Sun On Sunday

Chapter Seven

I woke up, and for once in a very long time, I felt refreshed. I actually felt well rested. I looked over to the door just in time to see Doctor Rivera walking in.

"Hello Sunday," Doctor Rivera began. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"For once, I actually feel pretty good," I said as I sat up.

"That's good! Do you think you could stand up for a little bit? Maybe try and walk? You have been sitting and lying down for an extremely long amount of time."

I tore the blanket off of my body, revealing the hospital gown that covered my body. Then, I realized just how weak my body was. I had used a large portion of my strength, just from that one simple motion.

I slowly moved my legs towards the edge of the bed. I allowed my feet to hang there for a minute or two, waiting to recover a little bit more energy.

I finally placed my feet on the ground. The floor was cold, but it felt good against my bare feet. I grabbed onto the edge of my bed, so I would be able to stabilize myself as I stood up. Slowly, I raised myself up.

I was finally standing, with support of course. I slowly removed my left arm from the bed. This caused my knees to start wobbling.

"Maybe you shouldn't do this, Sunday," Doctor Rivera stated, noticing my shaky legs. "You don't seem to be in the shape for this."

"No, it's okay," I said. "I want to do this. It probably won't end well, but there is no harm in trying."

I turned my gaze over to Doctor Rivera. She gave me a short nod to continue. Her long, black curls shook as she moved her head.

I slowly removed my right hand. I was standing! My legs were shaking heavily, but I was finally standing!

Well, that excitement only lasted for about ten seconds. My prediction was right; it ended in disaster. I crashed to the floor, which I had been expecting to happen. I just wanted to see how long I could actually stay up.

Doctor Rivera ran towards me. She helped me up and got me back into my hospital bed.

"Well, you aren't able to stand, so obviously you are unable to walk. Either way, you are supposed to be released from the hospital today."

"Even if I can't walk?" I asked.

"Yes. Let me go get your parents and we'll talk about it with you. I will be right back." Doctor Rivera walked out of the hospital room, the ends of her white coat trailing behind her.

'I could finally get out of here!' I thought to myself. 'Get my life back to normal, once I am able to walk again of course.'

I started to think of all the things I could finally do again. I could go back to school. I could sing again. I could hang out with Fay again and all my other friends. I could visit Eiden at his new job at the hardware store.

I was taken out of my thoughts as Doctor Rivera came back into my room, followed by my mother and father.

"Michael, Deborah," Doctor Rivera started. "Sunday, is supposed to get released from the hospital today. She is unable to stand up without having something to support her. If she is to go home, she won't be able to move around at home without someone helping her. Will someone be home to help her?"

"I will," my mother said. "I can work from home."

My mother works at a travel agency. She always has the option to work from home, but prefers the office. It's her little time to escape but when something occurs at home, she's there in the blink of an eye.

My dad, on the other hand, is an accountant. He can't work from home, unless he's doing our own taxes.

"Sunday, do you feel like you are ready to get out of the hospital?" my father asked me.

"I think so. Being cramped in this hospital room for over three months isn't the greatest thing in the world." I said.

"Doctor Rivera, is there any paperwork that needs to get taken care of for Sunday to get released?" my mom asked.

"There are a couple of forms that need to be signed. I also need to type up and print out some important instructions for you, so you can rebuild the strength in her legs and arms."

"Why don't they just do the physical therapy while I am here in the hospital?" I asked.

"They will," Doctor Rivera said. "Forogot to mention that. Wednesdays and Saturdays, Sunday will have to come in to take part in physical therapy. We didn't want to bombard you with physical therapy every day, and we didn't want you coming in every day. So, we chose two days out of the week for actual physical therapy here. On the days you don't come to the hospital, you will need to do your physical therapy exercises every day. Is this okay?"

"Of course it is," my dad said. "Anything for Sunday to get back to her normal self."

"Okay, good. Now, Michael, Deborah, follow me to my office. We will take care of the paperwork in there and go over any questions you have. Do you have any questions Sunday?"

"No," I said.

"Okay then. We will be back in a few minutes. I'll send Fay and Vaughn in here. They have been sitting outside this whole time. I'm sure they want to talk to you about this."

The three adults headed for the door. My dad opened it and motioned for the two figures outside to come in. Fay and Vaughn finally appeared, looking very happy. They walked into the room, as my parents and Doctor Rivera left the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Sunday!" Fay practically yelled. "You're finally getting out of here!"

"I know!" I said. "It's amazing!"

"We can finally have that sleep over." Fay laughed. I joined in.

Vaughn was staying very close to the door. He looked upset about something.

"Vaughn? What's wrong?"

He slowly shuffled his way towards my hospital bed. "What's wrong is that I don't know what the truth is."

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"When I first saw you in the hospital, you snapped at me. The second time, you were kind and caring and sympathetic. I don't know which is the truth."

"Vaughn, I was frustrated and upset when I snapped at you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I have seen the errors in my actions. Please forgive me."

"It's okay..." Vaughn still seemed very hesitant.

There was an awkward silence in the room. There was a lot of tension left in the room.

At that moment, Doctor Rivera walked into the room. Thankful for the tension to be cleared, we all breathed a sigh of relief at once.

"Sunday, you're cleared to be released from the hospital. You can now go home."