Giving a Hand

I needed help this past Saturday. Big time help. My friend, Esther (not to be confused with Es the Korean Canadian, eh),  was going to come to our house. I broke down and asked her to help me. I was desperate. I needed her to cut my nails. Huh? Yes, I needed her to cut my nails (fingernails, not toenails).

Cutting your nails is one of those mundane things that you take for granted, like flossing your teeth, lathering up your hair with shampoo, scrubbing sticky stuff off your floors that your husband doesn't notice but you do... My nails were getting really long. One of the girls at church even made a comment on how long my nails were. The problem was that I didn't have enough strength in my arm to press down to cut my nails. I also couldn't file my finger nails to get the shape that I desired - all you women, and some men, know what I'm talking about. The repetitive motion of filing my fingernails was not something I could do right now. Maybe if I did it super slow and it would take me 8 hours.

My husband would have done it. He offered, but I knew (he knew) what would happen. He would cut them down until it hurt, and I wouldn't be able to pick anything up. I could have asked A3 to bite them off. He is really good at biting off his own fingernails and toenails. But, I decided to ask Esther (remember, not Es the Korean Canadian, eh). She said yes and I cannot tell you how I glad I was that she did. My nails turned out terrific!

It is not good for women who have mastectomies to use that side of their arm. If you have a double mastectomy, using both arms. The more you use your arm, the more water builds up in your breast/arm area. Then, the doctor has to go in with a needle (I assume) and drain that water out. I have some water build up and might experience this on Tuesday...

The lesson of the story: if you see someone who recently had a mastectomy and she has some long, gnarly nails, don't judge. Instead, ask her if you can help cut and file her nails... unless she likes them that way.