Handy topic

OK, OK, I haven’t posted anything in two days.  Everything I think about has been negative and I wanted to avoid focusing on that.

How about a goal, albeit one with negative aspects or at least motivations.

I want to use my right hand more.  I avoid doing so because it is weak and I can’t use it well.  I have ulnar nerve damage at my elbow, a common enough spot, most likely from prolonged pressure against the frame of the hospital bed.  There were a lot of things in that arm so it couldn’t be moved much.  Anyway, the ulnar nerve handles the hand from the middle of the middle finger to the outside (little finger side) of the hand.  So most of that hand has limited sensation and I can’t use it very well.

The problem is that this leads to continued atrophy of the muscles.  The lack of nerve feedback also causes a problem since it seems to reinforce the atrophy.  The muscles just don’t seem to respond to use by getting stronger or building mass.  But I want to try to improve the hand anyway.

I use my right hand now, but not as much as I used to and maybe not as much as I could.  So I want to try to use it more and see what I can do with it.  I’ll be careful.  Not knowing where your hand is does reinforce the need to be careful and I (usually) am careful.

You know the really aggravating part?  After decades of writing and programming I had finally started touch typing 2 months before this happened.

Isn’t it ironic?  (No, it’s not, no matter what that song makes people think.)

Now, if I said that that was the perfect time to learn to touch type, that would be ironic, mostly.

I guess that wasn’t positive either.

Let’s just leave it at: I am going to strengthen my right hand.