I LOST MY RIGHT ARM

This is Jack, and he’s an ordinary guy with a slightly unusual story. He’s experienced a change to his life lately that he’d like to tell you about.

He was a totally normal kid growing up and his life was no different from anyone else’s – school, friends, sports, hobbies. Then something bad happened to him, and he felt sure that his life was over. Well, he lost nearly all of his right arm in a foolish accident. Jack’s dad was mowing the grass, and he stumbled over something and fell right under the lawnmower as it was passing by. He can’t remember much because he was in shock from the pain.

Jack woke up in the hospital still in lots of pain, but this time it was bearable. He saw his parents sitting by his side, his mom crying and his dad looking pale as a sheet. That’s when he found out that his arm had literally been cut to pieces and the doctors hadn’t been able to save it. He couldn't comprehend the implications of this at that moment, as he was just glad to be alive. The understanding of that came a bit later.

While he was still recovering in the hospital, Jack realized that he literally couldn’t do anything, since he was right-handed, and as he was still very weak he couldn’t coordinate with his left hand. But soon after, he was assigned a rehab doc. She said it was normal and that he would soon adapt, especially if he stuck to the adaptation program. He started training at the hospital and continued to do so at home.

Of course, Jack missed a considerable amount of school, and obviously he had no choice but to forget about sports and playing the guitar, which he liked so much. The worst thing was that he didn’t adapt to the new situation after all. He couldn’t do anything at all with his left arm – neither write nor dress himself, or even eat with a spoon. He did his best but he felt like a total failure as the situation failed to improve. And so he began to fall into depression.

His mom and dad had a talk with Jack’s doctor, who said that he needed to go back to school to restore his social life. He couldn’t get his prosthetic arm yet though; it was too early. Jack was afraid to go back to his friends as a handicapped person – who knows how they would take it? Things turned out alright after all, however, even though he couldn’t engage in all the activities he used to do together with them. But because his left hand was still useless, Jack had to ask for their help all the time. Even worse was the fact that during his absence a new girl started studying at his school that he really, really liked. He tried to find a way to emerge from his shell and ask her out once. If he’d been healthy he might have had a chance. But of course she just looked at him with pity, smiled, and said, “You know, Jack, I don’t think it’ll work out. Well, you understand,” and just left him standing there like a complete idiot.