Fortunately for me and my darling husband, I haven’t lost my right arm, just had the use of it temporarily halted. I try to keep that in perspective; there are plenty of people in the world that permanently lose the use of a limb in horrific tragedies. I’m only suffering from a bit of inconvenience, but it makes for great commentary.
The next time you’re feeling a bit ho hum and in need of a challenge or just want to appreciate the life you have, try a few of the following:
Brush your teeth with your non-dominate hand, if that’s not enough of a challenge try applying the paste with only one hand. I recommend trying this before you put on a clean shirt.
Pluck your eye brows, trim your toe nails or blow your nose using only the non-dominate hand.
If you master those and are feeling cocky, try shaving your arm pits, again with the non-dominate hand and without lifting the arm of the dominate hand more than a couple of inches. I’ve only drawn blood once.
I could go on and on about mastering the use of toilet paper and TP holders that are the “wrong” side of the toilet in public bathroom stalls that are too small to accommodate a really big immobilizer sling. If you want to experiment with this one, I suggest the privacy of your own home or one of those big spacious handicapped stalls and only after you insure there is plenty of soap available for clean up.
My amazing husband has been wonderful during my recovery and is always willing to help, but there are situations which are just a fight waiting to happen. I’m proud to announce that we haven’t had any fights through all this but there have been some bizarre conversations and interactions. Team blow drying isn’t that great of an idea. The best outcomes (I use that term loosely) result in him standing still with the hair drier and the person with the hair running the round brush moving around the stream of hot air. Unfortunately, we didn’t video tape this process – would have been a weekly winner.
Getting dressed with one working arm and the other strapped to your side isn’t exactly a cake walk. Getting a bra on or off is a bit like a yoga work out. Working the closure on pants is only slightly easier. Thank goodness we live in the land of summer and I can wear flip flops, one handed sock donning is a good way to raise your blood pressure. Tying shoe strings with one hand simply isn’t an option. At times I think Dave is actually enjoying having me at his mercy. The other night he helped me put on socks and tennis shoes so that we could go for a walk. Upon returning from the walk, I discovered that he had tied my shoes so tight that I couldn’t remove them without untying them. He grinned for a full 10 seconds before offering to assist me. He acts as if it’s unusual for me to ask for help and I can’t imagine why.
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