Missadventurers, I have some good news to share... I’ve been healed!
For a week, I’ve been living life with no wrist brace, and it’s amazing. I swear, the world looks a little brighter and I feel free!
Luckily the whole broken-bone experience was less traumatic than I originally believed it would be. Once the bulk of the pain wore off after a few weeks, things were mostly fine. It simply felt like I was living with a small child, because everything in my life took an extra 8-10 minutes. Obviously it wasn’t the end of the world and now I’m happily healed, but I wanted to share with you the top 8 things that were incredibly difficult to deal with as a first-time, one-handed lefty:
You may laugh, but buttoning pants with your non-dominant hand is no easy feat. Because of this, I spent the first three weeks living in skirts and dresses.
Starting the Car
Up until last week, I couldn’t twist my right hand the way it needs to twist to start the car. And leaning over to do it left-handed was awkward.
Typing
99 percent of my job involves computer work. Surprisingly, mousing left-handed was fairly easy to adapt to, but typing proved to be an obstacle. Emails that would normally take two minutes would take 15, and by the end of the day my hand would cramp from being overextended on the keyboard.
Ironing
That was just disastrous. I’m lucky I didn’t scorch the carpet—or myself. (Or, you know, burn the place down.)
Pouring Anything
It’s a good thing you’re not supposed to cry over spilled milk, because if that were the case, I’d have no tears left. Half of every.single.thing I poured ended up on the counter, the floor, or dripping down the side of the cup. (I've started using my right hand again, but it's pretty weak, so this issue is still occurring regularly.)
Food prep
Cooking and eating—successfully—was next to impossible. (I cried a lot out of frustration with this one.) During one lunch hour, I was trying with all my might to scrape the last bit of macaroni from my Easy Mac container. The struggle was real. Co-blogger Emily took pity on me and reached across the table to hold the container steady as I foraged for macaroni. That, you guys, is true friendship. After a few weeks, I got better at eating left-handed, but cutting food hurt too much the first few weeks.
Stretching
Before getting out of bed in the morning, I love giving in to one really long, satisfying stretch. Practically every morning, I’d forget that I was injured, and would throw my arms out, only to feel a giant stab of pain.
Sleeping
I’ve always slept with my wrists and hands tucked up under my chin. Once I was well enough to move on from sleeping on my back with my arm propped up for circulation, I’d wake up with a sore chin. I realized I was trying to find that position, but my brace would inhibit me and my arm would slip, punching my chin as I slept. (All together now... )
What are some things you found difficult with a broken bone? Comment below or tweet me @adventuringMISS.