Pianist praises Wexham Park Hospital staff who saved his fingers after DIY accident

A concert pianist has praised Wexham Park Hospital staff who saved his fingers and helped him learn to play again after a life-changing accident.

Stephen Raine, 33, a piano teacher and concert performer, suffered devastating injuries while using a circular saw for DIY work at his home in Iver.

The accident severed his right-hand little finger and left the three others hanging by the skin, threatening to end a musical career that had begun at the age of just six.

But, after more than two years, he is now playing again.

Mr Raine said he felt 'very lucky' following his treatment at Wexham Park

“My recovery has been better than I could ever have hoped for,” he said.

Mr Raine was taken to Wexham Park Hospital after suffering the injury in January 2023, where he underwent eight hours of reconstructive surgery to save his damaged hand.

The Slough hospital, run by NHS Frimley Health Foundation Trust, specialises in reconstructive plastic surgery and has several dedicated hand surgeons.

After the operation, Mr Raine began a long and difficult recovery that included months of hand therapy to rebuild strength, movement and flexibility in his injured fingers.

He said his fingers had been left ‘fibrosed, weak and completely stiff’ and that he feared he might never play to a professional standard again.

That changed when Wexham Park occupational therapist Gaby Willis introduced him to a specialist treatment called CMMS – casting motion to mobilise stiff joints.

The technique involves applying and carefully adjusting plaster casts around affected joints to improve mobility and strengthen stiff areas. Ms Willis studied the technique in her own time to help Mr Raine’s recovery.

Months of hard work began to pay off as Mr Raine began to regain control of his fingers and rebuild the dexterity essential for his piano performances.

Ms Willis said: “I found it so incredibly moving to hear Stephen play, not just because he’s a great pianist but also knowing the emotional journey he had been on and how hard he had worked on his recovery.”

In October last year, the perseverance paid off as he performed Handel’s Chaconne in G Major to an audience at Chelmsford Cathedral - a piece chosen to reflect his own battle against adversity.

He said: “As I’d lost my little finger, I had to learn new finger patterns for the pieces I’d chosen, but I never thought I’d be able to play so freely and as well again and certainly not such an ambitious repertoire.”

He added: “The accident was traumatic at the time, but I feel very lucky since then.

“From my neighbour’s back door being open on the day it happened so I could call for help, doctors saving my index finger when it looked like I might lose that as well, then becoming one of Gaby’s patients just as she’d heard about this amazing technique to help me.

“My recovery has been better than I could ever have hoped for.”

Now back teaching and performing, Mr Raine also works as a motivational speaker.

Ms Willis has continued to use the CMMS and has used the technique to help four more Wexham Park patients.