AR385 From Mexico, joined Nov 2003, 4938 posts, RR: 27 Posted (7 months 1 week 20 hours ago) and read 1176 times:
Sure. It would not be so bad, except that I am a Lefty. The broken ligaments and bones are on my left hand thumb. My Orthopedic surgeon gave me a contraption I´ve wrapped around my hand, specifically being told that if I take that contraption off anytime (for a shower even) in the next 4 weeks I will require surgery. (I cannot provide details on how the accident happened, lest Superfly might get the idea) But it involved ATVs, a bed, a big mountain and a woman.
The reason I´ve started this OP is that I only have my right hand available now and it feels foreign, ackward and TOTALLY useless. It feels as of someone else´s hand or another person´s.
For the next month I am going to have to turn into an ambidextrous. Any tips?
AF1624 From France, joined Jul 2006, 586 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (7 months 1 week 19 hours ago) and read 1176 times:
Interesting.
I've burnt myself second & third degree on right hand, right leg and left foot about two weeks ago.
For two and a half weeks I couldn't use my right hand for anything (and I'm right-handed).
You'll find it very hard to do anything you used to correctly. There are three main activities I'm thinking of that became particularly difficult during that period. One was writing. I'll let you guess the other two.
What you'll also find is that you're going to get used to using the wrong hand pretty quickly. It's a question of training but it comes seamlessly. You have to use it the whole day to manipulate everything (all everyday objects such as a remote control, a fork, your keyboard, etc...). With habit it'll be more and more precise as time passes.
SmittyOne From United States of America, joined Feb 2012, 906 posts, RR: 2 Reply 2, posted (7 months 1 week 19 hours ago) and read 1178 times:
No advice but to say "listen to your doctor!"
I broke my right (dominant hand) a year and a half ago - very simple break actually - and it's just starting to feel normal again. Makes you realize how fragile your manual dexterity is and how much we rely on it
flymia From United States of America, joined Jun 2001, 6328 posts, RR: 6 Reply 3, posted (7 months 1 week 15 hours ago) and read 1176 times:
I have had to have a cast on my right hand (I am right handed) twice in my life. You just need to use your other hand as much as you can. Things like writing will never feel normal but eating and opening things etc.. Can get to be normal and it is good for your brain to be using the other hand sometimes. Make sure you follow your doctor and when you do get the thing off make sure you not only do any therapy for your thumb but any other area that has been inmobile especially your wrist.
"It was just four of us on the flight deck, trying to do our job" (Captain Al Haynes)
rfields5421 From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 6196 posts, RR: 25 Reply 5, posted (7 months 1 week 15 hours ago) and read 1176 times:
I broke my right thumb in May 2010. In a contraption for two and 1/2 weeks - surgery and a cast for a month. No swimming or water skiing for another month. Three months of physical therapy to try and improve usage of the thumb.
The most difficult thing for me to re-learn immediately with my left hand was wiping my rear end.
Don't laugh. Try doing it with your other hand and see how difficult it is.
Today that thumb has about 50% of the flexibility of the other one. I actually had to have my bowlling balls replaced because my thumb is not larger and won't bend at the angle it did previously. Redrilling wasn't an option.
I don't have the grip I once had, opening jars, using tools, etc.
connies4ever From Canada, joined Feb 2006, 3897 posts, RR: 13 Reply 6, posted (7 months 1 week 15 hours ago) and read 1176 times:
Sympathies, but the general advice given is correct: listen to your doctor, and work within the limitations this imposes. Follow any therapy program prescribed.
I've broken fourteen bones (so far) and managed to survive them all. Being left-handed, thankfully I've never broken anything hanging off my left shoulder.
fxramper From United States of America, joined Dec 2005, 7048 posts, RR: 92 Reply 7, posted (7 months 1 week 9 hours ago) and read 1176 times:
Don't know how much use you can get from your other hand in just 4 weeks time, but when I was in 5th grade I broke my right hand at summers beginning and was casted in the new at the time gortex allowing me to do all the water sports over the summer. As a result of not having my right hand for 8 weeks I learned to use my left hand to write, shoot baskets, wipe my butt, open doors, feed myself, etc and became ambidextrous to a degree.
Good luck with the ligament damage heeling properly.
yfbflyer From Canada, joined Sep 2006, 294 posts, RR: 1 Reply 9, posted (7 months 1 week 9 hours ago) and read 1176 times:
once they take off the splint you will have to do hand excercises. your thumb will be very stiff and you won't regain full range of motion for a while.
CONTACREW From United States of America, joined Feb 2012, 267 posts, RR: 0 Reply 14, posted (7 months 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 1176 times:
Let's see here busted my right arm twice in the same spot. First time my cousin and I were playing airplane. See what my cousin did was lay on her back put her feet in the air, and what I did was put my back on her feet she launched me in the air I landed on my wrist and that was the end of that game. When I went to the hospital I had to take children's chewable tylenol (yucky) because I hate needles so they can rebreak my arm so it can heal right. The 2nd time I was trying to be cool in elementary school and skip every other monkey bar, however I missed it lost my grip and broke my arm in the same exact spot ugh. The 3rd time, My brother, and cousins were rollerblading and my younger cousin and I were racing to the water fountain at some school and i slipped and broke my left wrist and it never did heal right. Let's see here I got burned a few times by getting too close to the stove top oops.
Flight Attendants prepare doors for departure, cross check verify straps standby for all call
Geezer From United States of America, joined Aug 2010, 1470 posts, RR: 2 Reply 15, posted (7 months 3 days 22 hours ago) and read 1176 times:
Well, I'm right handed, and I didn't break my right thumb.........I sawed mine off; (at the first joint) ditto right index finger;
so now I have a half thumb, one third index finger.
All of this happened while I was still trying to feed my family, pay off my mortgage; everything healed up great; (as usual)
had no limitations at all; until I tried to go back to work; my company said, "you can't come back to work"; it's impossible to load cars on a carrier and chain them down with three fingers.
I said, I'm coming back, and you can't stop me ! (Anyone returning from comp has to get a release from the company doc), (who says what the company tells him to say) (so much for doctors not supposed to lie)
The teamsters said.........keep screwing around, and we'll be hearing what the judge has to say ! It didn't get quite that far; I went to two MORE doctors, one of them an orthopedic surgeon who has a HUGE reputation as the BEST there is; he examined my hand, says "go back to work"; if they still give you crap, tell them we'll see them in court, and not only will WE win, but THEY'LL do the paying ! That did it; never have had a problem since.
The only thing I ever have a problem with, (and I can do it ok, just not quite as quickly, is button my left sleeve cuff.
As for "taking care of business after doing my business"..........either hand, no problem.
I just hope like hell no one ever tells me I CAN"T swim across the Mississippi River; I'd for sure have to prove them full of it !
Charley
Stupidity: Doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result; Albert Einstein
AR385 From Mexico, joined Nov 2003, 4938 posts, RR: 27 Reply 16, posted (7 months 18 hours ago) and read 1167 times:
Quoting AF1624 (Reply 1): One was writing. I'll let you guess the other two.
Writing is totally impossible. The other two, well, I´ve managed good times with my partner, no problems there. Still certain delicacy is needed.
Quoting SmittyOne (Reply 2): and it's just starting to feel normal again. Makes you realize how fragile your manual dexterity is and how much we rely on it
Incredible. I would have never thought twice about it, until now. I can´t tie my shoes, cut my food, dress as neatly as I would like. Amazing.
Quoting flymia (Reply 3): You just need to use your other hand as much as you can. Things like writing will never feel normal but eating and opening things etc.. Can get to be normal and it is good for your brain to be using the other hand sometimes. Make sure you follow your doctor and when you do get the thing off make sure you not only do any therapy for your thumb but any other area that has been inmobile especially your wrist.
Theraphy is a given, for sure. The past week I have gotten somehow better at using my right hand, and my brain feels as it´s charging overtime. Good advice, thank you.
Quoting HAWK21M (Reply 4): Best bet is to stay positive & follow the Docs Instructions.......
Great advice, HAWK21M. Iit´s been hard depending on others for so many basic things. That can bring you down, but thinking positively and thinking "this too shall pass" really keeps you off a crippling depression.
Quoting rfields5421 (Reply 5): The most difficult thing for me to re-learn immediately with my left hand was wiping my rear end.
You´ve no idea how f......g hard that was. Thankfully we have bidets installed in every bathroom in our house. My crazy Argentine mother...
Don't laugh. Try doing it with your other hand and see how difficult it is.
Amazingly difficult.
Quoting fxramper (Reply 7): Good luck with the ligament damage heeling properly.
Yes, that is my main concern. Being a 40 year old diabetic, I´m praying every night that this lesion heals proerly and that I don´t require surgery. I´m not afraid of surgery per se, but of all the recuperating time.
Quoting BMI727 (Reply 10): As a fellow lefty, how can you not be largely ambidextrous anyway just from living in a very right handed world?
I don´t know. I guess I managed. But I´ve always been within reach of tools for lefties. Baseball gloves, school desks, scissors, guitars in high school music lessons and other apparatuses. If you look hard for them, there are companies that provide every stuff for lefties. At least in this age.
Newark727 From United States of America, joined Dec 2009, 1192 posts, RR: 0 Reply 17, posted (7 months 14 hours ago) and read 1138 times:
Quoting BMI727 (Reply 10): As a fellow lefty, how can you not be largely ambidextrous anyway just from living in a very right handed world?
This is what I was wondering myself. I'm a lefty but I use my right hand for a heck of a lot of things now, apart from writing. I think the reason for that though, is that people simply assume I'm a righty and I never tell them otherwise.
As for the OP: do not skimp on your physical therapy/rehab when it happens, would be my only advice. I messed up my right elbow skiing two years ago and you really need to just keep working it to get your range of motion back- I didn't, and it's healed, but there's about five degrees that it can't extend to anymore. I would also say: find out what the most psychologically difficult things are with the limitations of the injury. In my case with my elbow I was worried about lifting large objects above my head, I thought I had lost the arm strength.
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