Handi-Capable!

Do you know how hard it is to cut your food with one hand? It's damn-near impossible. I have been making mostly soft things like pasta, fish and soup just so Art doesn't have anything to cut up. We had pizza the other night and he tried to cut it himself, but after much swearing and pizza sliding off his plate, I took over. I certainly don't mind doing it, but I think it makes Art feel that much more useless. He's having a hard time with this one-handed thing and not just because he can't work as he is used to, but because even the simplest tasks like tying his shoes and showering now require help. He's doing really well with working while not using his hand; he just instructs others on what to do (which isn't too bad, he says, unless he's working with idiots which what is happening today).

As we all know, Art loves to eat. Loves. It. Because I'm getting tired of soft foods and because I know Art would like to be a little more independent I bought him two presents today (don't tell him because he doesn't know about them yet!). The first is a plate protector; it snaps onto the edge of any plate and prevents food from falling over the plate edge while he's cutting or scooping food onto his fork. But how does he cut his food? That's present number two- a roller knife that is specifically designed for people that have the use of only one hand. It's amazing the products you can find online! Who knew there was such a market for them? I don't know that this knife will cut steak, but it will cut pizza, cheese and vegetables- all of the things I cut up for Art, now he should be able to do himself.

The plate guard

The rocker knife

I also looked at shoe-tying aids, but to be honest, the plate guard and rocker knife were kind of expensive so I decided to spend the money on what would bring Art the most joy. Besides, he doesn't mind asking people to tie his shoes for him (and the clippy things that attach to the shoe laces looked complicated, anyway). And if he doesn't want to have someone tie his shoes, he can always wear his rubber boots!