Pinky's Up

 Being a tea drinker means I hold special significance to my pinky. 

 

There is nothing quite like the elegance of daintily holding up a teacup with the pinky extended. It seems to signal just how fragile of an action it is to drink tea. There is nothing aggressive or strained about it, yet I am always concerned I will drop my cup when I do this task. 

My hands shake a bit more, and I usually have to set down the cup with the small handle between each sip, unlike the hardy coffee mug, which can maintain in my grasp for the entire time I am enjoying it. Could the unassuming pinky be to blame for this difference?

An American shoulder in Roald Dahl's Man from the South became dangerously close to finding out just how significant the pinky was when he almost lost it in a bet. While the pinky might seem like the most obvious choice in the hierarchy of fingers to be removed, it is essential to various occupations, including anything that requires a firm grasp and grip on an object. Much like how I experienced reduced grip strength while holding a teacup, a grip without the pinky’s involvement isn’t much of a grip. This could have affected the soldier’s ability to be a soldier. He would have reduced power grip of all types on his left side without his pinky, which means holding equipment would be very difficult for him. Being a naval cadet, he would have difficulty tying tight lines,  handling ropes, maintaining and firing a gun, and carrying equipment, drastically reducing his ability to participate in the occupations of a naval cadet. To preserve his ability to participate in his work occupation, assistive technology would be beneficial.  A prosthetic finger or gripping aide would help regain some of his lost strength. A gripping aide uses a strap to tighten the upper portion of the hand, assisting the client in using it to make a strong fist. The strap is adjusted to help grip all different kinds of objects.

 

While the American could avoid losing his pinky, the wife was not lucky. She sacrificed three of her five fingers to win back her car. While which finger is remaining is undetermined, she did keep her thumb. This would exponentially reduce her grip strength in that hand, especially if the ring finger and pinky are both gone. If that was the case and the pointer finger was left, she could still do some pinching grasps like the lateral key pinch and the tip pinch to hold objects like keys or pencils, but the reduced grip strength would still make this extremely challenging. Having any weighted object in that hand would be difficult, making some Instrumental Activities of Daily Living like carrying groceries or squeezing toothpaste challenging. Using a cart to carry groceries easily instead of using her hands or buying a toothpaste roller to squeeze the tube without much effort would be beneficial to her for her to complete these activities with reduced barriers. 

In conclusion..... don't take any bet that might lead to missing fingers, even if it means you lose out on a Cadillac. 

Dahl, R., & Caldon, M. (2002). Man from the South. In Man from the south: And other stories (pp. 31–39). essay, Pearson Education.