PT #6: Silly Meets Sublime

Finally, after uncomfortable wrist-bending and wrist-turning exercises, Therapist Matt pulls out an occupational product that does not look occupational at all. It is yellow-ish; the largest pile of Silly Putty I have ever seen; the amount of which could attempt to fill an average-sized beach pail. The other day Therapist Jill said that one of her patients learned, by experimenting, that it actually is like real Silly Putty: "It bounced to the ceiling."

My unspoken, burning question was, "How many snotty-fingered hands have massaged that putty"?

I was first instructed to press the pile of putty to flatten it as best I could. The purpose was to distract me from the discomfort of bending my wrist, by having fun. I am not that easily distracted, so it was not fun, at first.

Then, Matt tried an alternative form of fun. He formed the putty back into a bucket-like shape, separated it into two equal and somewhat flat halves, like preparing an oval-shaped, thick-bread sub sandwich. He grabbed a small container labeled, "Treasure Hunt." As a kid I was always a sucker for Easter egg or treasure hunts. Matt placed five regular-sized marbles onto one slice of the "sandwich" and then pressed together the two putty-sandwich slices. "Now, use your right hand to find the five hidden marbles."

It was slow-going, and after a minute or so Matt added, "You can use your right hand's fingers, too."

I knew it would be like TV's "Survivor" competition, where five balls are hidden in a large sand pit, the searcher finds four of them, and the last one takes forever to find. "Pull thinner strips with your fingers" Matt said.

After pulling oodles of strips (good finger-strengthening exercises), the very last portion of the putty hid the fifth marble. The shape created from the search was sublime enough to require two photos of the masterpiece, also known as an artsy form of Psychology's Rorschach ink blot test. What is it?

Reminds me of a forever long, twisty road we drove in Puerto Rico

I see... an intriguing obstacle course ahead

co-planning my family's 25-year reunion