ZMaine has 11 chronicles

1. My "Retarded Left Hand"
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Oct 29 2008

   WARNING: This is long. You have been warned.
   
   Some of you may have heard of me complaining about my "retarded left hand" and have no idea what I'm talking about, so I'll explain here. And yes, this actually does relate to gaming.
   
   I was born left handed but starting when I was about 6, I started to have these weird headache/neck pains right in the back of my head.
   
   We went to the town's family doctor to find out what was going on and since I was an avid SNES gamer back then, he labeled it, "Nintendo Neck."
   
   So for 3 years, I had those "nintendo neck" pains and would of course, go back to the doctor and he would of course, say it was the same thing.
   
   We went back to the doctor when I was 9 and he said the same thing again, so we decided to call Shenanigans and went to seek help.
   
   We came across the town's Physical Therapist, and she ran a couple physical tests on me and just said, "Take him to the hospital."
   
   So of course, that same day, we went to the University of Iowa hospitals to find out what's going on. I went through a CAT scan and an MRI, it was weird. When they came back into the room, they told me to wait in the lobby so they could talk to my parents, and as it turned out, I was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor (meaning I had cancer)
   
   The weirdest thing about this is that at the same time of my diagnosis, a classmate of mine also was diagnosed with it too.
   
   I went through the surgery on Februrary 13, 1998 (it was a friday the 13th, bad day for surgery ) and it was a success (obviously)
   
   There were some major repercussions because of surgery though. I had to learn how to walk properly again, and then I noticed my left hand felt really weird. As it turns out, when they cut me open, they damaged something in my brain causing some loss of motor function in some spots in my body, and it was mainly in my left hand.
   
   So I couldn't write or eat as proficiently with my left hand anymore, I had to learn to do a lot of things with my right hand, which REALLY sucks since I've played piano since I was 5 and play video games.
   
   So naturally, this ultimate effects all gaming in general and would explain why I'm not very good with FPS games (another reason is because I've played sidescrollers my whole life), now Guitar Hero is a weird one for me to explain. I'm not sure how I can do as well as I can, but I think I've reached my limit on how much better I can get.
   
   I'm not sure if I'm still left handed or right handed, because I still do stuff with my left hand, so I guess I'm just ambidextrious.
   
   So there's a little glimpse into my childhood and the story of my "retarded left hand" in case anyone was wondering.

   
   

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ZMaine has 4 comment s on this chronicle.

1. RyuBlitz
   Posted On Oct 30 2008

   Wow... I know you've mentioned the surgery before, but I didn't realize it was for something that severe.
   
   So, have your piano skills recovered very well since the surgery?

2. BEN
   Posted On Oct 30 2008

   Wow, thanks for the story ZMaine. I was unaware of this and naturally I'm glad you're okay now, but I'm even happier that you're such an amazing Plastic Rockstar that has somewhat defied the odds!
   
   It's great that we have a community where you feel comfortable sharing this type of story, so thanks again!

3. ZMaine
   Posted On Oct 29 2008

   that's because i play it a lot more than you

4. Gvirus05
   Posted On Oct 29 2008

   But your left hand is still better than mine when it comes to guitar hero