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The left hand meanders. It walks a crooked line. It chooses its own path. Uncle Henry is about 70 years old. After suffering a stroke three years ago his left became an “alien hand.” It seems to have a mind of its own, and furthermore, that mind seems to be malicious. At the best of times it embarasses him. At the worst it threatens his life. One night he awoke to find that the alien hand was choking him. He cried out to his wife who had to fight the alien hand to keep it from killing her husband. Would that be murder or suicide, I wonder, if the hand had succeeded. Uncle Henry is not my uncle. He is a tall white man with grey hair and great posture. We are not related, it’s just what he likes to be called. His doctors theorize that the stroke has caused damage in left/right brain communication, so that when the brain commands the left hand to do something, the command becomes corrupted before it can get to the hand. But the truth is they’re not sure what cuases alien hand. Uncle Henry demonstrates how the simple act of reading a book has become difficult. As he reads to me from the latest Stephen King novel, the left hand periodically and suddenly shuts the book, or turns the page before he is ready, or in the worst case, rips out whole pages and throws them to the floor. His wife keeps the cutlery and scissors well hidden, for fear that Henry’s left hand will do him bodily harm. He says it is like having a disobedient dog or incorrigible child for a hand. As we speak his hands rest upon his lap, and soon the left begins to tremble and roams towards his crotch. He picks it up with the right and places it back on his knee. But soon it wanders again to his crotch and begins to grope his genitals. Embarssing behavior indeed. Does he take any medication or is involved in any therapy to treat this condition? Uncle Henry tells me that until doctors better understand the phenomena, there is nothing that can be done. Alien hand is not common but usually occurs in stroke victims or people with neurological disorders. When I ask, Uncle Henry vehemently denies that alien hand could possibly be a result of psychological or psychosomatic disorders. It is usually experienced in the left hand because the condition involves spatial and orientation skills, which are controlled by the right brain. The right brain also controls the left side of the body. Uncle Henry is unaware of anyone who has alien foot, alien leg, or alien elbow. However, I do believe the case could be made for alien penis. Copyright 4/99 Jennifer Chung. All rights reserved. Unless abducted. |