What do your do when you can't use your dominant hand?
Photo from first surgery in 2017. You can see a plate and pin were added (left wrist).
Three days after that wonderful trip I took to the Pacific Northwest, on March 13th, I tripped and fractured my right (dominant) wrist.
I was on my usual morning walk- daydreaming about what wonders I might create now that I was getting back to normal- 3 days in from the time zone changes. I’d been working on a sample using French Knots (woven in) while I was away- and was anxious to get started on a larger piece.
French Knot exploration
Daydreaming. I guess that’s how it happened because I really didn’t see it coming. Some people describe falls in slow motion. Not me. I was walking along one minute and the next I was flat on the ground with my nose smashed into a (fortunately smooth) rock and my hand still clutching my walking stick..
I was lucky it wasn’t worse. I was on a path that meandered along huge cap rock with a pretty good drop on one side. I looked for days afterwards trying to figure out what might have caused the fall- there were plenty of tree roots and various elements that can cause one to trip on that route- but the earth was pretty even where I actually went down. Maybe just the universe telling me “slow down, not so fast”.
I’d broken my left wrist a little over 6 years ago. In fact, that’s what brought me back to tapestry. So far, no life-changing decisions with this fracture, though. The first time, I had surgery and the whole healing process went pretty smoothly and no surprises. This time, the road has been a little rockier!
For one thing, it’s Hard to lose the use of your dominant hand. For the first week or two I was consumed with compassion for those that had to deal with this on a permanent basis. At least “I” had every reason to believe it was just temporary.
Those first couple of weeks I also “entertained” myself by practicing writing - and drawing! - with my left hand. It was actually kind of fun, but eventually the enthusiasm for it waned and I honestly think I felt depression for the first time in my life. (Yes, I know, I’ve been lucky that way.)
I started sleeping later and later leaving the dogs to whine (and not quietly or patiently, either) as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky. Finally, one morning my husband nudged me and said- hey what’s going on with you? You must be depressed.
To which I was slightly shocked but had to to admit it. Yeah… I was.
It got better after that. The first step is admission, right?
I got a grip on myself and stopped the pity game.
The other difference this time was the healing process. Maybe because there was no surgery involved, but it’s taking much longer for my wrist to feel normal again. In fact, as I write this I’m over 4 months in to it, and I still feel “something” where the breaks occurred.
So enough of the backstory!
What DO you do when you lose the loss of your dominant hand?
Here’s what helped me:
Practice writing and sketching with your non-dominant hand
The writing and practicing the alphabet came in particularly handy when I had to sign my new driver’s license a few weeks later!
Here I was practicing making shapes… maybe future knot weavings? (I have pages more like the ones on the right!)
Make future plans
I admit. This one was hard to implement. I just kept getting stuck in the NOW.
Reading
Catch up on that book list. Or if you’re like me, tackle one of those book stacks in various locations around your studio and home. One of the most valuable books I dove into during this time was Dr Joe Dispenza’s Becoming Supernatural. It had been by my bedside for 2 months.
One caveat: Reading in bed was impossible. Too heavy or awkward to hold. I couldn’t even manage an i-pad comfortably in those early days.
I used this time to order more books, too, as I began a deeper dive into medicinal plants and herbal medicine. Watch for upcoming glimpses in my tapestries!
Yoga
Fortunately there are a lot of moves that aren’t dependent on planks and down-dogs, but it’s tricky to find a guided practice that doesn’t include any! I started making a list. I mentioned my favorite yoga practice in this blog post.
Meditation works great for times like this, too!
I hope you never had to or have to in the future - lose the loss of your dominant hand, but maybe if you do, you’ll remember this post and come back to it.