Hands

More of Little Fish's photography. I love the composition of this one.

Little Fish's hands are themselves a bit of a miracle - the neurosurgeon didn't think she'd be able to use them to the extent that she does. As it is, apart from the minor problem of clicky thumbs, she has normal use of her hands. It's about the only bit of her body which does work normally - hands and arms. And with the use of them, she can do just about anything. She can't quite transfer herself into her wheelchair yet (although she can bump herself out of it now), but once she's in, she's away.

It's amazing really. The nerve damage from her myelomeningocele, if that had been any higher up it could have affected her hands - certainly the surgeon thought it would. And the Chiari Malformation, if that had been any bigger, that would have affected her hands too. As it is, she has problems with everything from her head to her lungs working down, and problems with everything from her toes to her stomach, working up. But somehow her hands and arms were unaffected.

It probably doesn't sound like much of a miracle to anyone else - after all, her legs are still these useless floppy things which dangle around and get in the way and get damaged and torn on a regular basis. And there's the minor inconvenience of having to cart a ventilator around whenever we go away. But there is such freedom in those arms, the promise of independence.

As miracles go, we'll take it.
Tia