Was: Learning to use the new concept electric saw
The hand is an amazing tool. Each hand contains (plus or minus.
everyone is different, and everyone counts these things
differently… 29 major and minor bones (many people have a few
more)… 29 major joints… At least 123 named
ligaments…34 muscles which move the fingers and thumb:17 in
the palm of the hand, and18 in the forearm… 48 named nerves:3
major nerves…24 named sensory branches… 21 named muscular
branches… 30 named arteries and nearly as many smaller named
branches.
I know of a opthamologist in India who has severe rheumatoid
arthritis in his hands. His hands are bent, fingers at odd angles,
jutting here and there, overlapping somewhat. And are in a constant
state of change. And yet he operates on human eyes every day,
successfully. He has operating instruments shaped to his hands to
enable him to hold them as securely as anyone else holding an off
the assembly line tool. He knows HE can do it - his hands though are
a challenge to the performing of the operation. He and a toolmaker
rose to the challenge and overcame the difficulty. And his patients
are grateful to them both!
In 2013, a time when we believe people are help back only by the
limitations they set for themselves, it could be said that the
limitation is the saw, not the hand. If the saw handle could be
adapted to enable to hand to use it effectively, then there is no
real disability. Many toolmakers who make their tools by hand would
find this a challenge they would be happy to rise to.
But may I urge people to stop and consider this – I can pick up a
small ball and throw it for my dog to run and catch – a ball maybe
about 4 inches in diameter - with one hand. A larger ball would be
difficult for me to pick up. Is the problem with the hand or the
ball? But I can pick up a bowling ball with one hand because it has
been adapted for me to do that. We all have to adapt our bodies to
the work – that’s why we often get repetitive strain injuries. In
most instances though, the tool can be adapted to fit the hand that
wants to use it. The real barrier is our minds. And sometimes when we
say “I have a problem with my hand” we really mean, it hurts, or it
is shaped differently than someone elses - that means the difficulty
is raised. But it’s not impossible. Examine the problem to find a
solution.
Barbara on another breezy day on the Island of the Chilly Beach