Prosthetic Love Mix

The Incident

When the bomb went off, at first I didn't feel anything. It was wierd. There was no pain, there was no feeling of any sort as my legs were ripped away from beneath me and as my now unconscious body tumbled through the air. When I woke up, that's when the pain hit me. I had sharp metal sticking out of my legs from all sort of different angles.  My right leg was shred from just higher than the knee and my left just below.
The pain, it was unbearable. I couldn't move my body without having sharp pains run through my whole body.
The military flew me straight home after this. I couldn't sleep on the entire flight from where I was stationed in Russia back to Seattle, my hometown. But I was in so much pain the doctors had to put me down under for the remainder of the flight from a stop at Tokyo to Seattle. When I finally came to it was a day and a half later. I was lying in a bed in a hospital.
"Wh- wha, where, wait where am I?" I said blindly not even seeing if I was joined by anyone in the room.
"Oh my gods, you're awake! Mom, She's awake!" It was my sister, Jorali. Her and my mom had been by my side since I was out of surgery.
"Oh my goodness, sweetie you finally woke up!" My mom's smooth and melodious voice exclaimed with tears announcing their presence.
"Um, yeah I guess. Not the best sleep I've had but I'm up."
"Wow sis, first time back in 6 months and the first thing you do is take a nap. How dare you not say hi to your little sister. I am offended."
"Yeah sorry." I said slightly embarrassed.
As I lifted myself to a more comfortable positions I felt a sudden a wierd unbalance in my body. Then it hit me:
My legs.
I looked down and I could tell my sister and mom were trying to hide what happened but it was inevitable. I realized the instant I lifted my legs.
"WHERE ARE MY LEGS? WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM!?!"
It was very convenient that at that moment the doctor walked in.
"I'm sorry I took so... oh." He stopped when he saw me looking at him and at my legs.
"Ok. So um... Hazel. Look first of all you must know that you're in the ICU part of this hospital. You spent 15 hours in surgery and this was the best we could do ... but ..." his voice trailed off.
"But my legs were amputated!?!"
"When you arrived your muscles, your tissue, even your bones were to damaged to be fixed.We tried our best to keep as much as your leg as possible but that was much as we could keep..."
My mind started to race. The world around me faded as my thoughts took over. My legs they were gone and the pain of that realization was far worse than the actual explosion that took them away.
"... and that's why you won't be able to use prosthetics." I heard as I snapped back to reality.
"Wait I won't be able to get prosthetics?"I exclaimed.
"That is what I just said. There simply isn't enough part of your right leg for any prosthetics we have at our disposal no matter how advanced that will hold onto your leg. And without your right leg having a left prosthetic leg is pointless and a waste of money of your mother, and a waste of time for yourself. Not only that, and I mean this in the nicest way, but it'll be a waste of resources one you."
"So I won't be able to walk again?"
"Sadly, no you won't be able to walk again."
That's when the tears broke loose. I never cry. My mom and sister would take me out me to the theater and watch sad movies, but when we'd walk towards the car after the movie they'd be crying and I'd be eating the left over popcorn. But just the fact that I wouldn't be able to do the things I did so easily with my legs was enough.
"Oh honey, I know this is sad news but look there is still good news. That bomb that went off never hit anything besides your legs. You could have been dead but instead you just...." My mom stopped mid sentence.
"Just what mom? Just lost my legs? I'd rather much die than not be able to walk again."
"HAZEL! How dare you say something like that!" this time my sister yelled.
"Well I'm sorry but I'm needed elsewhere. Um... Hazel you'll be moved from the ICU later on today. The nurse will come by and give you some food and take you to your new room where you'll stay for a few days. Again I'm extremely sorry about this and the state of you condition." said the doctor as he retreated from the room where I now felt captive, bound to my bed by my nonexistent legs.
"I'm sorry I said that earlier guys" I apologized to my family.
"It's alright dear. We can understand why it happened. We'll leave you alone to rest or think or whatever you need to do right now. We'll be in the cafeteria if you need us. Just tell the nurse to look for us, ok?"
"Yeah sure mom whatever you say." I mumbled.
I did need to think. As they left my mind trailed off to the times when I was a small little girl doing gymnastics, and to the times in middle school and high school when I'd play for the basketball team. I then thought of the times I'd go to the skating park with my friends on my skateboard and just spend hours there at a time. All these thoughts came and went and before I knew I was crying this time to myself; I was crying on the inside.