The Right Time (Together-Part 1)(Completed)

Chapter 7

Zosia

Today we are on our way to the doctor's office for my checkup and to get my stitches removed. Since Dorien insisted on coming with us, my mom said that he had to drive since his car was bigger than hers. We pull up to the hospital and my nerves are strung tight. What if my leg isn't healing the way it is supposed to? What if the stitches need to stay in for a while longer? I hear my mom tell me as if she was reading my mind, "Everything will be just fine. You are young and resilient and will heal fast." While we are waiting for the doctor, Dorien is rubbing my back whispering in my ear that everything will be fine.

The nurse called my name and escorted me to the exam room. She told my mom and Dorien that they couldn't come in yet. She said that she would call them back in a little bit. While I was waiting, I was wondering why they wouldn't let them come in with me. The doctor arrived and sat down in front of me. "I just wanted to talk to you alone for a minute and ask a couple of questions. When someone's loved ones are in the room, sometimes they tend to downplay if anything is wrong because they don't want to worry them. I just want to ask you a couple of questions, o.k.?" I nod my head.

"Are you having any pain in your leg?"

"No"

"Have you been on your crutches most of the time or just the wheelchair?"

"After I was told that I didn't have to use the wheelchair anymore, I didn't unless we were doing something that would be too much for me on the crutches."

"How are the stitches?"

"They were itching really badly, but I don't feel them anymore."

He nodded at me and wrote on his notepad. "If you are ok with it, we will let your mother and your friend come into the room with us now." I nod. He finished getting all of the items for preparation to take off the cast while the nurse went out and got my mom and Dorien. They came in the room and sat down. The doctor explained to us, "What we are going to do today is take off the cast and remove the stitches. Then we are going to x-ray your leg and make a decision of what is next from there. We have you on schedule to start physical therapy the week after next and we have to make sure that you are ready for it. Are you ready for this?" I shook my head yes again. "Then let's go."

He slid an extra piece from under the examining table that extended it. "Put your leg on here and we will get started." I put my leg on the extension of the table. Then the doctor picked up an electric saw that had a small round end on it and turned it on. He then put it on the side of my cast and started from the top and sawed the cast down to my toes. He then went to the other side and did the same thing. I felt every vibration and bump and snag that he hit on the way down. I was kind of scared that he was going to cut me, but he didn't. The cast came off and I looked at my leg. It was pale and so tiny compared to my other leg. There was also puckering where the stitches were at. The doctor examined my leg even though all it seemed like he did was squeeze and poke at it a little bit.

Next, they wheeled me to x-ray where they took x-rays and removed the stitches from my legs. They then took me back to the room and said they would be back to discuss them with us in a little bit. While waiting for the doctor to come back into the room, we all looked at my leg and compared the two. It is going to take a little work to get them back even again when all of this is over. It really felt good to be out of the cast and the stitches being gone. I tried to enjoy the freedom of having a free foot and leg before they come back in and put another cast on it. I wiggled my toes and laughed out loud when Dorien tickled my feet. I decided that I was going to buy myself a few new pairs of shoes when my cast comes off permanently.

The doctor came back into the room with the x-rays and put them up on the board. He explained to us, "This one is the one that we did when you came in the hospital a few weeks ago. If you can see, the break was right here and the splintering was right here. On the x-ray that we took today, if you look at these two areas the breaks and splintering are sealed. This is showing that your leg is healing beyond expectation and because of this; we will put a boot on your foot instead of another cast. You won't have to use the crutches, but you do need to take the wheelchair with you because you will tire more easily with the boot. You will still start physical therapy the week after next starting off with two days a week and working our way up to three.

If you keep progressing as well as you are now, you should be able to have the boot off and walk with a cane by the end of next month." I looked at him with a big toothy smile, "Thank you so much! This is great!" "We are going to take you off of your medication at the end of the week and see how that goes also. We will check everything out when you come in for physical therapy and we will decide at that time if you need to go back on your medication or not." He told us. They gave me my choice of color for the boot. I got the maroon one to go with my hair. He also gave me a cane just in case I needed walking assistance until I got accustomed to the boot. I was a happy camper walking out of the hospital.

Dorien

It made me so happy to see her practically skipping out of the hospital in her boot. I am excited as she is that she is healing so quickly! After we leave the hospital, we go and get a late breakfast. We sit down and order. When the server walked away, Ms. Pam asked, "How are you two going to handle being apart in a few months? You all are almost always together." Zose answered, "We will be fine. We will talk and skype as much as possible. It will be hard but it will only be a school year, and Dorien will be home almost every couple of months for something and a whole month in December." I added, "I will be home more than every couple of months, I am only five hours away, so I can drive down for a weekend every couple of weeks."

She looks at us skeptically, "It is going to be hard on both of you. I like your attitude, but the first week that you two are going to be away from each other will be horrible for you. You won't sleep. You won't eat, and you will be depressed. Dorien, it will affect your homework. Please try extra hard the first month and it will get easier. Just a bit of advice for you two." It made me think. I already knew how hard it would be to leave her, but I have been trying not deal with it until I have to. Maybe we need to do more preparation earlier in the summer, so it won't be as hard when I have to leave.

When we get back to the house, Zosia lays down for a nap. Ms. Pam grabs my arm and pulls me over to the kitchen table. We sit down and she starts. "I know that you don't want to talk about this, but I know that you are in love with my daughter. What are your plans now that you are going off to school? What are you going to do about her?" Oh my God, why is everyone harping on this, first my mom now hers. "I am in love with her and its going to be hard as hell to leave her. I am not going to put her in a position of having a boyfriend that lives five hours away during her senior year in high school." Ms. Pam nods at me. "We will be together when it is the right time unfortunately, that time isn't now. Until then I will take care of her as much as possible and see her as much as I can." I hope that satisfies her because that's all I have to give right now. She looked at me satisfied, "That's all I need to know."