Life Interrupted

Chapter 2

Unfortunately a few weeks before their trip Deanna had been out on a call (which she rarely went on anymore, but they were short a detective that day, so she went, in her heels nonetheless). The perp they were hunting for took off running. In a move of sheer brilliance, her partner for the day had taken off after him, while she found a shortcut that the suspect was taking. At the end of an alley sat Deanna, armed and ready to take down the jerk. Unfortunately for her, said perp jumped off the fire escape and bolted toward her with more force than she anticipated. As Deanna grabbed him with all her strength, he kicked her in the shin with his steel toe boots. White hot pain enveloped her lower right leg, but pain notwithstanding, she did not relinquish her grip on his wrists. After what felt like hours, another cop showed up to assist. As the suspect was pulled off of her body, Deanna gasped for breath, breathing through the pain that immersed her.

"Hey, you okay?" Frank's voice pulled through her haze. "Yeah... No... Owww...." Deanna flopped back to the ground, defeated as she forced herself to stay conscious. Frank was at her side in a second. "Deanna?" "Stupid jerk kicked my shin. I think he broke my leg." At that, Frank knelt down and began to assess Deanna's leg. "Just call a bus." Deanna let out an exasperated sigh. Frank eyed her, Deanna was anything but weak, especially when it came to injuries and doing her job, so if she wanted an ambulance, her pain must be almost out of control. "Call a bus, Frank. Just do it."

Two hours later Mike joined Deanna in the Emergency Room. And while he wasn't normally a nervous person, he found his stomach in a ball of nerves along with a very bouncy leg. The scenarios ran rampant through his mind. Did Deanna need surgery? A cast? Surely she wouldn't be able to walk unassisted. How long would she need assistance at home? He breathed deeply, telling his mind to chill. His wife needed him, so he put on a smile and carried on some "normal" conversation. As they waited for the doctor's verdict on Deanna's leg, they talked about their trip, and all the fun they would have. Their thoughts were interrupted by Deanna's doctor. 

"Hello, Deanna. I'm Dr. Miller." He said, reaching out his hand. "Let's see what we've got going on here." Dr. Miller studied the images on the computer screen. "So?" Deanna asked. She'd never been any good at waiting. Mike smiled. It was one of his favorite things about her. 

"So, what you've got yourself, Deanna, is a few fractures." He deepened his gaze, meaning he meant business. "It appears that when you got kicked, the initial blow bruised your bone, then any further kicks caused a splintering effect to your tibia. A couple of the cracks go all the way through your bone. See?" He pointed to two distinct grayish lines on the xrays." Deanna swallowed hard. "Those fractures are going to take a while to heal." He trailed off and cleared his throat. "Because your fracture is non-displaced. Surgery won't be in the picture, but you will need a full leg cast to reduce any movement that might occur." He let out a deep breath. "With your leg being as swollen as it is currently, I can't put you in a cast yet, but we do need to get a splint on to stabilize things."

Deanna's gaze clouded over as her jaw tightened. "How long?" Dr. Miller turned back to meet Deanna's eyes. "How long til what? Til you can go back to work? Til it's healed? Those are questions everyone wants me to answer. Unfortunately I can't answer them definitively. Everyone's body heals at different speeds." Shifting his weight he continued. "You can go back to desk duty once we get a cast on your leg. As far as walking, that will be up to your body and mind."

"Got it." She mumbled. "Thank you."