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Man Down South

After reading the short story, we are encouraged to think of what a life would be like if someone lost one, or multiple, fingers. In the story “Man Down South”, a soldier is willing to bet losing one of his fingers. If this character had lost the bet, he would have an extremely difficult time completing his occupations. For example, activities for a soldier such as holding/grasping a gun or weapon, carrying equipment, exercising, and simply putting on gear might have proven to be extremely taxing, if not impossible, without the use of some adaptive equipment.
As for the woman at the end of the story, it is clear that she has lost all but two of her fingers and now has to have her hair washed by someone else, indicating she has lost function of an essential ADL. We can assume she has lost the capability to perform many of her other occupations with ease including being able to drive with both hands, opening certain packaging, writing, and/or fixing her hair.
Adaptive equipment such as the new shower heads that dispense both soap and water at the same time could prove to be a helpful tool during bathing/showering. This way, she doesn’t have to open and close as many containers and can use her dominant/stronger hand to do a majority of the work.

Comments

  1. Kylie Dunavan MOT/SMay 7, 2020 at 6:50 AM

    Liz, I like your creative solution for the wife washing her hair with only one hand. I did not know that a tool like that exists! She could also use the pump bottle shampoo/conditioner, because she could hopefully use her forearm or remaining parts of her hand to pump the bottle. Great job!

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  2. Allison BrewerMay 7, 2020 at 12:43 PM

    Liz, I loved the idea of having adaptive equipment such as a shower head that dispenses both soap and water at the same time! That is very creative and would definitely help someone who has poor grip strength in their fingers and hands! Great post!!

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