I broke my scaphoideum in my picking hand last year, had to have surgery and have a titanium screw inserted right through the bone to keep it together. Healed up just fine though, took a few days of practice to get my picking going again. I'm sure it will be the same for James, these things sound scarier than they are.
Same happened to me.. 2 months in a cast, and another 2 months of being ridiculously careful not to stress it(Im in the middle of the last month of being careful.), and i had the best condition for healing fast. I was told that i was going to be in a cast for 4 months, and then have to where a supporting brace for another 2 months due to the severe muscle loss! D;
Anyways, its not the end of the world.. my dad got his right hand stuck in a wood grinder ~20 years ago, and he was a very active drummer at the time.
He spent 3 years going through surgeries just to get all the blood vessels and nerves in order.. after that, his friends designed him a glove that allowed him to attach a drumstick to the bottom of his hand(All he has left of it.), and then there was a spring attached to the wrist that allowed him to control the "bounce" of the drumstick by angeling his wrist differently.
About 10 years ago he decided that he wanted to start playing guitar, so he took a piece of orthopedics plastic that he wrapped around his wrist, and then clamped a pick to it, and he is actually pretty good!
So nah, James has nothing to worry about.. its all a matter of adjusting, it may suck hard in the beginning, but you do get used to it!
