¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 A week ago (first of April 2018) I suddenly lost all my fingerprints – I now have really, really smooth finger tips. A week later I discovered I had also lost my valuable palm prints. I don’t yet know why: possibly a new med (gabapentin), for neuropathy. Searched online: almost everything is about identity issues. A cancer drug removes fingerprints (capecitabine), but with skin peeling off.

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 It is, as-if, all smooth surfaces are like slippery ice: credit cards, drinking glasses, pens, eating utensils, door knobs, fabrics, putting on shirts, pulling up pants, turning pages, carrying any smooth object – the list goes on and on. My behavior with my physical reality has shifted greatly.

I grab mail in the mailbox, as usual. I slips from my hand and falls to the ground. Each envelope is too slippery to pick up. Go get the rubber tipped tongs.

I have great difficulty holding the  hose of a vacuum cleaner, even the flexible part. Vacuuming is a very difficult task.

I slip my tee shirt over my head. The cloth is too slipper for me to, easily, pull it down to my waist.

Very special care is needed when moving glass or ceramic items, as when emptying the dishwasher.

The knife and fork slip around when I attempt to cut food on my plate.

Car keys slip around in your hands, sometimes falling.

Don’t try grabbing narrow neck (beer , wine or soda) bottles by the neck.

Use two hands to drink from a glass, with fingers under the bottom of the glass.

Security handles and bars can be too slippery to hold, as in a shower.

¶ 12 Leave a comment on paragraph 12 0 This is on top of the severe neuropathy of my fingers, hands and arms.

Imagine each finger as a long, thin but semi-stiff-rubber tube, with a very, very sensitive sharp tip. I am obsessed to have fingers of each hand caress, in dynamic motion, the fingers of the other hand. This is my autism spectrum “stimming”. I frequently twirl my fingers with each other, as in a dance. I requires concentrated will not to stim; the moment I focus my attention elsewhere, I find myself stimming.

Also, the whole of my arms and hands feel very strange and often dysfunctional. This progresses during the day and becomes so intense as to keep me awake a few hours before going to sleep. I have little strength in my hands and arms, much worse on my left than my right.  I can’t straighten my arms beyond a right angle. When doing stretch exercises, I have to “view” my elbows as my hands.

Walking has become increasingly difficult. I stagger, but have yet to use cane or walker. I’ve just started to use motorized carts in stores, accompanying Eloise in her cart. I wear knee braces, as my right leg is concave. Recently, I’ve developed lower back and hip pain, which increases over the day. I can’t stand erect, in the evening, without experiencing considerable pain.

¶ 16 Leave a comment on paragraph 16 0 I wonder how those tiny ridges can give such traction? It probably is a molecular friction that we can’t visually observe.

¶ 17 Leave a comment on paragraph 17 0 It astounds me how useful our fingerprints really are. Hope I get mine back.

¶ 18 Leave a comment on paragraph 18 0 I will need to discover ways to handle this. Sticky finger gloves, sticky finger tip stick-ons. “Socks” for glasses and bottles. Special big/rough handles for utensils, etc. I will need a carpenters-style tool belt for various tools I will need to be functional.

¶ 19 Leave a comment on paragraph 19 0 PS: I am no longer fighting/resisting my disabilities and limitations. I will LEARN TO ADJUST to my reduced Competency Set. I may need to devote much more time performing many tasks, than before.

[Earlier humans accepted long repetitive tasks. Some contemporary humans still exhibit this ability; but many demand SHORT TASKS, and are intolerant of repetitive behavior. With a “proper attitude”, repetitive behavior can be enjoyable, even a “meditative experience”.]

¶ 21 Leave a comment on paragraph 21 0 Fortunately, in spite of my short-term memory losses, my analytical mind remains sharp and my relevant insights appear to be increasing – but my writing and recording remains limited. My senses are stable: minor hearing loss, but excellent vision. However, my setting and care persons are far from adequate for me to continue with my mission. I am in the process of trying to create new settings and support regimes; a task for which I may need assistance.