Asuka Kakitani

Asuka is a composer. And a mom: On an icy sledding hill with her daughter, Asuka lost her balance and landed hard on her right hand. 

“I didn’t think it would be a big deal, but it swelled up,” she says. Turns out she had fractured her hand. Asuka was referred to orthopedist Ashley Scharping, MPH, PA-C for a cast, followed by occupational therapy.

It was the first time Asuka ever broke a bone. “It was inconvenient, but also interesting because everything was new,” she says. “It was so different from what I imagined.”

Her piano felt different, too: “Everything changed when I couldn’t use my right hand. It was a completely different perspective.” Asuka was working on a commissioned piece at the time; suddenly, she saw it in a new light. “Not being able to use my dominant hand displayed the world differently, which gave me new perspectives and appreciation,” she says.

Asuka asked for a copy of her x-ray for inspiration while writing the piece. “My mom wanted the x-ray too,” she laughs.

Asuka composed “Fractured” to “express my struggle through the experience, my wonder at the incredible human body, and my gratitude for the health I take for granted too often,” she wrote in the concert program notes. (She put her x-ray in the program notes, too.)

“In the middle of the piece, I added some that’s played just with the left hand,” Asuka says. “I made part of it sound awkward on purpose, that element of not lining up. It was interesting to write a piece around what was happening in my life.”

Asuka wore her cast for six weeks. When it came off, her hand was weak. Occupational therapy with hand specialist Annie Binsfeld, OTR/L, LPTA, CLT rebuilt the strength and flexibility of her hand. Annie encouraged Asuka to start playing piano again little by little. 

“The hand has such small parts, but it has so many joints that it takes a long time to recover from an injury,” Asuka says. “It took almost a year to feel back to normal.” 

Asuka’s advice on managing an injury? “Be curious about how you’re experiencing the world differently for a while. It’s a chance to know what other people might be going through with their limitations, too.

“We take for granted what our bodies can do. For me, this was an opportunity to think intentionally about it.”

Because inconvenience can also be inspiration.