One of the first things that people ask when they see my right arm in the sling is: "Are you right-handed?"
Sure enough, my right hand is dominant. It has been ever since grade school in France nearly fifty years ago. Ambidextrous when I started school, the teachers allowed me to write and draw only with my right hand.
Now, not being able to use my right arm meant that I'd need to depend on my left arm and hand. While I haven't learned to write with my left hand, I have gotten better at using my left hand in other ways. At first, I used a spoon for eating. I was clumsy, but my coordination gradually improved enough to use a fork fairly skillfully. Using chopsticks with my left hand is still a challenge. However finger-spelling, which I'd never done with my left hand, was immediately easy and fluid.
It didn't take me long to realize that the challenge of having my arm in a sling wasn't that I had suddenly become left-handed. No, this was about becoming one-handed. So many activities require both hands: one hand holds the dish, the other cleans; one hand holds the check while the other signs it; one hand holds the jar so the other one can open it. The sound of one hand clapping? Indeed.
The cold truth was I couldn't take the world with only one arm. I needed help.
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