And so it begins..........

Hi there, welcome, c'mon in.

Here is where I am going to post updates about the surgery that I am about to undergo on my left thumb. As the weeks go by, I will attempt to keep this blog up to date with my thoughts, feelings and hopefully a few gory pictures to keep you all amused.

Of course, I might just get bored with the whole idea and give up, we'll see.

A little history for those not in the know:

I am an amateur guitar player in a well known local band in Taunton, Somerset UK (www.thewholehog.net). Three years ago, I started suffering pain in my wrists which was initially diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome. I decided to shell out a few quid and have a private consultation with the top local consultant who changed the diagnosis to osteo-arthritis in both thumbs. At the time I was pretty shattered by this, imagining that it meant (eventually) an end to my guitar playing. This is not really an option as the hobby has kept me sane for the last 20 years or so, through all kinds of adversity (but that's a whole other story!) Anyway, after much research and plenty more consultations, including many nasty injections of cortisone into the thumb joints, we have arrived at the point where I am about to have surgery to remove the diseased bone and (hopefully) give me complete relief from the nasty and worsening pain that I have been suffering in recent years.

For those of you with a stronger stomach, here is a wee video of what they are going to do to me on January the 6th 2009.

Cheers for now,

Thrasher