La Grande woodworker is recovering from a serious hand injury

LA GRANDE — A La Grande man who lost his right index finger in a table saw accident five days ago is now recovering at home and is eager to get back to practicing his craft.

Sam Delano, a 40-year-old woodworker, was working in his shop when the accident occurred at about 7 p.m. Sunday, April 21. He was alone at home but was able to call 911 despite his injuries with the earbuds he was wearing listening to music. An ambulance crew arrived and took him to Grande Ronde Hospital before he was flown by Life Flight to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, Boise, Idaho, where he had surgery on April 22 for his injured right index finger and right thumb.

“He can’t wait to get started working again in his shop," said Delano’s wife, Rebecca. “It blows my mind."

Doctors were not able to save his right index finger, which was dangling from his hand, but they were able to keep his right thumb intact. Two pins were placed in the thumb to help it heal, said Rebecca, noting that doctors will remove them in six weeks.

Doctors have told Delano he should regain full use of his thumb, his wife said.

Physicians have also told Delano that he later could have another operation to move his right thumb closer to his fingers, Rebecca Delano said. This would help him compensate for the loss of his right index finger by possibly making it easier for him to grip items.

The woodworker, who is righthanded, suffers from pain and is taking medication to relieve it.

“I have an alarm that goes off every three hours to remind me to give him painkillers," said Rebecca Delano, who was in Portland with the couple’s three children when the accident occurred in La Grande.

Rebecca Delano is grateful that her husband’s accident was not any more serious than it was.

“I am extremely thankful that his accident wasn’t any worse but it definitely turned our world temporarily upside down," she wrote on the GoFundMe page for her husband.

Rebecca Delano cannot understand how the accident happened because she credits her husband with being very safety conscious.

“Sam is always very adamant about safety in the shop. He’s always practicing safe cuts and making sure the kids are safe while they are in there,’’ she wrote.

Rebecca Delano said she is struck by the poise and calm demeanor her husband has displayed following the accident.

“He hung up the keys to his shop in our home after the accident and then went outside and calmly waited for the ambulance to come," she said. "He was much calmer than I would have been."

She credits her husband with having an upbeat attitude.

“He sees the positive side of things," Rebecca Delano said.

She also credits her husband with being the type of person who always tries to give back to the community in any way he can.

The Delanos moved to La Grande three years ago from Redmond.

Sam Delano opened his home shop, Whiskey Chipmunk Woodworking, a year ago. Rebecca Delano said her husband’s goal has been to later leave his job at the manufacturing company he is employed by and drives a forklift for, and begin working full time at his woodworking shop.

Woodworking is one of Delano's passions, his wife said.

Rebecca Delano said her family has been touched by the support it has received since the accident.

“We love this community and are humbled by the support we've had," she said.