Amnesia

Chapter 19

I woke up to my dad smiling down at me.
  "Morning," I yawn in my hospital bed, wanting to stretch yet unable to due to my back.

"Morning? More like afternoon. It's two 'o clock, Sam." Dad smiles.

"Oops," I laugh, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "I just had the weirdest dream."

"Really?" Dad replies, sipping his coffee. "What of?"

"I was a sofa, and people kept sitting on me, and I hated it, so I got magic and turned into a human." I smile.
   Dad chuckles. "That is a weird dream. Y'know today they're gonna get you in a wheelchair and see how your back reacts to that? I hope it goes well."

"Dad," I smile. "I've been here for seven weeks, I should be alright. Though my neck will be SO sore, because for seven weeks I've been lying like this!"

Dad nods in agreement, squeezing my hand.
   Nurse Franklin comes in to us, smiling his big smile.
  "Hello, Ms Ross! Your doctor is going to come in now, with your wheelchair. Are you ready?" He asks.

"Absolutely." I reply confidently. "I can't wait to get my neck out of this position!"

Nurse Franklin chuckles, moving out of the way as Doctor Lawless comes in, pushing a wheelchair suited to my size.

"First, we are going to weigh you. Then, we will get you in the wheelchair. That sound OK?" Doctor Lawless grins, tucking a curl behind her ear.

My heart rate quickens at the sound of being weighed, but I push my worry aside. I've been in hospital, and have found it hard to eat while laying on my stomach. That's my excuse. I'll be fine. It'll be fine.

"Of course it does." I smile bravely.

More nurses gather around the bed, getting read to gently turn me around.
   I take deep breaths to calm myself, nervous about my back, along with getting weighed.

I discover that this bed was a weighing scale anyway, so I don't have to move yet.  
   They turn on the weighing scales attached to the bed, and I push all of my air into my body, trying to seem heavier.

Doctor Lawless examines the weighing scale, and frowns at the result.
  "How old are you, again Sam?" She asks, her eyebrows still furrowed.
  "Eighteen." I say, meaning for it to be loud but it coming out as a squeak.
   "You are quite underweight. Have you been eating well?" 

"I usually do, yes. Though because I've been lying on my stomach while I've been here, so it is quite hard to eat. Why?" I say casually, trying to withhold my nervousness.

"I understand how it is hard to eat, though once you are comfortable in the wheelchair we'll give you food, as you weigh only just 40 kilograms, whereas the average eighteen year old lady weighs around 60 kilograms." Doctor Lawless says.

I gulp. I know I'm underweight, but I am trying. I'm aware that I have anorexia, and I will tell someone about my depression.

Might as well get it over with and say it now.

"Excuse me, Doctor Lawless? Could I speak to you... Alone?" I say, my breathing speeding up.

Doctor Lawless looks surprised for a minute, but then nods. The staff leave, including Dad.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Doctor Lawless smiles encouragingly.

"Well... The truth is, I haven't been eating well. I am aware that I have anorexia, and I'm trying to fix it, and my boyfriend is helping too- he's the only one that knows- but I know that I need more help, and that he would want me to tell."

Doctor Lawless looks surprised.
  "Sam, we can get you help. We have doctors here that treat anorexia. It will take quite a long time, but you will get help."

I smile gratefully at her. "Just please don't tell my dad. I'll tell him when I'm ready."

Doctor Lawless nods. "I had anorexia too when I was a kid. I wanted to hell treat anorexia here, because I'd been through it, but I fell in love with the job I have now. But I am living proof that you can get better."

"How did you get better?" I ask, my neck aching.

"I didn't do what you did, because in my day not many people were aware of anorexia. I told my best friend and she helped me. But trust me, the more people you tell, the less hard it gets.
  Will I get everyone back in? We'll put you in the wheelchair, and when you're back is completely better, we'll help you get rid of your anorexia."

I smile. "Great."

Doctor Lawless invites everyone back in, and the nurses yet again crowd around me.

  "1, 2, 3!" One of the nurse says, and they all slip their hands under my stomach and gently turn me around.

The pain of my neck is unreal. The nurses carefully turn my head in the write direction, leaving me near tears.

The pain subsides, and they lift me up and into the wheelchair.

I groan in agony, biting my bottom lip, trying to stop the tears that threaten to roll down my cheeks.

I sit in the wheelchair for a few minutes, a blanket of silence thrown over the room.

"You OK?" Dad asks nervously.

"Yep," I give him a short answer. "Yes I am."