THE BLIND and THE LAME

3. Living With Perthes

Nobody carried me up the stairs that night. I figured out how to hang the crutches on my arm and scoot my butt from one step to the next with my arms and good leg. The next morning I threw the crutches down the stairs and got down the same way. I was supposed to call my father to help me into the rig but I managed it by myself. I became quite adept at doing things my way, and it all came to feel normal and natural for me.

Mom was working 7 to 3. She left a note for me to take to the principal, together with the note the doctor had written explaining my condition. Dad firmly instructed me to be sure to take it to the school office first thing as he fixed a quick breakfast for the two of us before he left for work shortly before 8:00.

Kids stared as I walked the half-block to the school bus stop, and there were lots of questions when I got there. I told them what I had experienced the day before. Some of the boys wanted to try out the crutches but I said no, I needed them to walk or stand. When the bus came Lonnie, a hearty fifth-grader, picked me up crutches and all and set me at the top of steps into the bus. The first seats were empty and I plunked myself right there. Lonnie sat beside me. "Are you going to have to walk that way forever?" he asked.

"Nah," I said. "Just a couple of years."

"Wow," he said. "That's an awful long time."

"Yeah," I said.

"Aren't you upset about that?" he asked.

"Nah," I said. "Well, maybe a little bit."

By the time we got to school I had figured out how to get myself off the bus by planting my crutches on the next step and pushing on the top of them as I grabbed the railing with the other hand and let myself down. No harder than the monkey bars. Mrs. Stokely, the driver, said "That was impressive but tomorrow you'll ride the handicap bus."

"Aww," I said. "I'm not handicapped, just a little different."

"All the same, Jimmy, that's the way it will be."

Stares surrounded me as I made my way to the school office and delivered the letters. Mrs. Barnes, the secretary, said "Your mother left a message last night about your situation. Now scoot to your classroom, please."

Most of my fellow kindergartners were already in the classroom when I got there. As I entered they gathered around, with a lot of questions. Finally Ms. Flora came in and told us to take our places. Then she said, "We all see that Jimmy has a special challenge. Jimmy, would you explain it to us?" I briefly recounted what had happened at the hospital the day before. Ms. Flora asked, "Does anyone have a question for Jimmy?"

Dina Mae raised her hand. "Why you gotta have your leg strung up that way?"

"To keep me off it so my hip can heal."

Toby, the agitator, "How long?"

"Two years, maybe three."

Toby let out a shrill whistle. "It was only six weeks for my brother when he broke his leg."

Mary Anne raised her hand. "Is it hard walking with them things?"

"Not really," I said. "Well, maybe a little bit." Achy stiffness from the previous day's exertions had asserted itself in my arms and shoulders.

Silence pervaded the room. My classmates appeared deep in thought. Ms. Flora said, "All right, boys and girls, we'll all help Jimmy when he tells us he needs it. Otherwise he's just another kid, all right?" The kids nodded their assent and class went on. When recess time came Ms. Flora motioned me to her desk and said quietly, "Jimmy, you don't have to go out there if you don't want to."