Hess Needed Help Tying His Shoelaces

Hess's condition may have been more robust than this makes it sound like. He wore a truss and probably found bending to tie a pashule is difficult, but he could certainly write legibly, and thus tie a knot. So Hess was fit enough to write an exercise bicycle every morning. And he could summon the strength and dexterity needed to unplug a lamp cord, wrap it around his neck and tie it to a window latch. It may not have been easy for him to do those things, but it doesn't have to be easy, just possible for a determined man like him to accomplish.