[frankhond]

That just sucks. I can relate - after chemo that put me in remission, I have strange joint issues, the most acute in my left shoulder. Nothing helps. I haven’t played guitar for about 9 months and I can’t see myself going back for the foreseeable future unless my shoulder improves. I bought a weissenborn, we will see, it’s nice but not the same.

I have no concrete advice, except maybe to consider that the guitar is a physically difficult instrument and many have trouble as they age. Sometimes I wish I stuck with the piano. Maybe that will be the way to go. Or do like Bob Dylan, get a band and stick to singing. A dream is no fun if it just brings pain.

Maybe your hand surgery should be considered from a completist perspective. Is it necessary to live a normal life, or are you just trying to keep playing guitar. If the former, maybe the bullet needs to be bitten. If the latter, is the possibility to play again worth all the trouble.

I wish you the best no matter what you choose and hope you continue living a dream, even if it turns out to be different.