A Rose Amongst Thorns

Chapter Twenty-Six

Three weeks later...

Kongpob sat with his hands folded while sitting in the wheelchair.  His eyebrows were furrowed with worry as he kept staring at the clock on the wall.  Arthit walked over to him and knelt in front of him covering Kongpob's hand with his own.

"Don't worry."  He smiled.  "I'm going to be right here with you the entire time.  I've been there and I know how you feel."

Tears brimmed in Kongpob's eyes.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you Arthit. I hate that you went through all of that alone."

"Don't be silly.  You were lying in a coma.  You couldn't have helped even if you wanted to.  Silly boy. Besides, I wasn't alone. Rome and Phana were there the whole time."

Arthit lightly slapped Kongpob's chest and chuckled.  He wiped Kongpob's tears and lightly kissed his lips. 

"I'm just scared.  Do you think I can do it?"

"Dr. Garrick said the surgery was successful.  The swelling has gone down.  There is nothing keeping you from walking Kong.  Today is just the first day of your physical therapy.  I won't lie to you.  It's not going to be easy, but it's the only way to get you back on your feet.  Look at me Kong.  I. Am. Right. Here.  If you don't have confidence in yourself, have confidence in me.  Lean on me.  I'm strong enough to support you."

Kongpob nodded his head up and down and reached out to hug Arthit.  Arthit rubbed Kongpob's back and squeezed him tightly.  They were interrupted by a diminutive woman and her assistant.  Arthit stood and moved behind Kongpob.

"Good morning.  You must be Dr. Kongpob Suthiluck.  I've heard some great things about you.  My name is Milania Natsukorn and this is my assistant Perth.  We'll be working with you throughout your therapy.  Who's this good-looking gentleman with you?"

Arthit stepped forward and shook both people's hands.

"My name is Arthit Rojnapat.  I'm Kongpob's boyfriend."

"Good to meet you Arthit.  It's important to have someone here for emotional support.  Therapy is a trying process and it's good for a patient to have someone they can lean on to keep their spirits up."

"So, how are you feeling this morning Kongpob?"

"I'm a little nervous.  Arthit here has been through this type of therapy, and he's told me what I can expect."

"Well I'll try to make this process as painless as possible, but there will be times you hate me, times you want to give up, and times you will feel like you're dying.  Just know that everything I ask you to do is for your own good and you are not alone."

Arthit placed his hand on Kongpob's shoulder and squeezed.  Kongpob turned his head and smiled at Arthit.

Milania smiled at both them and clapped her hands together.

"Okay.  So, let's get started.  Kongpob, Perth is going to lay you on one of the massage tables and fit you with some braces that were made for specifically for you.  Once the braces are secured to your legs, we are going to start something called gait therapy. We'll work with these parallel bars.  This will help you with your balance and strength.  Most importantly, it will build muscle memory.  While you were in the coma, your muscles basically forgot how to function.  Gait therapy will reteach your legs how to walk."

Once Kongpob was fitted with the braces, Perth helped Kongpob stand at the beginning of the parallel bars.

"Place your hands on the bars, using your arms to hold yourself up.  You're going to wobble a little, but don't worry.  I'll be standing in front of you and Perth will stand behind you.  If you feel like you're falling, go ahead.  One of us will catch you."