Member-only story
Are You Blinded by What’s Broken
I have a lower tolerance for pain, so I’m grateful we live in such an age where I can open a cabinet, take a couple of pills, and resolve a headache in 30 minutes or less.
In 2017, I tore a small tendon in my left wrist. Being left-handed, I found the inability to use my arm crazy frustrating. For 6 weeks, I had to wear a brace that kept my arm locked in a specific position while the tendon healed.
Once immobilized, the pain of the damaged tendon was basically erased. However, the brace itself caused a lot of discomfort. I remember barely sleeping the first few nights as it felt like my skin was on fire.
Soon, the discomfort I felt was all I could think about. For perhaps two weeks, any idle time I had was occupied by thoughts of what had happened and how uncomfortable I was.
What added more to my discomfort was my inability to do my job. I had a job that required a lot of typing. If you’re a proficient typer, you know that one-handed typing is much more than twice as slow as two-handed typing. I resorted to a job-trade of sorts with my office manager who spent a lot of her time on the ten-key. I did her work (where I could) so she could sit at my desk and type as I dictated.
That was fun for about 15 minutes.
