How would you cope with having to give up guitar

[pdxstrummer]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

Take up harmonica? Serious suggestion. Lotta music in those little things.

I second this. It's the first thing I thought of.

Get a really good harp. Start playing and making music again. When you someday soon start playing your guitars again, you can get a rack and add the harp to your music making.

My best wishes to you for a full recovery.

[zephystar]

I wish you the best of luck. Some bit of inspiration from my side.

7 months ago I completely severed 5 flexor tendons in my left hand (thumb, index, and middle) and the median nerve which gives all the motor and sensation to those fingers. I stopped paying attention to a woodworking project for 1 second and drove a 1" chisel right into my hand. My surgeon said such a bad injury is referred to colloquially as spaghetti wrist.

As I was passing out, literally the first thing going through my head (right before the carpeting) was whether or not I would be able to play guitar again.

Luckily I had an excellent surgeon was was able to put me back together. PT was absolute hell for the first 3 months. I couldn't do much more than light stretching since I was in various splints almost full time. After that, I asked the Dr. and therapists to push me as hard as they could. I winced, screamed, cried, and almost puked a couple of times from the pain but I did everything they said and more.

Starting at month 5 I stared sitting around with a guitar in my lap. It took a tremendous amount of effort, pain, and concentration just for me to fret a basic Em or A chord at first and a G or C were completely undoable.

But I kept at it, little bit at a time, several times a day. Now after 7 months of self torture I have about 80% range of motion back at about 50% strength. Nerves are coming back too but are super sensitive and still "miswired" in some spots; my understanding is it can take a year or more for them to settle down.

I was able to transition from hand focused PT back to a regular exercise class.

I can fret all my basic chords now and am working on relearning how to do barre chords.

I missed playing terribly but as others have said, it's a great motivator and great exercise for your brain.

If I was in your situation, maybe get a keyboard and you can double track your self. At least you could make use of your studio stuff.

Best of luck to you!

[Hoyt]

Sure hope things get better with rehab.

If I were convinced I couldn’t play guitar again, I’d probably consider possibility of ukulele, lap steel guitar, a dulcimer maybe, or something else. If that wouldn’t work, I’d likely take up keyboards, like a small synthesizer, that could be played with just one hand if necessary. Maybe even drums.

Hope that won’t be necessary. Good luck

[tj_mangum]

Coldshot, sorry to hear of your health problems. Keep the faith (and the guitars you like) and with time you may very well be playing again.
Two years ago, I came down with rheumatoid arthritis. Every joint in my body, from my jaw to my toes were swollen and painful. I could barely fret easy open chords, let alone a barre chord. I kept dropping picks, when I could grip them at all.
I dug out a classical I had tucked away and flailed at it for a few months and was on the verge of just playing melodies on an electric piano.
Finally they found the right meds for me and after over a year I'm close to being back to the mediocre player I've always been!
Time and good doctors can heal many things. I pray that you find this to be true.
Cheers!

[Jaden]

I can’t give you advice about selling guitars, but your neck is a delicate part of your central nervous system, and going forward in the future, playing guitar could be a health hazard if your posture isn’t perfectly correct. I put away the guitar for 20 years due to what I believed would eventually lead to neck problems due to poor posture and discomfort. I always played seated without a strap.

One thing for sure, your health is no.1, and if it comes to having to give up guitar completely, there are other hobbies and interests worth pursuing that won’t jeopardize your health. I wish you all the best in your continued recovery.

[jansch]

Five years ago I was hospitalised for 4 months with sepsis. I didn't play my guitars for about a year, but gradually my health improved,and I was able to start playing again. Perhaps the OP will be able to play again in the future.

In 1980s I was a very competive distance runner, winning national and county marathon and cross country championships (team) and being a leading mountain runner. In 1988 I had an accident and had to stop running (and skiing and playing table tennis).

After the depression lifted, I started to concentrate on my other interests and develope new ones. I continued playing the guitar, studied German part-time, and got a degree. I also learned Reiki, qualified as a spiritual healer and did Reiki/healing in centres and churches.

As Alexander Graham Bell said,
" When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."

[Tony Burns]

I think having them around rather than selling them might inspire you
or give you hope for the future . Im sorry for what your going threw -
but just keep the faith .

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by frankmcr

Take up harmonica? Serious suggestion. Lotta music in those little things.

Yes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGORPUzLxtU

Such a simple tune, yet so evocative and so beautifully played.

[RalphH]

I lost the use of the thumb and index finger on my left hand in a motorbike crash about 10 years ago. The doctors told me the nerves had been severed and it was never coming back.

6 months later a little twitch. 3 months after that I could move them, all be it weakly.

I'd always wanted a Gibson Les Paul when I was young but could never afford one. By that point I'd not played guitar in 5 years. Given that I'd just received £14,000 in compensation I decided it was the perfect time to buy a £1000 finger exerciser.

These days I have full dexterity, though not quite full strength in my left hand. It ceratinly doesn't affect my playing, though my 7 year old can beat me at left-handed thumb-wars.

The body has amazing powers of recovery. Don't give up hope, don't sell anything you might regret, not yet.

[mjudd]

Sorry to hear about the medical issues. I'm getting to that age where I'm starting to ... let's just say I'm not as young as I used to be.

I agree with those here who have advised to not do anything too rash with regards to selling any instruments you love. Sure, if you want to sell one or two that you don't play very often any more (assuming you have some like that), then it might be time to thin the herd a little bit. But don't give up hope. It's very possible you'll be back in the home studio recording some music a few months down the road.

In the meantime, you may need a place to store some of your more expensive and nicer guitars while your recuperating, and it won't hurt the guitars to get some use and some exercise. I think I can help you out with that.....

[wguitar]

The human spirit is amazing and your passion for playing guitar can be a powerful motivational and rehabilitation tool ! Stay focused on it and be patient. Persistence and focus will pay off! Take care !

[Joe Beamish]

Coldshot, it won't stay this way. It's going to get better. Hold onto those guitars at least for now.

Your left side is going to come back, maybe all the way, maybe only part of the way.

I assume you're right handed. Lap steel and maybe even pedal steel could be a really great way to go. Those are incredible instruments.

[Glennwillow]

Hi Coldshot!

Wow! This community is really wonderful!

When I first read your opening comments, I felt really overwhelmed. What can anyone say to help you face all your troubles? And yet here are four pages of comments where AGFers have found all kinds of ways to encourage you, tell you their own incredible stories, and let you know there really is hope.

It appears from your additional comments that you are a fighter, that you have a good attitude. And if you add that to the hope provided by so many posters here from their own stories, I think you still could have the guitar in your future.

If not the guitar, there is still music. And there is still life and people around you who care about what happens to you.

Hang in there and keep up the fight. I will be thinking about you and hoping for a full recovery or as close to that as possible.

I have a brother-in-law that has a great attitude towards life -- always looking on the bright side. He has had some major heart problems including a complex bypass surgery. I love being around him. He says, "Every day is a miracle."

- Glenn

[HFox]

Mate,
22 years ago I broke my neck in a boating accident....3 level fusion, Halo brace,
quad for 2 weeks,paralyzed legs for 4 weeks...spinal surgery for 12 hrs.
2 years of rehab and daily workouts on a bowflex.
23 years ago Bladder Cancer...full year of treatments( VERY UNCOMFORTABLE).
I made a full recovery from both and while I can't hold a pick I can use a Blue Chip thumb pick made for me.
I own 4 Santa Cruz Custom guitars and a wonderful 1993 Martin HD-28 that my wife bought me to help recover from the neck surgery.
I had to learn how to play standing up with a strap...couldn't bend over to look at my hands.....took time , it hurt, Made me a better player

What Doesn't kill you makes you stronger !!
NEVER GIVE UP !!!

[ghostnote]

Wow, I admire you folks who have stared down major adversity and kicked its ***. To the OP, I agree with the many who say not to do something radical with your stuff. Anything is possible, and you might be playing again sooner than you think. Hang in, brother.
My own brush with not playing: I trashed my left hand playing football years ago, and had to choose between surgery and a big hand brace, or just the brace for a period of months. The doc said that I'd probably always have pain either way, so I chose the brace. He was right about the pain - I have it every time I play, but I'm used to it now so it doesn't bother me any longer. While I had the brace on, I started playing 7-finger piano, because that's all I had available. It was odd for awhile, but scratched the music itch enough to keep me sane.