5 Things That Require Two Hands

On Sunday, instead of my usual blogging exploits, I was loading in for tech week. However, in the process of getting a heavy bit of equipment off of the truck and into the space, it fell and my wrist broke its fall. Luckily, neither I nor the stuff is broken, but my hand/wrist/forearm area is severely bruised and ridiculously swollen, and there's some pretty bruising on my foot as well (but nothing worse than I've gotten from kicking an elbow in tae kwon do). As a result of losing the use of my right hand (yes, that's the dominant one), I've decided to write a post about 5 things I usually take for granted that really do require two hands.

1. Tying my shoes. I tried to tie my sneakers on Monday, but they kept coming untied because I couldn't pull the bow tight enough to hold. I eventually had a friend tie them for me, but I've been wearing slip-on shoes ever since.

2. Putting my hair in a ponytail. Really, doing anything to my hair. I've been wearing headbands to keep it out of my face, but I really wish I could pull it back.

3. Putting on deodorant. I get through one side then realize I can't grip with my injured hand. Let's just say, I have indeed been wearing deodorant, but it's been applied in creative ways.

4. Doing a task while carrying something. Since my usable hand is doing the carrying, I can't carry another thing or, say, open a door while there is something in my hand. Usually I can manage with an elbow or a hip, but it's still kind of annoying.

5. Belting my pants. It took a day for me to be able to put pants on without the hand hurting, but I can't even think of how I can wear a belt as well.

Another thing I can't do right now is write, but that's only a problem when I need to take an exam so far. Typing is okay, but I have a quiz on Monday for which I will most likely be sloppily circling answers with my left hand.

I want to say that the accident is nobody's fault. We were all experienced techies doing a routine task, and it was a freak incident. There is no one to blame, and I'm not mad at anyone. Nobody else should be angry or guilty because I'm not, and I'm the only one who got hurt. I'm over the fact that it happened, and now I'm living with the reality of the injury, end of story.

Yesterday, I had the fascinating experience of writing a paper about the construction of illness while going through the process of constructing my own illness identity for this situation. I have decided that I'm just a resilient person. As one friend said, "We've learned that we can't break Steph." We came pretty close, but even if it were broken, I'd bounce back anyway because I hate the idea of taking on a victimized illness identity. I am a strong, independent person, and if I have to do that with one hand for a while, so be it.

But, really, I want the swelling to go away. Stupid hematoma.

Today is awesome because my doctor unceremoniously chucked the plaster monstrosity I'd been wearing and upgraded me to a fancy velcro wrist brace that looks relatively normal. (See the adjustment of "awesome" brought about by the illness identity? Love sociology.)