“Are you king David?” Some have asked with silly curiosity.

I explain to them that the crown looking symbol above my name is actually my left hand. At birth I was born with 5 fingers, or 4 fingers and a thumb. My left hand looked somewhat normal when I was born except, there were no bones growing within my 3 middle fingers. When I turned 1, this proved to be a problem because when I grabbed everything around the house, the 3 middle fingers fell limp like sacks of grain and they got in the way of grasping things. They had no movement. These three middle fingers are similar to ears or a nose, with only cartilage and no bones in them.

Shortly after this quandary, my 3 middle digits were surgically removed down to where the bone started which gave me access for my thumb and pinky to do all the work it desires. Thank God the opposing digits are there! The middle finger sits up a little higher then the other 2 and therefore resembles the shape of a crown.

My left hand has rarely been a downfall for me; probably because I was born with it and you work with what you have, not with what you wished you had.  Growing up, some days were a little tougher than others; like crossing monkey bars in grade school and swimming in circles. On the plus side it’s incredibly strong and always a great shark attack story or sink disposal story and many others leading to a sense of humor and imagination. You should see people’s faces! That alone could make your day.

So.  When I came to my signature, the hand took precedence over my full name and I proudly place it right above the “I” of David to remind me I can overcome if I really want to.