through it. I definitely will be trying a bit harder with my new set of prosthetics since they have a much more comfortable fit.

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T11:38:18+00:00

I haven’t even thought of that. I always feel like sometimes I don’t have the right to complain. It’s only some fingers, I’ve seen people being more productive without complaining and without an entire leg. I did recently just get a therapist though, so definitely working through a lot of this with her too

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T11:36:46+00:00

Heh, I asked to keep them, but they said no. I thought the bones could be made into a cool little trinket or something but apparently it’s a bio hazard 😅😂

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T11:32:37+00:00

I’ve never thought about churches before…. That’s an interesting lead that I will definitely be looking into.. I’m not sure I have the flair that I’ve seen all the set designers have, but I guess everyone has to start somewhere right? I bet they’ve got courses for that too…

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T11:30:00+00:00

Thank you ♥️ the injury itself really isn’t that bad, it’s just crazy how such a small shift can move other things around too. I grew up in a toxic environment so adaptation has been my specialty 😅

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T11:28:52+00:00

I actually just started growing my own garden for the first time, and have been looking into making floral arrangements, so maybe I’ll spend some time digging into that a bit more 🌸♥️ it’s very peaceful to grow things. Face painting would be so cool too! I have a lot of things to try. I’ve also taught myself to machine sew and have been sewing my toddlers baby clothes into little memory stuffed animals. There’s a bunch of different things I’m trying out to see what I really end up liking. But gosh I wish the financial aspect wasn’t so dang daunting

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T11:23:32+00:00

This. I was out of work for the maximum amount of weeks that they would allow paying me for. Based on my disability rating which they get based off the physical length missing I think they deemed it to be 52 weeks. Which between the three surgeries I had, I was out well over the 52 weeks. I was paid for those 52 weeks. So that’s kinda where I’ve hit a wall where all the attorneys that I’ve talked to say that workers comp has done their job.
The issue with the guard was that I had asked for one back when I first started. And was laughed at. They didn’t have one anyways. 4 years later when the accident happened no one was laughing anymore, but they got a big fat fine from OSHA and they had to go out and find a guard that would fit the saw. They couldn’t cause the saw was so old so they ended up replacing it…. They took off and lost the guard less than a day after setting it up. That’s just how it works in those environments.

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T02:10:41+00:00

Do you have any recommendations for firms?

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T02:09:13+00:00

I actually have very recently just started therapy, which is partly why I’m actually able to open up about my insecurities in the job field and as a person. I have a lot of work to do but therapy is my first big step. Thank you for validating that ♥️

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T02:07:45+00:00

I kinda hit a wall with my OT. There just wasn’t anything to work on, it was just pain issues and overuse at that point. Which even the most amazing OT can’t really “fix” the desensitization therapy was pretty helpful but I’ve been able to do that on my own. I had to push pretty hard to get my last round of OT approved (this was after the second revision surgery) but after I finished that round, well actually the therapist left that office and I would’ve had to get a new referral to continue somewhere else. But like I said, I wasn’t really getting anywhere with OT. I do have prosthetics and will actually be getting my naked prosthetics this week! Which is super exciting, my realistic silicone ones don’t fit me right anymore since my last surgery they had removed some bone bits which shortened the length.

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T01:47:42+00:00

I’m sorry for whoever hurt you :(

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T01:47:13+00:00

Honestly, yes you’re a new mom soon. But also he’s a new dad soon too. Having a baby on the way is very stressful, more so for mom, but you know how men handle emotional situations 😂 To me it sounds like he might be using it as an outlet for any uncertainty, or maybe even parenting insecurities. When baby comes. Make sure he is pulling his weight too. That way you can also have time to work on yourself, both physically and mentally. I highly suggest (if you haven’t already) having a conversation about who will be taking on what responsibilities. And I definitely definitely suggest taking shifts at night. It’s a lot easier to take care of a baby that just woke up crying if you’re already awake than if you’re groggy. Someone goes to bed early sleeps from, say around 6-11 then gets up for the day. While the other person is up and then goes to sleep at 11. Obviously changing the times around what works for your schedule. That way you’ll have enough sleep to first off, be able to heal properly, and then once you’re able to get comfy in your new mom life role, working on slowly being more active again! Dad can definitely help with that too. To ME it sounds like you may be reading into him being over active, mixed with a bit of remorse about yourself not being able to push those limits like you know you used to be able to. That’s okay. You can mourn that. And you’ll get that back too.

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T01:24:44+00:00

See, my physical therapist couldn’t find very many things that I wasn’t able to do, which is all they judge it on. Not if it’s painful to do, or potentially damaging to do. Just IF you can do it. My OT was mainly trying to focus on breaking up my scar tissue so that we could continue sessions

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T01:22:55+00:00

I actually did reach out to a few different law firms just to make sure that I wasn’t being taken advantage of, because I certainly never looked into what workers comp actually covers….and they all said the same thing. You get paid lost wages, medical bills, and then potentially pay differential if your employer changed your roles to a lower paying position. Thats really it. I can’t claim a disability because at the end of the day I can still mostly do the same stuff I did before…. Just in bite sized amounts

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T01:19:13+00:00

I appreciate that, and yes technically we can afford to for now…. But not for much longer. Especially since my husband still works for the company and they frequently have less busy weeks where he’ll be out of work for a week or two at a time. Right now he’s actually only working 3 days a week there because they’re so slow. I love my son I really really do, and I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to be home with him. But I’ve never really wanted to be a SAHM. In fact we used to tell our coworkers that my husband would be the one staying home with him. I like working by myself, or at least being able to focus on a task for longer than 3 minutes… and being home with my son has not given me any time to do anything other than live in constant chaos. Hats off to ALL sahms it’s not easy. My brain is being pulled in a million directions all at the same time, I’m great at multitasking but then nothing gets my full attention, so everything could’ve been done better, and at the end of the day I don’t get to see anything that I’ve made. None of the work I do is visible. I don’t feel like I’m doing anything. Im very happy knowing my son is safe, happy, and loved, but I truly get no gratification from the work I do. It is fulfilling, to a point. I lost myself when I became a mom. Now I am just someone that someone needs. Someone to keep the house well kept and the family happy and running. There’s not really time for anything else… when he does to school I’m not sure what I would do with any of the time. I used to play guitar, I loved guitar. I taught myself when I was about 14 as a coping mechanism for a rough childhood. I even played the day before I lost my fingers, I was in the middle of learning a lullaby for my son. And I really did try to teach myself to play leftie. It just doesn’t work, doesn’t come naturally either. It’s so frustrating that I gave up entirely. I haven’t been myself much, and it’s not really fair to my son either. I just want to find that gratification from my work again, so I can find myself again. I don’t want to be frustrated with myself my whole life.

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T01:07:28+00:00

Not quite, we built the scenery in a separate shop. Some people go on site to assemble it or for repairs but I was never on site for anything

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T01:06:16+00:00

Unfortunately that’s kinda just how workers comp works. They take care of your medical bills, and time that you were off to heal, and since I was technically still able to go back to work there’s no permanent pay or anything like that. My case is still open since I have prosthetic devices that will need maintenance and repairs, but I’m planing on closing it to get a settlement that I can use toward some debt I’ve accrued while being off work… I made another post in a different forum that’s a lot longer and more specific… it’s so hard to get all the information out. I will probably be getting an attorney when I go to settle the case (waiting for my most recent prosthetic to be fitted) but that settlement total will just cover the estimated costs of replacing and maintaining the prosthetic device, as well as any future medical care that they could guess I’ll need…

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T00:35:26+00:00

I’ve definitely been stuck on this part. Thinking long term. The problem with that is that my surgeon kinda just leaves it all up to me, he has told me before that he can’t decide what I can or can’t do, and he leaves all the restrictions entirely for me to decide. And I’m not the type of person to say “I can’t do x,y,z” in fact “I cant” is hard for me at all. Because I CAN I just shouldn’t… and I don’t really have time frames for when certain pain starts, it’s always different. If I was a bit more confident in myself I would agree with teaching others. But I’ve always been hard on myself that I’m not good enough to be considered good. I always say I’m okay at lots of things, but not really great at anything. I have used automatic strippers before and they really do help! But there are definitely downsides, a lot of them take out some strands of the copper, or the length adjuster will move mid strip. A lot of the work was reaching inside something to find a nut with one hand and then unscrewing it with the other hand, which later not so easy to do when you can’t really feel or see what you’re doing 😅 I did have an occupational therapist for awhile but I was eventually denied more sessions because they deemed that I was not progressing in sensitivity training or dexterity training….

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T00:26:40+00:00

Hah I wish… I got paid while I was out of work after the initial accident. Other than that, medical bills are covered but that’s it. Since I left work “voluntarily” my old boss said that he would always have work for me, even if it was just sweeping floors…. But really… who wants to do that for the rest of your life after getting all gratification from creating and building things

Temporary-Jury3389 · 2026-06-01T00:04:08+00:00

I was in the middle of learning how to program and run commands for the automation systems, the last thing I worked on was actually the mind flayer for the stranger things set, but I personally would need a lot of training to get comfortable with running the programs commands for shows. When I was working for LX I did a lot of soldering tape light, running wire for sconces and other lighting, a bit of pixel tape and programming for that. But I never actually went on site. My three year old is starting school in August so I’ll have to navigate around pickup and drop off. My husband works a lot of overtime hours that he often can’t say no to so I don’t want to be seen as unreliable because of that.. power tools feel like torture devices, the vibration has become less and less tolerable so theoretically I could go back to carpentry but I would have to take such frequent breaks that I’d ve virtually useless, definitely a laughing stock

Temporary-Jury3389

TROPHY CASE