Hands

I have been thinking a lot about hands over the past 4 weeks--how important they are to most everything we do.  Hands are important to everyone...they wash our faces as well as our dishes.  They pull on our socks and tie our shoes.  They brush our hair.  They make meals.  They caress loved ones. And if you know anything about FACS, you know that hands are extremely important in almost everything we do in the Family & Consumer Sciences classroom.

Five weeks ago, my little dachshund puppy, Sasha, got under my feet.  I lost my balance trying to avoid stepping on her, fell through the metal dog gate and cracked my left wrist.  Painful,,,yes!  Inconvenient...yes!  Manageable...yes!

After missing a couple of days at school, I returned, wrist in brace, ready to get on with whatever came my way, knowing that I would have to adapt how I did things for several weeks.

Eight days later, I was walking across my classroom, lost my footing and went down hard on my right wrist.  Fortunately, no bad words were spoken, but I did break my wrist.  Let me amend that...I shattered the top of my radius into 10+ pieces.  The orthopedist said the bone looked like "gravel" in the x-ray.

One month into my recovery, I can gingerly hold a pen/pencil and I realize I will need to learn to write all over again. I can now type with my left hand and the thumb and first two fingers of my right, but my hand and arm tire easily.  I can't eat with a fork or spoon in my right hand--no strength and can't the correct angle.  The list is endless.

I can't drive so I am stuck at home dependent on friends and family to free me from "exile."

I have two months before I can return to work and so many of the things I love to do...sew, quilt, crochet, embroider...need the use of the fine motor skills of both hands.  Fortunate, I can walk

I keep thinking about how important our hands are. And I won't ever take the use of my hands for granted again!