Life left-handed

Doug feeds our 8-month-old daughter.

The majority of human beings are right-handed, whether that be naturally from birth or because their parents forced them to rid their deficient left-handed ways. Some have no choice. Like Doug, who only has one arm to use; one shoulder connected to an elbow connected to a wrist connected to five mobile fingers.

Enter the world of prosthetics, giving one-armed humanoids another go at carrying groceries and doing dishes. Enter the wondrous world of harnesses, plaster, terminal ends and mechanical elbows. Thank goodness for prosthetists.

Doug has been working with the prosthetic team at Sanford Health HealthCare Accessories. It feels like we've been waiting years to receive his man-made arm, but really the team at Sanford has been working with Doug for months, which makes sense. After all, they have to recreate what God designed in the first place.

We are anxiously awaiting the phone call that Doug's forearm has arrived at their office. Of all things to get excited about, we are eager to see what skills Doug can gain by having an arm again. We are on the tail end of calving, having calved over 200 cows and heifers so far. Doug has assisted in births, has wrangled gates, panels, hydraulic shoots and more. He's carried calves, treated sick ones and nursed them back to health. He's fed our herd, herded the herd and hurt himself in the process.

So, while he continues to master life left-handed, he'll soon be able to enjoy life with a right-handed option.