Swans Don't Quit

Getting Back

 This is the next step forward in the process of getting me out of this damn chair. The doc said I was healing remarkably well and set it up so I would have therapy at the hospital every Tuesday and Friday to help make sure I gained full function and strength back. Every day I get more and more anxious to be able to use my legs again. Sue and my father kept telling me to be patient but I wanted to be independent again. I hated having to have someone always around just in case I fell or couldn't reach something higher up. My experience in this chair was like becoming a midget and I have a new respect for them.

My therapist was a nice lady named Tina. She was about middle aged and liked to gush about her two kids. She said that she glad I had the determination I did or walking would take a lot more time. She also cautioned me to not push myself too much because it could be counterproductive and to tell her anytime I felt too tired or strained from any of the exercises. She even gave more some that I could do at the house and have Leah or Sue help me with.

Today I was actually starting to walk again. There were these two sturdy railings on either side and I was to hold on to them, putting only a little weight on my legs and make my way to the end of the bars. I definitely took work, but I got there and collapsed into the chair. I smiled at Tina so big that my cheeks felt like they were going to fall off. I was beyond words with what I was feeling, there were no words to describe what it felt like. After over a month and a half of only being able to sit and a chair and be able to little to nothing, it felt invigorating to be back on my feet.

"That's great! If you keep doing the exercises we talked about and don't push too far, you'll be walking in no time." Tina said as she smiled at me.

"I might actually be able to take my sister out for her birthday without having to be in this chair?" I asked, seeing how she would react.

"Yeah, you might." She said nodding her head. I had been expecting her to say no that that was too close to be possible.

"Yea!" I cheered.

I rolled out with the biggest grin on my face and headed down to the station for the day. Since the night with the junkie everyone at the station had joked that I was already prepared for the join and that it should have counted as my test. Leah had been freaked out for a while after and had made sure that all the doors and windows were locked now before we went to sleep, she even slept with my hunting rifle at the headboard of the bed now. It had taken a lot of coddling to get her to believe that it wouldn't happen again.

Since our trip to Port Angeles I had been able to get myself a new truck. It was a 1994 Silverado 1500 Chevy in a light grey. It was a lot newer than my Ford had been which was an '83 and had a couple newer features, all I really cared about was that it ran and hauled my ass around town without needed a ride from someone else. I pulled up to the house to see Paul's old black Dodge in the driveway. Leah would be working at the diner till ten so we didn't need to censor our talk. Paul climbed out of his truck when I put the truck in park. I dropped the chair down from the back seat and easily lowered myself down into it. Since being stuck in the chair I had gained some upper body strength making some things easier.

"Hey Eli! How you doing?" Paul asked as he walked up to me.

"Good, come inside." I said, motioning to the house before rolling toward it. I unlocked the door and let us in.

"So how is therapy going?" Paul said as he took a seat on my couch.

"Good I'm relearning how to walk. Took my first steps today. Lot harder than I thought it would be." I said and got some food out of the fridge and started a pot of coffee.

"But that's not what you're here for. What's on your mind Paul?" I asked setting the plate in front of him as the coffee brewed.

"Ya got me." He said and leaned back into the couch taking a bite of a sandwich.