Well, momma isn't scoring too high these days. My little Sebbie..yes, it was only a month or two ago that we surmised that he was born naturally left handed...you know, the hand he was born without. And for the past...oh, seven years, he has routinely eaten everything from rice to corn to meatloaf, etc...with his right hand. We never forced him to use utensils. Sure, he would frequently use a spoon for applesauce and some fruit but at the dinner table we simply accepted that the standard way for Seb to eat was picking up the food with his right hand, rubbing it on the palm (see photo) of his left arm and putting it in his mouth.
Last night it was chop suey so instead of watching him eat rice single handedly and jokingly calling him a "chinaman". I insisted on his using the fork.
OMG....he picked it up like the most foreign of objects and had no clue as to how to maneuver it to pick up food. He had fork in hand and palm had to work with hand to guide the fork in a very erratic, haphazard fashion to attempt to scoop up some rice. He expressed his dismay and really did not want to use it at all but I showed him by example a few times and continued to encourage him to use it citing the old adage that it will become easier with practice.
I felt pretty much like Queen of the Dopes and worst mom of the year for allowing him to not use his fork for all these years. Had i insisted upon it earlier, we could have more quickly addressed the problem.
Part of me thinks that this is very insulting..to be born brain-wired to use a left hand and then to have said hand be non-existent. Actually, I think it really blows and sucks and is extremely unfair...but life has never been about fairness...rather it is about the ability to face every challenge and circumstance with as much dignity and strength as a person can muster.
Damn, yeah, lets give the one-handed kid an Extra challenge...this does not seem right
So, my action plan which is already in motion, is to notify his occupational therapist (done) so she knows what she is up against, notify his teacher (done) so that she can better understand his lack of legible writing skills, make an appt with his prostetisist to refit his prosthetic helper left so that he can actually wear it without it cutting into his elbow and see if said prost. guy can fit Sebbies helper with some sort of adaptation that may, may allow him to scribble with his left. I have an appt scheduled for friday so we can work on the fit...from then, we will see how quickly he gets used to his "helper hand" and go from there.
It would have been nice to have caught this earlier...it must be awfully frustrating for the little guy...I am so very sorry that I missed this..I mean, who would have thought???? Really???
