I Can Do That!

Many girl amputees feel that they are unable to paint their nails because they only have one hand. This is not true. Here’s one way a amputee can paint her own nails.

1. Sit on a surface which is allowed to get nailpolish on it. (This is unlikely to happen, but it may)
2. Roll up your pant leg that corresponds to the arm which is amputated. (ex- Missing your right arm- roll up your right pant leg) Or, you can just wear shorts.
3. Open up the nail polish container.
4. Bend your corresponding leg so that your foot is flat on the ground/surface and your amputated arm can easily reach your knee.
5. Place the nail polish brush on your knee, then put your amputated arm on top of the brush to hold it in place.
6. In order to paint your nails on the other hand, move your nails into the brush. In other words, instead of painting your nails by moving the brush, move your finger and hand that is being painted.
7. When you need more nail polish on the brush, dip the brush into the nail polish using your full hand, then replace the brush.
8. After much practice, one will be able to do this flawlessly. At this time, you can start to draw SIMPLE designs on your nails with thin brushes by changing the angle on the nail to the brush, etc. It is difficult, but with practice, it’s possible. Letters are often the easiest. I’ve drawn the New York Yankee sign and writen the letters of my school’s name on my fingers for Spirit Day.

Painting your nails with one hand is possible, but as with most things, takes much practice to perfect.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 16th, 2007 at 11:06 am and is filed under How-To's. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.