WHEN I suffered my massive stroke six years ago I had to get used to only having one functional hand. At first I could move my left arm a little bit and even the fingers a little bit, but really there wasn’t enough control for me to do anything functional with my left hand and arm.

I began tirelessly trying to learn to use a knife and fork but in the end gave up and had to get used to just using one hand.

Before the stroke I had been left handed and so when I lost the use of my left hand I only had the use of my non-dominant right hand which was very difficult, especially with things like cutting steak.

I couldn’t use a fork to hold it still whilst I cut with the knife in my right hand. I have had a few rather messy experiments with holding the fork between my teeth. But trust me if Richie my guide dog is by me on the floor, he really doesn’t mind being showered with bits of steak.

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I think I’ve been quite innovative with finding ways to solve the problem of only having one functional hand for things where you normally need two.

I have tried this using speech recognition on my Apple Mac and I can, for example, open a bottle of wine between my knees, using the corkscrew with one hand.

I can peel a shallot or satsuma and even once managed to put the Christmas turkey in the oven with one hand. I did this by placing the baking tray on a chair that was about the same height as the oven, then placing the turkey with one hand on the baking tray, then sliding the chair over to the oven and neatly sliding tray from the chair into the oven with the turkey on it.

But there are limits and trying to thread a belt around your trousers whilst wearing them with one hand is a tough one. Although doing up shirt buttons is possible with practice, doing up a zip is practically impossible with one hand.

Other things are possible but not really practical or too messy.

For example, imagine one of those great big burgers in a restaurant with the tomato, gherkin, cheese and bacon. You know the full Monty. And try to eat it with one hand. Well, of course, you can eat it with one hand but you have to pick it apart. If you try to eat it with one hand you simply end up with the gherkin on one knee, the tomato and the other and the cheese and bacon in your lap as well as relish, cheese and mayonnaise all down your front.

Or if you’re feeling bored why not try putting a pillowcase on a pillow with just one hand or even the duvet cover.



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