"Man from the South": Hand function
Assuming that the soldier lost his bet, he would have very limited grip strength and also struggle with holding onto items, especially heavy items. Since he is a sailor, some of his occupations on the boat would be impacted. The functionality of his hand would be greatly impacted in a negative way. He would have trouble lifting heavy items on the boat along with trouble grasping ropes and tying knots. As a sailor, grasping onto a rope is an essential occupation when trying to anchor your boat, or pull up the anchor so that you can continue sailing. Since he also likes to drink beer as one of his occupations, he would also struggle when trying to open a beer bottle. Since he is on a boat, most of his food would be canned which would also be difficult for the sailor as he does not have optimum grip strength.
One adaptive technology device that would help grip onto heavy things or grip onto a rope to pull up the boats anchor would be a gripped glove. This adaptive technology would help him complete his work which is a category of occupations. When trying to open bottles of beer he could use a bottle opener. When trying to grip onto jars or cans of food to open them, he could use a can opener or a rubber jar opener. The adaptive technology used for eating and drinking would affect his activities of daily living, as feeding yourself is an essential activity of daily living that must be done to survive.
As for his wife, who only has her thumb and her index finger, her occupations would be even more drastically impacted. She would have lost a majority of function in her hand. She would struggle with gripping and holding items. This would greatly impact her occupations. As a wife in the 1940s, we can assume that her daily occupations consist of cooking and cleaning. It would be very difficult for her to grip onto a mop to clean the floors or any other item used to clean the house. She would also struggle when preparing meals since this involves holding onto pots and pans along with utensils. It would also be difficult to eat. She could benefit by using a Robo Handle which is a handle that connects to your arm like a brace which makes it easier to hold onto items like a mop. This adaptive technology would help her with cleaning which is an iADL. She could also use a palm utensil holder when cooking and eating. This would allow her to grip onto items without using her fingers. She could use this type of adaptive technology to cook and eat which are typical activities of daily living.
Great post, Jenna! I love how you provided multiple types of assistive technology that the solider could use to improve his grip strength. I also liked that you included the context of this story taking place in the 1940s. This is relevant to why the wife's responsibilities are centered on preserving functional home life with only two fingers. I really enjoyed reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very informative post! I love all of the different assistive devices you recommended. I also appreciate the thought you put into about the sailor's occupations. Controlling ropes and drinking beer were two occupations I has not thought of. I enjoyed reading this post!
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