Best Friends

35

Roseanne

The doctors fussed over her for the longest time. I watched them avidly, they were prodding her legs and feet, I chewed on my lip when I watched Lisa wiggle her toes. I felt like my insides were going to burst with happiness, it's so crazy how something as small as a tiny movement can make everything seem right in the world. Another MRI scan was arranged, they wanted to leave it another hour or two so that the swelling would go down even more.

Lisa had a happy smile on her face the whole time, she was clinging to my hand tightly as if she was afraid to let go. I had been on a rollercoaster ride today, my day went from bad - when I woke up and she couldn't feel her legs, to unbearable for the couple of hours I was away from her. But right now, none of that mattered. All that mattered was the laugh that I heard come out of Lisa's mouth when the doctor nodded and told her that everything looked great.

He left to set up the scans and I pulled the chair over to the bed again, kissing the side of Lisa's beautiful face as I sat down. "I told you to stop worrying," I teased.

"Yeah, yeah. No 'I told you so's' ok," she said, smirking at me. It was nice to see Lisa coming back to normal a little, it broke my heart to see her so upset and sad. Lisa hardly ever got sad about anything, she was always the strong one, so the look on her face for the last few hours had been slowly killing me inside.

After having the scans the doctor had given us the news that everything looked just as it should do. There was still some inflammation around the operation site which would fade over time, he was very hopeful that Lisa would be able to walk again but he warned that it would be a lot of hard work for her.

Everything was working out perfectly, As the hours wore on she could raise her knee slightly, even though it hurt her back doing it. Apparently that was normal though, she'd just had major surgery so pain was to be expected.

They wouldn't let me stay at the hospital with her that night because she wasn't in critical condition like the last couple of nights. I didn't want to go home to our apartment, it didn't feel right staying there without Lisa, so I went back to my parent's house. My mom had gone and picked up a few days worth of clothes for me. It took me a long time to say goodbye to Lisa. I felt like I left a piece of me behind when I walked out of the hospital, knowing I wouldn't see her again for a few hours.

It felt weird walking into my parents house, it didn't feel like home anymore. It was surprising just how quick I had gotten used to living with Lisa, I had lived in this house for thirteen years but yet it felt strange to slip in-between the sheets of my bed. I hugged myself tight and cried, but not with sadness this time, with relief. It would be a lot of hard work but Lisa was always a hard worker, I knew she would put 200 percent into it. Lisa was always up for a challenge and she never failed.

She stayed in the hospital for a grand total of twelve days. The doctors were really pleased with her, she was out of bed and in a wheelchair. She could move her legs but it was a great effort for her, I could see the sweat form on her forehead when she tried really hard. I could tell she was getting frustrated about it, but the doctors had explained it was like a baby learning how to walk for the first time. The will to walk was there, the knowledge, she just needed to teach her body how to do it again. The trouble with Lisa was that she never liked to rely on people. She was a giver, not a receiver so it was hard for her to let me or my parents or our friends, fuss over her and do things for her.

Another thing that pissed her off: she missed the big football game. Our school had to play in the final of the state championship without their captain and had just managed to scrape a win. She was seriously annoyed that she missed it, but the whole team, including the coach, had come to see her that night. They had all crammed in her room, shouting and dancing around, they were thrown out by an angry nurse within ten minutes but Lisa enjoyed it while it lasted. They left her the trophy, which took pride of place on her side table next to her bed. After the twelve days, Lisa was moved to a rehabilitation centre. Apparently she would stay there for about six weeks and they would work with her extensively, training her muscles again. Her brain needed to reconnect with the damaged nerves and learn the whole process of putting one foot in front of the other.