Another Reason To Live (Watty Awards 2014)

Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

I watched as Gerard was delicately moved from his stiff hospital bed and to a wheelchair, which was positioned as closely to the edge of the bed as possible.  His doctor had declared that it would be good for Gerard to try and leave his bed, since he had been lying in it for about three and a half weeks.

His doctor also informed Donna and Donald that, according to Gerard's coherent vocabulary, significant memory recovery, and appropriate responses to sensory stimuli, that the cognitive injuries from the accident were improving, and that Gerard's broken arm appeared to be healing quite nicely.  He just needed some scans to be done in order to properly assess his condition, but that the outlook was bright, and there was a possibility that Gerard could be discharged early next week.

Gerard had improved quite a lot over the past few days.  He was still easily fatigued, but his headaches had decreased in frequency and overall soreness had decreased as well, minus pain from the broken left arm.  So when the idea of going for a joyride around the hospital in a wheelchair was brought to him, he eagerly agreed.

The plan was to wheel Gerard down the hallway, maybe circle the level once or twice, and depending on his condition, go down to the main level of the hospital and stroll around down there.

"Okay Gerard, on the count of three, we're going to lift you from your bed and into the chair.  It might hurt a little, and your muscles will feel weak, but that's expected," a nurse told Gerard.  She then looked up at the male nurse that was standing directly next to Gerard and nodded.  He slipped an arm under Gerard's knees and another around his back, ready to lift.

"One...two...three!"

Gerard groaned when the male nurse lifted him and his eyes squeezed shut.  Although it must've felt like an hour to Gerard, he was carefully placed in the wheelchair in less than five seconds.  The nurse exhaled once the extra weight was lifted from him, and he stood up straight and watched as Gerard sighed and tried to adjust himself in the chair, which proved to be difficult with a broken arm.

The other nurse opened the leg platforms for Gerard to rest his legs on and gently positioned them.

"How are you feeling, Gerard?" she asked once everything was in place.  The other nurse was busy attaching Gerard's IV bags onto the metal pole that was sticking up from the back of the chair and making sure the tubes were untangled.

Gerard exhaled and smiled slightly.  "Glad that part's over.  That fucking sucked.  It felt like I couldn't move my arms or legs."

The nurse, which upon further inspection of her scrubs revealed a name tag with the name 'Stephanie' on it, smiled.  "That's perfectly normal.  Being out of your bed for a while will help that a bit."

Gerard shook his head to the side so a piece of his black hair moved out of his eyes.  "Alright, I'm ready to go."

Stephanie gripped the handles of the wheelchair, but Gerard jumped in.  "Actually, I was wondering if Scarlette could push me?"

The nurse looked over at me and smiled.  "Of course."

I stepped forward, away from the wall where I was watching everything so I wasn't in anyones way, and stood behind the wheelchair. Gerard's head was about level with my abdomen.

He leaned his head backward so he could see me and made eye contact with me.  "Ready to go?" he smiled.

I laughed a little and nodded.  I began to slowly push forward, guiding the wheelchair towards the door of the hospital room and into the hallway.  Once we were out of the room, I turned right and began to work our way down the hall.