Yesterday, July 1, 2015, I was admitted to surgery to repair
an injured shoulder. The procedure
required anesthesia and a nerve block of the cervical or brachial plexus to
deaden my arm. Following the procedure,
my arm remained limp in a sling, and without feeling, for the remainder of the
night and into the next morning. I had
the experience of someone who could only use one arm. Of course with my family providing support, I
was not expected to do very much.
However, the morning after, I ventured to brush my teeth, use the bathroom,
make a smoothie, and do normal things people do – grab, hold, move, scratch an
itch. It occurred to me how normal is
taken for granted.
During the evening after returning home, I unconsciously
attempted to clasp my hands and recognized that my hands didn’t know where each
other was. In fact, my left arm could
not find where my right arm was. When they touched, only one responded. The left
arm and hand did not respond and lay limply in the sling. Have you ever tried to open a bottle or
button a shirt with one hand? How do you open a tube of toothpaste without
making a mess of it? I had to think
carefully and discover ingenious ways to accomplish simple tasks. I placed a bottle of vitamins between my legs
and used my right hand, the functional one, to open it and retrieve a tablet. I
pressed the tube of toothpaste against the edge of the bathroom sink to
stabilize it before twisting the cap to obtain toothpaste. Since the tube is
soft, the tube twisted while the cap remained tightly attached. My left arm was an appendage without motion and
feeling. Awaking in the middle of the
night, I was almost startled by this warm, heavy appendage across my chest and
wondered for a second who owned it.
My 18-hour encumbrance provided great respect for those born
with, or those who have developed physical and mental challenges, deformities or
deficiencies. It provided me with a new
appreciation for the difficult life and major adjustments required by many in
our community – quadriplegics, paraplegics, and stroke patients; children born
with deficiencies such as, cerebral palsy; trisomics, like those with Down syndrome,
who live their entire lives with their physical deficits.
My experience provided me with the following insights:
1.
We owe a great tribute to the dedicated occupational
therapists who spend their professional lives devising ingenious ways, and
developing tools and protocols, that enable people who live with physical and
mental deficiencies to perform daily tasks more efficiently.
2.
We who are more physically gifted must exhibit
far more patience, love, and care for those who struggle day by day to
accomplish those tasks we often take for granted.
3.
We should never take for granted the many gifts
of our physical abilities, which can be quickly snatched away by unfortunate
accidents and ill health.
Love and Blessings!
Len
Love and Blessings!
Len
