I was on the receiving end of a negligend discharge nearly 20 years ago. A .380 auto went off and the bullet a hollow point struck a steel rod, glanced off and hit the big finger in my left hand. The bullet must have struck the rod slightly off center because when I found it the next day, it was flattend and when it struck me must have been more like a very dull knife edge. The finger bone, between knuckle and first joint was broken in 3 places, so it took a little over an hour of surgery and several pins to put things back together, then about 6 weeks of therapy to regain function and straighten it out. When the surgeon took the pins out I carved a splint out of a small piece of cherry wood, that fit across the palm of my hand and all the bumps and curves of the finger so I could wear it and straighten the finger which had taken on a bad curve like a permanent fist. My surgeon said that they could not make or supply anything nearly as good as what I made for the purpose. Now the finger is perfectly straight, a little stiff but I have 100% range of motion and use
When I was struck, I did feel it, but absolutely no pain, just like something had grabbed my hand hand give it a quick hard shake. My wife took me to the ER in our little town, where it was assessed, and cleaned, and my ER doc, friend, arranged for the surgeon in a nearby town about 35 miles away, so they wrapped it and my wife drove me up there. I never experienced any pain , and only some minor discomfort when the surgeon pulled the pins out with some med vice grip pliers( I thought they were a bit large and got him a set of the real small 4" size which he likes)
