Down To Ride

7. The Life

Spencer James

*two weeks later*

"We've been preparing for this moment for awhile. I'm going to remove this now" the physical therapist told Spencer as she removed the crutch from him. "We're first going to start with balancing without the crutch. Whenever you are comfortable, we will work without it" she said.

Spencer was in one of his final sessions of physical therapy. Though he couldn't wait to reach this stage, there was still a lot of work left to do.

"You got this babe" Olivia encouraged as she watched from the side.

"I'm sorry...I'm  nervous" Spencer cleared his throat.

"That's normal for you to feel that way" Doctor Harris watched as Spencer slowly stood to his feet, slightly wobbling. "You're okay, that's to be expected" she told him and he nodded his head. Doctor Harris held her arms out for support, in case Spencer needed to lean on her.

"How are you feeling? Are you having any pain?" she inquired, glancing at her patient.

"Nah, no pain" Spencer shook his head. "It's strange that somethin' that was once normal for me feels foreign" he chuckled and the doctor smiled.

"I'm going to step back to check your posture" Doctor Harris told him and he nodded his head. "You seem to be leaning a bit, can you try to straighten upward?" she inquired.

Spencer adjusted his posture so that he was standing upward. The doctor nodded her head in approval and told the nurse to take note of the progress he was showing. Doctor Harris then asked Olivia to stand next to her.

"Okay Spencer, if you are ready, I want you to take a few steps towards your wife" the doctor told him. "And I'll be right next to you just in case" she assured.

Spencer slowly took a step with his right leg. He felt himself lose his balance, but Doctor Harris encouraged him to keep going. He then took a step with his other leg, sighing as his nerves caught the best of him.

"Are you in any pain?" Doctor Harris inquired and Spencer shook his head 'no'. "Okay, good. We're going to keep trying, you have a few more steps" she encouraged.

"You got this baby" Olivia said as she held her hands out. He then carefully extended forward once again, but came to an abrupt stop as a sharp pain shot up his leg. Spencer groaned as the pain lasted for several seconds.

"We're going to pause right here" Doctor Harris began but Spencer shook his head 'no'.

"It's just minor pain, I got this Doc" Spencer assured and Doctor Harris glanced at Olivia.

"Don't overwork yourself, Spencer" Olivia told him. "If you're not ready then that's just what it is..." she continued.

"What you don't believe in me? Hm?" Spencer asked her, causing her eyebrows to furrow.

"It's not that, baby. You just shouldn't make a decision that could potentially set you back a couple of weeks" Olivia told him.

"I understand your thoughts Mrs. James but the longer he waits the harder it will get for him" Doctor Harris informed the young couple. "The pain and discomfort is normal, he just needs to slowly wean off of the crutch. Spencer I recommend that you gradually increase physical activity and also work on keeping your leg elevated. I have a list of instructions for you to use and then we will try this again at our next meeting" she said as she helped Spencer back on the chair.

"Doctor Harris I know that I can do this. It's just...it's a mental block" Spencer said as she handed him the instructions.

"And I believe you can, Mr. James" Doctor Harris nodded her head. "But I genuinely think it's best we slowly work towards weaning you off the crutch rather than rushing. I do believe come next meeting you will be more than ready. I want to implement what I've written down for you into your daily routine and then we will give it a go again. Okay?" she finished.