Bassingbourn pianist recovering after avocado hand injury

A pianist who cut her hand with a steak knife while trying to destone an avocado has praised medics who helped save her musical career.

Emma Carpenter, of Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, was visiting a friend in Florida when she severed two tendons in her left hand.

After flying home, she was treated at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and at the Ely Hand Unit.

She said she was "getting there with special exercises and hand massage".

Ms Carpenter, who also plays flute and guitar, said the tip of a steak knife went through the stone, into her cupped hand and out of the other side.

The 22-year-old underwent surgery that involved rejoining severed tendons in her hand, followed by specialist physiotherapy.

She said the guitar was "still a challenge because of the pressure it takes to fret the strings".

"I was really terrified that it was going to be the end of my musical career, as I wouldn't be able to play any form of instrument," said Ms Carpenter, who works in film, on stage, in bars, and at corporate events and weddings.

She has also been working part-time as a psychology assistant at a private hospital in Bassingbourn that provides NHS services, as she continues her exercises.

She was treated by consultant plastic and hand surgeon Alex Reid, who is based at Ely Hand Unit, which is part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH).

He said: "For someone like Emma I was extremely conscious that anything less than an excellent result was likely to impact on her career.

"She made a full recovery with great results thanks to the close team working between the Ely Hand Clinic, the dressing clinic, and our CUH hand therapists."

In 2017, a leading surgeon at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital warned of the dangers of cutting into the fruit and said he was treating as many as four patients a week, with the term "avocado hand" gaining common usage among staff.

Ms Carpenter said: "The NHS gets a lot of negative press about the time it takes to be seen, but my experience was that the service was immaculate at every stage.

"I was at Ely the very next day and so relieved to be in the hands of Mr Reid, who was so meticulous, reassuring, and absolutely determined to do the very best job for me."

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