Life with a fractured wrist

Monday morning I was refreshed from 2 weeks of vacation and ready to be productive at work. Fate intervened however. On my way to work, I slipped on the ice and fractured my wrist.

Monday afternoon I was still cheerful, viewing it as a novel adventure. By Monday evening, I realized the enormity of the difficulties I would be facing for the next 6 weeks or so. Wednesday morning when I woke up, I lay there thinking I'm comfortable now, but as soon as I get up, everything will be hard, and it will hurt. After getting up, I got dressed. I put on my shirt and sweater, saying "ow, ow, ow" as each made the journey over my wrist. Then I looked at my pants and thought with discouragement, "You mean I have to put those on too?

I was very fortunate in that Stephen, Bridget, and Ben had already planned to visit me Tuesday night through Thursday morning. Bridget told me how to wrap my cast in plastic bags so I could shower. Stephen made dinner and washed the dishes both Tuesday and Wednesday nights. He packed up the leftovers into bowls that I could handle in my current condition, leaving me with prepared food to eat after he was gone. He brought me lunch from Oliver's. He spent the afternoon in my office, doing all my typing and mouse clicking for me. After work he continued to assist me, helping me to upload photos. He bought me baklava. He hardboiled all my eggs so that I would be able to eat them.

Now with my visitors departed, I have a number of tasks ahead of me. My job mostly consists of typing at the computer. Doing it with my left hand only was quite trying at first, but I am getting used to it. It's not as challenging as all the things there are to do when I'm not at work. Tasks I took for granted before have now become difficult or impossible. I think it will be a while before I wear contact lenses, chop vegetables, open a can, wear shoes with laces, wear a watch or belt, or iron my clothes. However I do need to do other things, such as simple food preparation (i.e. microwave dinners), washing dishes, getting dressed, taking a shower, washing my hair, driving, getting groceries, and doing laundry. Some of these I've tried already. The rest I'll probably try this weekend. I think it will get easier. As time goes on, my wrist will hurt less and I'll be able to use it more. Also, the more I practice one-handed living, the more adept I'll become.