Broken Fingers

As many of you know, I often have a bandaid on my left pinkie. This is because it usually has a tear in the glove and the plaster is to cover the gash and stop the tear splitting any further.
My brand new hand developed a tear within a few days of being in Chicago...so I donned the plaster and on I went as usual. The neat thing about the plaster is that it is a conversation starter. Where people might be reluctant to say, "What happened to your arm?", they feel much freer to ask, "What happened to your finger?" There are usually smiles and chuckles as I explain that I have broken it. I get asked a lot!
I spent some time with good friends of mine, Mike and Teri, the other week. What a treat it is to hang out with them!
Apart from being fab and real comfy cardi friends, Mike and I also share limblessness - for him a leg and for me an arm. I love sharing this with him - a rare and valued fellowship.
Because of this friendship, I was able to go and meet the team who provide Mike's legs for him in the hopes that they might be able to do something to help my pinkie situation. I was pretty sure anything they could do would be limited apart from replacing the whole glove, but this didn't matter because it was just being able to go and meet them that meant the most.
My ability to enter the world of prostheses is just part of my life...and I take it for granted at times. This time, I drove towards the clinic with eagerness. I have loved being here in Chicago - it has been SO good for my soul - but it has also been tiring on my 'arm-front'. I have been asked so very often about my arm and have danced the dance of sharing and bridging and setting folks at ease. It's been good but has taken its toll. So many people have asked....everywhere....everyday...
This is why it was so good to be able to head into a world, even just for a couple of hours, in which I was not different...where no one stared...in which it was normal to have a limb missing.
The moment Greg and Brian came into the room - in fact, the moment I sat down in the surgery - I could feel my soul draw in a long, sweet breath and then relax.
A moment or two of feeling at home.

We sat and blethered for a few minutes. What a cool thing these guys do! They are so passionate about it all...it was a real treat to hang with them for a while.
I asked to see around the workshop.

Check it out...

All in all, a special time coming at just the right time for me. I am so grateful to God for it. He knew I needed it, had it in mind for me and set it all up without my knowing how much I needed it!