Amniotic Band Syndrome -- My Life

Obviously, I don't remember much from this time period of my life, so I am recounting a lot of stories my parents have told me. I wasn't much different from most infants (although I did suck on my fist instead of my thumb). I first turned over at about six weeks old because I wanted a toy on my right side that I couldn't grab. I had my first surgery when I was eight month olds (and I stopped sucking my fist a couple weeks before that, but after someone told my mom that she shouldn't let me suck on my fist or I might swallow my fingers, at which point my mom pulled my hand out of my mouth and exclaimed "Oh my god! She already has," and almost made the woman faint). The surgery transferred bones from my left foot into my right hand to give it more support and possibly to grow fingers. I don't know what it was like before, but I do know I have no fingers on my right hand and two shrunked toes (even though the doctor said there would be no effects on the toes). According to my parents, however, the surgery did make my hand firmer.

I moved to the States when I was a year old (I live in England before that) and therefore gave up my plastic surgeon until I found a new one six years later. As a young child, I played well with others and didn't let my hand hold me back in the slightest. I learned how to tie my shoes relatively young (which my mom was very impressed by) and I was an active child overall. In kindergarten, I met my first, and possibly only, source of malice because of my hand. A girl would let me into her "club" because of my hand, but, as it was kindergarten, it didn't end up being a big deal and we all moved on after a little chat with the teacher. She is the only one who has ever actually dscriminated against me like that, and she was young. Kids do stupid things.

Elementary School is six years long (including kindergarten) so there is a lot to say. I was very active in sports during this time. I've done gymnastics, dance, tennis, and softball (although I may have done one or more of them before elementary school). I found softball when I was in third grade and absolutely love the game. I still play it today. (For more information on softball, read below.)

I did what normal kids did. (I'm going to say that a lot, by the way, and I'm sorry about that but it's the truth.) As I've already said, I learned to how tie my shoes at a young age (I used the shoe to position the laces with my right hand holding them in place.) I used scissors (and that was even harder for me as I'm a lefty) and I learned how to use a knife and fork (I use my right hand to keep the form in place as I cut with my left hand.) I even rock climbed and learned how to play the recorder. Nobody judged me or discriminated me because of my hand. The only thing the kids did was ask me over and over again why my hand is like it is. Even for a seven year old, your patience is tested. It's not as if they were being malicious in any way; they were just being curious kids. (Although I definitely think I ask less personal questions now as a result.)

When I was seven, my hand got infected as a result of the surgery I had had six years earlier (still not quite sure how that happened, but there you go.) I was finally refered to a plastic surgeon at UVA, which is about a two and a half hour drive from my house. The first thing he did was perform a minor surgery to remove the infection. Then, a couple months later, he performed a surgery to remove some useless fat and skin between my thumb and the rest of my right hand so that I could have movement in my right thumb completely. I have a very versatile thumb now and I do think it worked, but I also think I would have been fine without the surgery. It just made a couple of things slightly easier.

I have to admit, middle school is when I first became truly self-conscious of my hand, although the questions virtually disappeared. I played the trombone in sixth and seventh grade, mostly because it was the only instrument I could play due to a combination of my hand and my lack of skill at blowing into those mouthpieces. I did pretty well with that, although I was never amazing, but I think that is due to my inability to play musical instruments and the fact that I am practically tone deaf.

A required class for sixth graders is keyboarding, or typing. Naturally, my counselor was concerned about how I would perform in this class. In the end, she got a hold of a lesson plan for typing with one hand, which essentially just makes the home key f,g,h, and j, although I have altered it a bit to make it faster. My home key are the same, but some of the keys on the right hand side of the keyboard are hit with my right hand. I didn't follow the rest of the class for the first quarter as I was learning a completely different curriculum, but I was integrated with them for the second quarter (it was only a semester class). I was relatively fast and supported around a 50 wpm speed, although when I timed myself again the folowing year, I reached eighty.

Along with keyboarding, I used various machinery to cut wood and such that probably scared my teacher half to death because it was dangerous equipment. I did well in my classes and actually got one pull up in PE (although I think my teacher took pity on my and let me cheat.)

Now, I am a rising junior in high school, and therefore do not have any stories from my senior year (although I am anxiously awaiting them!) I have played high school softball for three years now. I was on JV for two of them and on Varsity for my sophomore year, but only because we didn't have enough people for a JV team. I have even had an article written about me in the school paper. :)

As was true with middle school, high school had its challenges. If Freshman year, we are required to take Tech Ed, so I had to learn how to sauter, something I didn't learn in the middle school version. Sautering is truly a two-handed job as one hand holds the metal to be melted and one hand holds the melting tool. You actually also need a stand to hold the wire being sautered. I loved my teacher. He left me to do my own , which I truly appreciated. I ended up using another stand to hold the metal, which worked if I positioned everything correctly. Because of the design of the stand, I could move it with my right hand, though they were rough movements, and therefore could sauter satifactorally. I also began science classes with real labs, and therefore had to figure out how to use lab equipment . Although it was never difficult, nothing is ever simple. The biggest thing that tripped me up was the right hand rule in physics. I even did archery in P.E.

Another thing I learned in high school, more specifically my sophomore year, was driving. My mom was so worried that I would not be able to drive because of my hand, as was my Behind the Wheel instructer (Behind the Wheel is a requirement for a license in Virginia). My parents were both under the impression that I would need to buy Brody Knobs in order for my to drive well. I am pleased to tell you that I didn't need them and that I drive relatively well without them. I can get enough leverage with my right hand in order to correctly steer a car. However, driving a manual shift has not been easy. I've only tried once, and I didn't do terribly, but it is harder as the shift is on the right side of the passenger here in the states.

Softball has been a huge part of my life since I was nine. I have played pitcher, first base, second base, and outfield. I catch and throw with my left hand, taking off my glove in order to make the transition. I now bat right handed, although I used to bat left handed. Although batting right handed gives me more power, I am always nervous of a bad pitch hitting my arm, or worse, my elbow, which would cause serious damage. However, I do love the game. It has been with me for years and I'm going to miss it so much when I go to college.

In my Freshman year, we had an English assignment to write a biography on one person. Through this project, I discovered a baseball pitcher named Jim Abbott. Abbott was born with no fingers on his right hand and still played professional baseball, even throwing a no hitter for the Yankees. I read a book about him called Nothing to Prove and I really enjoyed it. I now keep it by my bed in case I ever feel down. I just read the first chapter, which focuses on the no hitter, and I feel inspired. He is a true hero of mine.