have you ever driven a vehicle entirely on hand brake ?
I had them on several rental Impalas while I was recovering from my foot surgery last year - just a mechanical extension to the brake pedal in form of a rod, worked perfectly fine- [I had two close calls/hard braking moments in all of those 6-8 weeks combined, and I never felt unsafe]
for anyone in the same predicament/medical condition: it took less than 15 minutes to get comfortable and proficient in the use of a hand-operated brake in city traffic in a moderate traffic area of Scottsdale - I practiced some more in the next hour on not-so-busy streets . . .
as typical for the Valley of the Sun, car rentals are much more affordable in the dead heat of summer - $100/week was totally worth it, as opposed to 4 weeks of total confinement indoors
I have driven several cars with hand only operations ie gas and brake. IIRC they were a pull for gas push for brake lever. While I never had a problem I can't say I was ever overly confident while driving them.