Enlightened in 3 Ways in 2 Weeks

Well the two weeks are almost over and even after forgetting all the time, my left arm is sore just from doing normal things. It was a hard couple of weeks but I honestly learned way more than I thought I would about how I go about everything every day and there are three main realizations I want to share and hope to keep with me.

First of all, I've just become conscious of everything I do and how I do it. Some days or even every day with certain activities, we go through the motions. We follow a routine that we've become so used to that we don't even think about it. Routines are good and helpful but if what we are trying to attain in life is to "live in the moment," we can't keep going through the motions. It was a rude awakening thinking about what I was doing every second and trying to change it and then realizing that for years I haven't even known or tried to pay attention to how I compensate to floss my teeth or pour a glass of milk. Of course I knew that I've always compensated for a lot of my every day life but it's become such a habit that I don't even know how I'm compensating. Where do our minds go when we follow a routine? After these two weeks, I understand myself better and I know what I need to fix in order to keep my left arm healthy.

The second eye-opener has been my progress. After these two weeks of working my left arm harder than I ever have, it shakes if I try and lift up my phone. But no matter how it seems, I'm not sitting here and telling myself I'm weak because of that. The first few days of this project was a huge struggle. I tried to brush my teeth and I could barely hold onto the toothbrush or navigate it over each tooth. The fine control of my arm, especially my hand and fingers, was atrocious. And as much as I would laugh at myself in the mirror at how terrifyingly focused my face looked when I was trying to complete my nightly routine with my left hand, that focus and that practice made a difference. I haven't gone to physical therapy in a long time but I'm going to use this as my own form of physical therapy because in two weeks I've already seen progress (I'm sorry I sound like a cheesy commercial for a weight loss program). It takes focus but practicing the control of my left side has made that control easier and easier and I have to focus less and less to complete these tasks.

And finally, reinforced in me has been the idea that nothing is ever as bad as it seems. Too often we avoid confrontation of issues whether the issues are with something, someone, or even ourselves simply because we're afraid of what might come of it. We imagine the worst and it scares us off forever. I was terrified at the beginning of these two weeks. I thought I was gonna see that I do everything really strangely and never use my left arm and realize that everyone probably looks at me like I'm crazy because of it. But of course I realized that this isn't the case at all. Of course there were parts of it that were surprising and worse than I thought but I use my left arm way more than I thought I did, to the point where at times this project seemed kind of pointless. Everybody has a dominant arm. Rarely do people use both of their arms equally and I've found that I land more on the side of a normal person with a normal right-handed preference than someone who's living like she doesn't have a left arm. There's a reason why people don't ask me every day about my ignoring of my left arm and I saw that in the last two weeks.

Overall, it was a successful and surprisingly positive two weeks :)

Feel free to keep clicking on the link to my blog specifically for this two week project that I've put on the right! I will be posting on it a couple more times this week.

My Project: Week One

Well Week 1 of my project has been interesting. Less enlightening than I was expecting but if you expect enlightenment, it never comes, right? I put a link to the blog I'm doing for my class project on the sidebar. I'll be posting on it a couple more times this week so keep checking it if you like :)

This is harder to keep at than I thought but what I was expecting to notice is a lot more drastic than the difference really is. I favor my right arm less than I thought. A good realization I suppose. This might be one of those times where being more normal is a good thing...click on the link to get more details!

Following Through

So after my post last Sunday, two things happened. A project was introduced in my Creative Writing class that requires us to do something different for the next two weeks that changes our daily routine and (ironically) blog about it. And then I slammed my right thumb in the car door. Though the second one was extremely painful, I took them as friendly signs from the universe to actually follow through with my idea last week. So for the next two weeks I am going to use my left hand, arm, and shoulder for everything I can that I normally don't, partially because I said I would last week, partially because it's become a project for school, and partially because my right thumb has been smashed out of use. It's been a strange week and me and my mom have been laughing at how perfectly it all lined up. As much as my thumb hurts, I'm excited to make a change and see what comes of it :) I'll let you guys know how it's going next week and maybe post the link to my blog for class. Have a great week everyone and watch out for your car doors...

Picking Sides

My BPI often causes me to do everything with my right hand. I grew up not being able to do a lot of normal activities with my left arm so that now it's a default to use my right arm for almost everything, even things I now could use my left arm for. If someone hands me something, I reach for it with my right hand, even if it's close enough that my left arm could reach it. I pet my dog with my right hand, eat with my right hand, brush my teeth with my right hand, and even now I'm typing predominantly with my right fingers. I know a lot of these activities are common to do with your right hand even without a brachial plexus injury and you're just right-handed. But a lot of having this injury is overcompensation and have an idea for overcompensation that might actually be some that helps for once. My body has been conditioned into picking my right side and I'm done with it.

I have another idea to help strengthen my left shoulder--use it. I'll hold my notebook with my left arm, text with my left hand, drink with my left hand, and high-five with my left hand. Because my left arm is so out of use, it's getting weaker every minute. I'm going to start making the extra effort to remind myself not to favor my right side. It sounds simple, but I'm sure it won't be easy.

I'm self-conscious of using my left arm because I have less control over it so I'm afraid I'll make some stupid mistake and look like an infant who can't find her mouth when she's eating. Sometimes it can be slower to use my left arm or take more focus or effort because it's not as strong. But most of all, I know I'm just going to forget. I am so used to using my right arm for everything that it's a reflex. It's probably twice as strong and as comfortable doing everything for that very reason, not even because of my BPI. But I'm going to try this.

If anyone else feels that they unnecessarily favor one side too, I encourage you to do this with me :) I know it might sound hard at first but I think it will quickly get easier to handle. I think it will help us be more confident in both sides of our bodies and it will overall strengthen that shoulder. I want to be able to do more and be more comfortable using both of my arms and, though it may be slow, I hope just putting in a little extra effort will eventually show some change. I'm tired of picking sides.

Good luck to anyone who tries this out with me and please message me about your experience with it! Thanks guys :)