Since my bike crash on December 1, 2021, I’ve had to relearn how to live. As you can see from the picture above, my right arm is in a cast. Being right-handed means that all the things I know instinctively how to do, I no longer can do. For nearly one month now, I’ve had to figure out how to do things with my left hand.
It hasn’t been pretty — at all. Slowly but surely, however, things have become a bit more natural. That’s not to say that I’m comfortable doing these things left-handed, but at least I can do them without help. I hate asking my wife or kids to do simple things for me – it makes me feel like an invalid. But they have graciously helped me at all times, without complaining.
I thought I’d make a list of some of the things I can do with my left hand, and some of the things it’s not possible to do without two hands.
Can Do
Things I can do with one hand include:
Writing blogs (With the help of dictation software). This is a big one, obviously.
Open a bottle and take pills. I’ve developed a special method for this: I open the bottle, put the lid down next to me, dump the appropriate number of pills into the lid, and swallow the pills.
Washing most of my body, and shampoo my hair.
Getting dressed. This includes pulling shirts on over my cast. Note that this is a new cast that was just put on Tuesday. The previous cast, which was more of a hard splint, didn’t allow me to put any of my long sleeve shirts or jackets on. This is a drawback during winter, when it gets, you know, cold. With the new cast, however, this is less of a problem. There are still many shirts and jackets I can’t wear, but there are enough I can yank over the cast to make the situation tolerable.
Making oatmeal. This is my breakfast staple, and it takes about twice as long to make it as it does when I had two good hands, but at least I can get it done.
Can Sorta Do
There are a number of things that I couldn’t do left-handed at first, but now I can with some practice. They include:
Putting deodorant under my left arm.
Cutting my fingernails.
Making coffee. This one is huge given my addiction to my Moccamaster coffee system. The hardest part was unscrewing the plastic container into which the ground coffee drops from the grinder (I buy whole bean coffee, and brew it within 60 seconds of grinding it. This is truly the only way to make a great cup of joe).
Putting on my Apple Watch. It was several weeks before I could do this.
No Can Do
So I can do the majority of the things I need to do with just my left hand. Still, there are numerous things I’m simply not capable of doing, and won’t be capable of doing, until I have use of my right hand. They include:
Putting the waterproof bag over my right arm for a shower, and then taking the bag off after the shower. I’m glad that there are specific bags made for this nowadays, as I figured I might have to use a shopping bag or something like that.
Opening a jar.
Carving a turkey. This was a big deal at Thanksgiving, because I’ve been carving turkeys for 30 years, and this year my chef daughter had to take over the job.
Cutting any kind of meat. My wife Kathy and I were out to dinner last night, and she had a pork chop that was difficult for her to cut. Normally, I’d cut it all up for her, but simply couldn’t last night (sorry, Kathy).
Tying my shoe laces snugly. I can get them very loosely tied, but can’t make them tight.
This of course is just a partial list, but it gives you a pretty good idea of what I face every day. The adjustment has been challenging, but not overwhelming. I’m also able to do more with my left hand than I thought I could, which is surprising and pleasing.
The next chance I’ll have to be able to get back to some semblance of normalcy will be the last week of January, when I get this cast taken off and my hand and wrist x-rayed. The orthopedist says that at that meeting they’ll determine whether to put a cast on my hand again, or put me in a brace instead. Of course I’m hoping for the brace, but at least I’m confident that if I have to get back in a cast, I can function well enough with just my left hand.
Until next time.
P. S. If you have any tips on things you have done with a broken limb, please mention them in the comments. In addition, feel free to leave comments and feedback on this post and anything else you see on the site. I want this to be an interactive relationship, and you should feel free to point out what you like and don’t. And if you could ask your friends to consider subscribing to this newsletter, I'd be grateful!
Small correction. It was the turkey at Christmas that I couldn't carve, not Thanksgiving. My accident happened after Thanksgiving.
I drove myself to the hospital from Koons Ford with a broken left hand.....in a stick shift Mazda ... J.S. but it's not a contest! LOL