Man from the South
A little finger seems like it would not be a big deal. It is so small and seems fairly insignificant to many people. However, it is responsible for a large portion of an individual's grip strength and not having one could impact a person's ability to complete simple daily occupations.
As a member of the navy and a person in general, the soldier in "Man from the South" probably uses his hands quite frequently in day to day life. Initially, pain might keep him from using his left hand as much requiring him to use mainly his right hand which would weaken his left hand even more. He would also have to adjust to not having his typical grip strength and the lack of a digit due to the loss of his pinky. The loss of his pinky could impact some of his military duties such carrying supplies or firing a weapon, but it could also impact his ability to do his day to day activities. When carrying something, having a good grip on it is essential to completing the task. One strategy the soldier might have enlist in order to complete this would be taking more trips that allowed him to carry less weight. While this would take more time, it would allow him to use the strength that he does have in his hand to still complete the task. As time goes on, it could also help to increase his endurance and strength which would allow him to start carrying heavier items. This would initially allow him to have role competence as he would be able to complete his given job, but it would also address improvement as starting small allows him the opportunity to get stronger as time goes on.
The betting man's wife, only having finger and a thumb, would have probably needed various levels of help over the years as she adjusted to losing her fingers. It might not have been as significant at first in terms of function, with the exception of a weaker grip strength from not having a pinky, but as time went on, she lost her ability to grip things and would probably have more difficulty completing tasks that required grasp with two hands. One of these occupations that might be affected in her daily routine would be cooking. When cooking, a person is sometimes required to lift heavy pots and pans that require using two hands. Often times, these are hot and cannot be held anywhere except for the handles. The other day, I saw these long, rubber tubes that bent similarly to pipe cleaners. I think these could be fashioned into loops that she would attach to the handles of pots her hand or arm could go through to help carry them without needing to have the ability to grip the handle.
I noticed how you pointed out the pain he will experience. That is a great take on that. Most students would have thought of only long term problems (once the wound healed) however, you realized that his wound would initially cause pain. One way to address the original wound pain would be educating the young man on sanitation and infection prevention. I also like that you pointed out her occupations as a wife. Cooking is often a role of a wife and she will want the confidence to continue those activities. Along with your loop modifications to the pot handles, I think a pot stand. A pot stand has suction cup on the bottom to stay put on the counter and is very helpful when pouring or mixing. The wife won't have to worry about holding the pot or bowl still while cooking.
ReplyDeleteThis was such a great read, I really enjoyed that you explained in depth how his life may change and how that differs from what one might expect. The long, rubber tubes are foam-covered twist ties! I wrote about them in my blog post as well. You can purchase a four pack on amazon for less than 10 dollars that are rated up to 110 pounds! They are great for grip and would be very useful for the man's wife. I am sure they are a staple in the OT assistive technology community, yet I just discovered them through an OT influencer on Instagram. Her handle is @equipemeot and she shares great content regarding home modification and accessible life hacks!
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