Hello John: A few years ago I fainted at a function and fell face forward onto a marble floor. I chipped one tooth and broke another front Incisor to a 3 m.m. stub, loosened both front teeth and worst of all cut my lower lip almost right through requiring 18 stitches to close. Fortunately my personal doctor, who had some training in plastic surgery and his son (also a medical doctor) were present. They stopped the bleeding and took me to the hospital where they personally took charge and stitched me up.
10 Lessons learnt: 1) I was very fortunate that my doctor knew I was a hornplayer and took great care to put every piece of lip back in place. it was like a jigsaw puzzle. The cut was 1-1/4" in by 1/2 " and had to be stitched internally and externally. 2) My chipped and broken teeth were rebuilt by my dentist. My front teeth were loosened but they recovered after six months. He suggested that wind instrument musicians (he played oboe at school) should make a mould of their teeth as an insurance against such accidents so he could rebuild your dentures as they were before. 3) I had been engaged to play in a Christmas show within six weeks of the accident. I tried to pas the job on to my students but they did not think they were up to playing the score. I could not play a note and thought this was the end of my hornplaying career. 4) I went to the rehearsals after a week and learnt the parts by following the score. After the stitches were removed I tried to play but it was very sore and not possible. After three weeks I selected the most comfortable mouthpiece from my collection and found an old Conn 2 that was very comfortable. I started playing long notes from middle C working up to one octave a note at a time and for short periods only with the minimum of pressure (Phil Farkas would have been pleased.) 5) After 4 weeks I could play one octave but my tone was terrible and my bottom lip was still numb. 6) After five weeks I could manage to G above the stave which was great as this was the highest note in my part. 7) After 6 weeks I was able to do the show (5 performances) and the fees I received paid for my dental bills. It took many months before the numbness went but a small hard spot persisted. 8) Fortunately my upper lip was not damaged which is probably why I was able to play so quickly (2/3 top lip did the trick). I must say my lip healed very quickly. 9) I would not recommend to anyone to rush their recovery as I did. I think three to six months would have been better depending on the severity of the accident but my circumstances did not permit. 10) Today I am fully recovered and can play the complete compass of the horn from the fundamental to the top F (at a pinch) By the way a former professional colleague of mine once drove his car into Admirality Arch in London ( I don't know how you could miss that huge monument) and also damaged his lip. It took him several months to fully recover but he was able to meet a commitment to play in Australia three months later... Hope this little story gives you some hope. With every best wish from the sunny Caribbean.... Francis Pau > > John Schreckengost wrote: Here is my question to post. 3 wks ago I slipped and fell and my two front teeth went through my lower > lip resulting in two hard lumps on my lip, one at the lip line (off-center > left) and another on the lower lip flesh (also off-center left). From what > I > have read it needs at least 6-8 months to heal and I can get steroid > injections to help soften it, but what I want to know is if anyone has > personally been through this. Should I try and play? How should I go about > approaching practice so as to not make it worse? > > John Schreckengost > Chicago, IL > > _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
