I’m healed!

A Family article with View Comments posted 3 December 2008.
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Well, not completely healed. I don’t have to wear that sling anymore, though. I had my first physical therapy appointment today, and it went pretty well (despite getting strangely lightheaded at one point). Ed, the PT guy, even gave me a big pink rubber band to take home and do exercises with. I should be mostly recovered by the end of the year. Hurrah!

Things that are hard to do left handed

A Family article with View Comments posted 9 November 2008.
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With my dislocated shoulder, I don’t have a whole lot of use for my right hand or arm. I can clutch a few things close to myself, but that’s about it for now. Without further ado, I present the Not-so-comprehensive List of Things that are Hard and/or Impossible to do One-Handed:

Hard to do

  • Scratch your nose while holding anything else.
  • Tying shoelaces. Extra points for double knots.
  • Putting on and taking off shirts. Extra points for polo shirts that aren’t very stretchy.
  • Typing. Mostly easy, but when you can’t move your shoulder much, hitting backspace is tricky. Try it!
  • Passing the peace in church. People look at you funny and then try to make a left handed handshake with their left hand. Awkward. Which brings us to…
  • Shaking hands. People sometimes put their right hand out, expecting me to be miraculously healed and reach out with my big black sling. I grab their hand with my left and shake that way instead.
  • Holding books to read. Easy while sitting, but holding a hymnal while standing to sing, for example, is quite the feat. Turning pages while standing is well nigh impossible.
  • Liturgical gestures. Sticking one arm awkwardly out and raising it doesn’t mean “Time to stand up now, folks.” quite as eloquently for some reason.
  • Anything having to do with contact lenses.
  • Playing piano. I cheated and scooted my butt up and down the piano seat so I wouldn’t have to move my right shoulder to play a little bit for Coffeehouse last night.
  • Sweeping and mopping. But with a little imagination, it can be done!

Impossible to do

  • Buttons. Buttons of any kind flummox me completely. Extra points if your pants seem to have (cough cough) mysteriously shrunk.
  • Carrying heavy things. Thank goodness Chuck carried our new travel system from the baby shower up the stairs this evening. With Jennifer 7 months pregnant and the right half of my body being eaten by a sling, we’re nearly helpless.
  • Dialing a phone. Okay, I’ll admit, this isn’t impossible, but somehow my brain won’t tell my left hand how to push the right buttons, and it takes a few tries to get it right.
  • Putting on a knit hat. Protip: if you don’t mind the taste of cotton, you can use your teeth and get the job done without help.

I hope I’m done with this sore shoulder soon!

Left Handed Friday

A Family article with View Comments posted 7 November 2008.
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I hereby declare today Left Handed Friday in honor of me dislocating my shoulder last night in the Youth Room and having to do everything left handed today. Fortunately, I’ve found a comfortable position for typing with both hands – otherwise, my universe would likely cease to exist.