The Man From the South

This story focused on a bet between a young solider and an older man, the bet was that if the young solider could light his lighter 10 times in a row then he would win a new Cadillac. If he lost, the older man got to chop off his little finger. This bet was quite disturbing, but I am sure the solider had one of those old fashioned lighters that would always light, and I'm sure he was ready to cruise in that Caddy! But, if the solider had lost he would've lost his little finger on his left hand! In the story he says that his little finger hasn't done much for him anyways, so he wouldn't really care to lose it. Au contraire! All of our fingers play a unique role in the function of our hand movements and abilities. 

Since the young man is a solider, he will be involved in a lot of physically demanding activities, and I'm sure he will need to be able to use both of his hands to do these activities. His occupation of being a solider will change, he will lose grip strength in his left hand which in turn will make it difficult to carry his equipment around, it could impact his ability to shoot a gun, and it could also impact his eating habits too (handling silverware, holding a plate, grasping a cup). One modification that could be useful for the solider is creating a prosthetic little finger made out of leather or some other material to give the feeling of having that finger there, kind of like Captain Hook in Peter Pan but on a much smaller scale. That way the solider can still have the feeling of having a little finger there, and may be helpful in completing activities. A strategy that could be useful to help the solider regain independence is having the solider practice every day tasks with his left hand to help gain strength and relearn how to do tasks without the help of his little finger. 

As for the wife, she has got a lot to deal with! Her husband is a gambler, and she has paid dearly for his gambling by having to sacrifice three of her own fingers to pay back his debts. I would say that her daily occupations include a lot of stress, worry, and being a vigilante against her own husband! Because she is constantly having to watch her husband, I'm sure her work, social participation, and play occupations have been seriously impacted! I would say a strategy that might help would be to enroll her husband in a form of gambling therapy so that he can get professional help, because his bets are dangerous and have caused their lives to be chaotic! If her husband can get some help, I am sure that the wife will have more time to be independent from her husband and can engage in occupations that are meaningful to her without having to worry about her husband! 

Comments

Amy Carver said…
Carolyn, I also considered the impact grip would have on his ability to carry equipment and use his gun. I like your idea about the finger prosthetic. Although it may not be functional, the feeling of a finger could improve mental health that may have suffered from traumatically losing a finger. I agree with you… that poor wife has a lot to deal with! I really liked how you considered her mental health and how that can impact her daily life.

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