Ed Batista

Yesterday I sprained my wrist skating in Golden Gate Park.  It might be broken–I’m getting an X-ray later this morning to find out.  The pain is manageable as long as I keep it still, and I’ve broken my wrists three times and sprained them even more, so I’m familiar with the drill and expect all will be well in a few weeks.

But I’m surprised by how upset I’ve been to have my typing speed reduced by about 90% and to be essentially unable to write (it’s my left wrist, and I’m left-handed.)  This is partly because I love my work and I hate to think about the hit my productivity is going to take, but at a deeper level, I feel cut off from people because I can barely type a coherent email (this post is a trial) and even from my own thought processes because I learn by taking copious handwritten notes.

I was feeling a little sorry for myself this morning when I saw Jessica Guynn’s article on Kaboodle co-founder and CTO Keiron McCammon in the S.F Chronicle.  McCammon had to have his left hand amputated following a paragliding accident just over a year ago.  Guynn writes…

Today, McCammon has not only adjusted, he is thriving. He swapped his Jeep
Wrangler for a Toyota Prius with the license plate 1 HANDED, commuting 80 miles
round-trip from his Danville home in the carpool lane. He types with four
fingers on one hand rather than pecking at the keyboard with two fingers on
each. He has experimented with prosthetics so he can get back to the activities
he enjoys, from practicing yoga to riding a bike to playing the guitar. This
winter, he hit the slopes to snowboard again. As an amputee, he gets half-price
lift tickets.

Guynn also quotes one of Kaboodle’s VC investors…

"[McCammon] obviously went through a lot of pain, and that would have affected my
psychology," said Rajeev Motwani, one of the original investors in Google. "It
would have made me a bit sour. But I have never once heard him complain about
anything. That’s what you look for (when) you invest in a company: a founder
who has ownership of what he is doing and does whatever it takes to make it
succeed. Keiron is a wonderful example."

Well, that helped me put things in perspective right quick.  Rather than feel self-pity, I feel incredibly grateful for the fact that my disability is just temporary, for the good health I’m blessed with 99% of the time, for the opportunity to do work that I love (and that I can do one-handed, just at a slower pace), and for my wife, who’s cheerfully taken on all household duties requiring both hands.  It’s a refreshing reminder of just how good I have it.

Read more about McCarron’s experiences at A One Handed Blog.

UPDATE: Good news–my doctor thinks I just tore some soft tissue.  He’s sufficiently confident that no bones are broken that he didn’t even want an X-ray–he just told me to watch the pain and check back in if it doesn’t improve.  I can’t put weight on my left hand, and certain arm movements are pretty painful, but I CAN type with just a little discomfort.  I can even write if I’m careful to hold my wrist still.  So my gratitude continues to grow.