1D | I'm Right Here

Niall Knee Assessed

Niall's POV
A week later, we were in LA and Louis and I managed to sneak away to the hospital for my appointment.
"Hello," The receptionist greeted me as we arrived in the department.
"Hi. I've got an appointment with Mr George at 10am. It's Niall Horan."
"Yes. Can you tell me your date of birth Niall?"
"13th September 1993."
"That's great, take a seat and someone will call you through shortly."
"Thank you," I said before I went and sat down.

"How are you doing Niall?" Louis asked me.
"Ok. I don't like what he's going to tell me though."
"You think that he's going to move your surgery forwards?"
"Yeah," I said as tears formed in my eyes.
"Aw mate," Louis said before he rested his hand onto my leg.
"I need to ask him for some high dosage prescription painkillers too," I said and I saw the pain in Louis's eyes. He wanted to help me, but there was nothing that either of us could do.
"We're going to get you sorted Niall alright," Louis said and I nodded as a few tears fell down my face. I felt bad as he'd been looking after Harry all night and now he had to look after me. "Hey, it's alright Niall," Louis said as he lent forwards and wiped me tears away. "You're going to be alright."
"Argh," I groaned as my knee began to seize up and I pulled it towards my body.
"What is it?" Louis asked me in worry.
"My knee."
"Is it painful?"
"Yeah."
"Ok," Louis said as he gently shushed me.

"Niall Horan," Called a nurse and Louis turned round to see her standing by a doorway.
"Here," Louis called as he stood up. "Do you need a hand to stand up Niall?"
"Yeah, I can't move it," I said between my tears.
"Ok," Louis said and the nurse came round as I tried to stand up.
"Argh!" I cried out as I tried to put pressure onto my knee and the nurse pushed me back down.
"Ok, sit down. I'll get a wheelchair, because we don't want you in pain," She said before she disappeared off to get a wheelchair.
"I feel ridiculous Lou."
"You're not being ridiculous mate, the pain you're in just proves why you're here. It's only ridiculous that you weren't here sooner," Louis said and the nurse soon returned with a wheelchair. I moved onto it and the nurse wheeled me into the room.

~

A small moment of joy came when we entered the examination room and my surgeon looked genuinely surprised at my state.
"You know, my patients are only normally in a wheelchair directly after they've had their operation."
"I'm glad to be the exception," I said as the nurse moved me to a suitable spot and she left the room.
"Glad may not be the right emotion Niall. And you are?" Mr George asked Louis.
"Louis Tomlinson. I'm Niall's friend. Am I ok to stay? Niall wanted me here in case he needed a hand."
"It's a good thing you're here then and yes, I'm happy for you to stay. Here's some painkillers Niall," Mr George said before he handed me some high dosage paracetamol. "Once you've taken those, could you get onto the bed for me?"
"Yeah of course," I said before I swallowed the pills with some water.
"Come on then Ni," Louis said as he wheeled the chair round and he gave me a hand to get onto the bed. Mr George then rolled my trouser leg up and I winced as he felt my knee.
"How long has it been this swollen for?"
"A few days, maybe a week. I've been doing some gentle exercises like you said and resting it between shows."
"Ok," Mr George said as he inspected my knee, and I winced from time to time as he poked and prodded at it.
"Well?" Louis asked him after a few moments.
"Given the amount of pain that Niall's in, and the swelling around the joint. I would like to move the surgery forward."
"To when?" I asked. Mr George then went back to his computer and brought up his schedule.
"How would a fortnight's time be for you?"
"A fortnight?" I asked in shock. That was soon. Very soon. It was still August, so that meant that I would have my surgery 4 months earlier than planned.
"I know that it will be sooner than you had expected Niall, but I can't leave that knee untreated for much longer. You're putting a huge amount of strain on your meniscus and supportive ligaments, and that's causing your joint to swell up and it's causing you pain."
"It's best to get it done Niall. I know how much pain you're in and you need this," Louis told me.
"I know Louis, but it's going to be a big operation and I'm not sure that I'm ready for it right now," I told him. I always tried to be strong around the boys about my knee, but deep down it was really frustrating and it scared me. I need it to be fixed, but I wasn't sure if I was mentally ready enough for the surgical recovery yet.