My Favorite Lefties

Some hand-related news about our baby, plus your cozy recs!

Adobe Stock image

If you’ve known me longer than 4 seconds, you probably know I’m left-handed. In college, I wrote an op-ed for our student newspaper and subsequently a letter to the Dean of Students, about a new building on campus at the time that was stocked with exclusively right-handed tablet desks. It was my junior year, and all of my classes were in this building. These desks were nearly impossible to take notes or a test from, so I figured I would ask if they could provide even just one left-handed desk per classroom. I think in the end, the Dean was able to provide three desks per classroom, and they were in the back of the rooms, and right-handed people complained(!?!), BUT STILL. It was an accessibility win for my fellow CNU lefties.

Now we’re talkin’. image via

Christopher Newport himself could be considered a lefty, at least later in his adult life, and has been speculated to have inspired J.M. Barrie’s Captain Hook of Peter Pan fame.

Nonetheless, perhaps the most striking similarity between Captain Hook and Captain Christopher Newport was that both were missing a hand.  After leading his crew onto an enemy ship off the coast of Cuba, Newport lost his arm in the battle and shockingly replaced it with a hook.¹

Honestly, kinda dishy. image via

Visitors to Christopher Newport are greeted by a 24-foot bronze statue of the man himself, depicted with both arms intact. Google “Christopher Newport Statue” and you get newspapers nationwide covering this AP story from 2007 and really eating up how history buffs are up in arms.

Captain Chris, depicted with both hands. Photo by Jerry Gannon, who has some lovely prints of the CNU campus.

Alright Emily, WE GET IT. More favorite lefties include Barack Obama (and 7 other presidents), Kermit the Frog, Randy Johnson (subject of a sad Bird Fact), and Andy Pettite.

Sometimes you’re just born left-handed dominant, or you’re a Muppet, and the puppeteer controlling you was right-handed and it just ended up that way while filming.

But what if you’re born without a right hand?

Our baby is a … lefty!

At our 13-week scan, we learned that our baby girl’s right arm never fully developed. At the time, we didn’t know the extent of the abnormality so we weren’t even sure if she would have an elbow. Since then, we’ve had more scans and have been able to see a partially developed radius and ulna (forearm bones). She may even have tiny nubbins!² We were shocked by the news at the time, but now we’re just excited to meet our girl in July and see everything she is capable of.

In the coming weeks, I will be sharing links and resources about limb differences in hopes that other parents might find it helpful, including:

• Organizations that improve quality of life and provide support, awareness, and resources for people with limb differences,

• Books that celebrate children with limb differences or limb loss,

  • Thank you to my sweet friend Cassie who sent me this book already!

• Athletes and celebrities with a limb difference,

• And fictional characters who use prosthetic limbs.

Cozy Recs from Eggies

Thank you for sending me some cozy recommendations! I’ve been enjoying all of them. 🤗

• Bob Ross: The Joy of Painting

• The Intern

• Cozy home shows: Diary of an Old Home, In With the Old, Grand Designs

• Njuta (Enjoy, Delight In) | The Swedish Art of Savoring the Moment By Niki Brantmark

My sister Elizabeth sent me a copy of this! Thanks, Peeds!

Sorry folx this is now a bird and animal prostheses channel!!

Here is the story of Pete the Parrot (WaPo gift link), who lost his leg to a fox and was fitted with a prosthetic leg at Penn Vet. His story is pretty incredible, and reading about his little “flight suit” alone is worth it (also there is a video about other animals with prosthetic limbs including a flamingo and an ELEPHANT), but today’s bird fact comes from Penn Vet’s article about Pete:

…Pete’s odds of survival were promising, as birds have a unique ability to reproduce red blood cells much faster than humans. It’s been shown that birds can lose 30% of their total blood volume without showing signs of shock. Birds would have to sustain about a 60% loss of blood before there would be a notable change in blood pressure or signs of decompensation.

“This goes back to their beautiful design,” explained [Dr. La’Toya] Latney. “Since they’re designed to fly, birds need a lot of oxygen. So the amount of red blood cells in their system is almost double the amount humans have. I wasn’t extremely concerned because, provided he was healthy, Pete would regenerate a large blood loss within a 24- to 48-hour period.”³

No big deal, birds are just super blood-regenerating flying machines.

That’s all for this week! Thanks for reading Good Egg 😊

1. https://www.literarytraveler.com/articles/jm-barrie-england/

2. A small, raised bump or a piece of skin that looks like a small finger or toe that isn’t fully formed.

3. Donges, John. 2017. “Prosthetic for Pete.” PennVet. https://www.vet.upenn.edu/about/news-room/bellwether/penn-vet-extra/penn-vet-extra-may-2017/prosthetic-for-pete.