Losing a limb (not literally)

Physically speaking my paralysis has caused me the lose of quite a bit. For general passersby, there’s the obvious, my legs don’t work. I’ve lost the power of my legs.  But I’ve also lost other things.  I'm paralysed from the chest down.  So I’ve no control over my bowels and bladder but those things can be and are managed. 

Those that know me personally will be shocked, I'm sure, when I tell you that I’ll never have a six pack.  I don’t have control of those muscles anymore.  That said for those that don’t know me I didn’t have control of those muscles beforehand anyway so it’s no major loss.

But one thing I didn’t appreciate during my six months in physio was that for the most part I’ve also lost the use of my right arm.  Yes, I can lift it up and swing it about.  I can type with it I can do anything I want with it unless I want to do any of those things whilst moving.  My right hand controls the chair therefore I’ve no use of it when on the go.

I didn’t take this into account when in the hospital.  In the hospital there were automatic doors.  Food and drink were set down in front of you at the table.  In the hospital I never had to carry anything big, bulky or heavy. I never had to struggle opening a doors or doing shopping. 

Once I got home it became very apparent, very quickly how much I’d underestimated this issue.  Many simple everyday tasks become challenges worthy of entry to the Krypton Factor.  Cooking is probably the most fun and the most dangerous.  Lifting hot, heavy things from the cooker top or the oven becomes a chore.  It has to be done in stages and it takes time. Lots of time.

Everything takes time.  I’ve found since leaving hospital that even the most mundane jobs takes that extra bit longer.  There’s a skill and a knack to many things and whilst I’ve now experienced and mastered many of these challenges I’m sure there are still plenty to come across as time goes on.

One thing I have to say though is hands up to manual chair users! I don’t know how you do it.  I know I struggle with the use of only one hand when moving.  I know that your struggles are tenfold what I go through.