*********************
A few hours later, Jesse and Mark walked into the room. Jesse
walked over to Steve, "Ready to go?"
"Yep."
"Everything packed?" Mark asked as he went to pick up
the bag and the box.
"Yeah, everything's packed."
Jesse went behind the chair, "Let's go," Jesse pushed
Steve out the door and Mark followed. They went into the elevator
and went up two floors. They got off on the fifth floor and they
went down the hallway to room number 518. The room was slightly
larger than Steve's old room. And there were a couple of small
pieces of exercise equipment in the room. Mark set the bag and
box on the bed.
"What's with that stuff?" Steve asked pointing to the
exercise equipment.
"That's if you want to do some exercise and don't want to go
to the exercise room," Mark answered.
Jesse asked Steve, "Do you want to get into bed, or do you
want to stay in the chair?"
"I'll stay in the chair."
"Okay, Dr. Reynolds will be coming in a few minutes. I've
got to get back downstairs. I'll be up later when my shift
ends."
"Thanks, Jess."
"Sure," he smiled as he walked out of the room.
Steve rolled himself to the bed and put the box on his lap. He
wheeled over to the window ledge and started putting the flower
arrangements on there. Mark got up, "Need any help?"
"No, Dad, I'm fine."
"Are you sure. It wouldn't be a problem. I don't…"
Steve cut off his father, "Dad, I can do it."
Mark was taken aback, "I just wanted to help."
"I know, Dad. It's just that I want to do things for myself.
For the past month, people have been doing everything for me.
Now, that I can do things for myself, I want to."
"You're right. I'm sorry, Steve."
Steve finished with the flowers. He reached for the cards and
started putting some of them on the wall. Mark watched his son
and was amazed at how much his son had improved over the last
couple of weeks.
Dr. Reynolds walked in, "Good afternoon, Steve.
Welcome," she looked towards Mark, "Dr. Sloan, nice to
see you again."
"You too. I'll leave and let you two get to work. Bye,
Steve."
"Bye, Dad."
Dr. Reynolds walked over to Steve, "How about a tour of the
floor? I'll show you the exercise and therapy rooms, the dining
room, and the activity room."
"Dining room?" Steve questioned.
"Yeah, because when a person is on this floor, they're not
really sick enough to be stuck in bed all day, but they aren't
quite well enough to go home. So, we have a dining room for where
people can eat if they don't want to stay in their rooms. And the
activity room is where you can go between therapy sessions to
keep from getting extremely bored."
"Alright."
"Okay, let's go," she went behind the chair.
Steve told her, "I can do it."
"Good. Then I'll just walk beside and narrate."
Steve wheeled himself out and Dr. Reynolds followed closely
behind him. She pointed for him to go right once they were in the
hallway. As they went along the hallway, she showed him that all
the patients' rooms were to the right. They went around the
entire unit. Steve saw several rooms in the middle of the unit.
He could see that those rooms were the therapy rooms because of
all the exercise equipment in there. Dr. Reynolds pointed him
into a room, "This is where we will spend most of the
time." Steve looked around at all the different contraptions
he would soon have to learn to use. "But, we'll learn about
all those machines later. Let's go and see the other rooms."
Steve wheeled out in front of her as they continued down the
hall. Dr. Reynolds pointed to another room. "This is 1 of 2
exercise room we have here. This is the place you can work by
yourself once you feel up to it. There aren't any therapists in
here, but there are some nurses who make sure you don't hurt
yourself."
"So, I can just come down here any time I want?"
"Yeah, but only if you feel like it. Okay let's go. There
are a couple of other rooms to see." She walked beside Steve
as he wheeled out of the exercise room. They passed the nursing
station, and one of the nurses came out from behind the desk when
she saw Steve. "Steve, I heard you were coming up here. I
just didn't know when," she bent down to hug him.
"Hi, Kelly. I thought you were still on the orthopedic
floor?"
"I was until a few months ago. I asked for a transfer and I
got it."
"That's great."
"It's good to see you again, Steve. I'll try to come by
later, and we can talk."
"Alright," Steve watched as Kelly went back to the
desk. He continued to wheel himself down the hall. Dr. Reynolds
followed and pointed to a room to the left. He wheeled in the
room. There were two fairly large tables sitting in the room.
However, several of the chairs were pushed to a wall so the
wheelchairs could move up to the table. "This is the dining
room. Breakfast is at 8:00, lunch is at noon, and dinner is 6:00.
If you want, you can come down and eat with the group."
"How many are on this floor?"
"There are about 15-20. Something like that. So, ready to
move on with the tour?"
"Yeah." Steve rolled himself out the door.
Dr. Reynolds pointed him down the hall and into another room. He
wheeled himself in there and saw several people. A couple of
people were sitting on the couch reading magazines. Their
crutches were sitting beside them. Another one was sitting in a
wheelchair at a table doing a puzzle. "This is the activity
room. It's just a place you can come when we're not working, and
when you get bored of being in your room."
"Alright."
"So, I think that's about it. Why don't you just do what you
want? Become familiar with the others on the floor."
"Okay, I guess I can hang out here for a while."
"Great. See you tomorrow. We'll get started then. Bye."
Steve nodded as he wheeled himself over to a table with magazines
lying on it. One of the men sitting on the couch watched as Steve
moved near the couch. The man looked over at Steve, "Hi, I'm
John Harte."
Steve looked up, "Steve Sloan." Steve extended his hand
as he introduced himself.
"First day in here?"
"Yeah, just got to the floor. What about you?"
"Oh, I've been here for 2 weeks. They tell me I can probably
go home in about a week."
"That's good," Steve said looking back down at his
magazine.
"Yeah. So what happened to you? I was in a car wreck and
both of my legs were crushed."
"I was shot," Steve responded not looking up.
"How does that make you have to be in a wheelchair?"
the nosy John asked.
"Because I was shot in the head, and it caused some brain
damage," Steve said keeping his head in his magazine."
"Oh. Sorry," John could tell Steve was already annoyed
at him, "everybody says I always ask one too many
questions."
"Hey, sorry," Steve said looking up, "I know you
were just trying to be friendly. I'm just tired, but I really
don't want to go back to bed."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I hate staying in bed."
"It's not that. I love sleeping in every now and then. It's
just that I have been in bed for almost a month. Only recently
have I been able to get up and in a wheelchair," Steve laid
his magazine on the table and wheeled himself closer to John.
"You've already been in here a month?"
"Yeah."
"Did they tell you how long you would be on this floor? When
you would probably be walking again?"
"No. The only thing I've been told is that 'it's going to
take time, but you'll be fine.' And they will never say how much
longer I have to stay."
"That must be a bad feeling."
"I guess. I've always hated being in the hospital anyway, so
being like this has been very difficult to get accustomed
to."
"This was my first stay. And if it weren't for some idiot
who ran a red light, I wouldn't be here right now. The bad thing
about this is my losing money. I work for myself and this is
costing me money. And the doc says I'll probably won't be able to
go back to work for a while."
"Won't the insurance cover anything? They should be held
responsible."
"Yeah, they are. The medical bills are being taken care of,
it's just the lost wages that are going to kill me."
"You could sue for the reimbursement of lost wages."
"What are you? Some kind of lawyer or something?"
"No, not a lawyer. I'm a cop, a detective in homicide."
"Whoa. So your being shot was job related, huh?"
"Kind of."
"What do you mean 'kind of'?"
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"Alright."
"I'm going on back to my room. Maybe rest a little before
dinner. See ya later."
"Okay. You coming to the dining room, or are you going to
eat in your room?"
"I'll probably come down."
"Good. My room number is 526, if you ever want to come and
talk."
"I'll remember that. I'm in 518," Steve wheeled himself
out of the activity room and headed towards his room. He got out
of the chair and into bed. He thought he might take a nap before
dinner. He had barely closed his eyes when the door opened. His
father and Amanda walked in. Mark started talking first,
"I'm sorry Steve. We didn't know you were sleeping."
"That's okay. I was just going to rest a little before
dinner."
Amanda told him, "We can come back later…"
"No, it's fine."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
Mark and Amanda made their way to the chairs in the room and sat
down. Mark was first to say something, "So, is this better
than the other floor, or can you tell yet?"
"It seems better. I can get up and go whenever I feel like
it," he paused, "Dad, could you do me a favor?"
"Sure, Steve. What?"
"I need some clothes from home."
"Okay, what do you want?"
"Several tee shirts, some shorts, and some of my sweat
pants."
"Yeah, I can do that. Do you want them tonight?"
"Nah, you can bring them tomorrow."
Amanda was quiet. She was wanting to talk to Steve alone, but
when she started to come, Mark had decided to come with her. She
hadn't been able to sleep good since the shooting. She still felt
guilty, and she knew the only way to feel better was to talk to
Steve. She had tried several times to talk to him, but she could
never get the words out.
"Dad, do you know who works on this floor now?"
"No, who?"
"Kelly Jordan."
"I thought she was still on the orthopedic floor."
"She was. She just got her transfer."
"I think I'll go say hi. Be back later," Mark left and
now Amanda and Steve were alone.
Amanda walked to the bed. Steve could tell something was wrong,
"What's wrong, Amanda?"
"Steve, thank you."
"For what?" Steve asked confused.
"Saving my life."
"I didn't…"
"Yes, you did," she interrupted him, "if you
hadn't of jumped in front of me when he shot, I'd probably be
dead. I feel so guilty about you getting shot and having to go
through all this," her eyes glistened with tears.
"Don't feel guilty, Amanda. You know I would do anything to
protect you and the boys, especially if the gunman was after me.
That would be worse knowing that you were hurt because somebody
was after me."
"But Steve, I can't help thinking that if…"
"Amanda," this time he interrupted her, "You know
I would be feeling a lot worse had the man shot you or CJ or Dion
instead of me. You know that."
Amanda smiled, "Yeah, I know. Thanks, Steve."
"Good. Now can you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Stop crying and give me a hug."
"That's two things," Amanda smiled.
"So, humor me."
"Alright," she wiped her eyes and reached over and
hugged Steve, "thank you again," she raised back up,
"you rest. I'll get Mark and we'll go back downstairs."
"Thanks," Steve replied realizing Amanda was now the
one looking out for him. As she closed the door, he lay back
against the pillows and was soon asleep.
*********************
A couple of hours later, Steve woke up. He looked at the clock.
It was 5:45. He couldn't believe he had been asleep for almost 2
hours. He moved the bed to where he was sitting up. He hated that
he always had to move the bed up because he couldn't sit up by
himself yet. Dr. Reynolds had told him that was the first thing
they would work on once he was moved. He got into his chair and
started down the hall to the dining room. He entered the room and
found that there were already several people in there. He found a
place at the table and wheeled himself to it. John came in and
sat next to Steve. Steve became acquainted with several of the
people. John introduced him to a few others. And once the meal
was served, Steve knew just about everybody in the room.
After dinner, Steve went back into the exercise room. He wanted
to look and see what all was in the room. He found several weight
machines, but he decided he didn't want to try those right now.
But he wanted to do something, so he kept looking. He found some
weights. He tried to pick up one of the weights, but it was a
struggle for him. He looked at the size of the weight and it was
only 50 pounds. Steve knew he could lift more than that. But he
realized that he hadn't done much in a month, and that for part
of that month he hadn't been able to use his hands and arms too
much. He knew he had a ways to go, so he started off slow. He
picked up a 25-pound weight in each hand, and started lifting
them. He stopped a little while later and went back to his room.
Once in his room, he decided to stay in the wheelchair and watch
TV. He flipped through the channels, but before he found anything
to watch, Mark, Amanda, and Jesse came in.
"Hey, Steve," Jesse called out from the doorway.
"Hey," Steve said as he turned the TV off."
Amanda walked in after Jesse, "Are we interrupting?"
"No," Steve smiled, "unless my favorite show, 'How
to Peel a Potato' is on."
Amanda laughed, but Mark and Jesse just looked at each other
confused. Steve saw their looks and tried to explain, "When
Amanda came to visit one day, I had told her that the only thing
interesting on TV had been a show titled that."
"Oh, you found that interesting?" Mark said as he sat
down.
"Dad, it was a joke."
"So, how are you feeling," Jesse asked sitting on the
bed.
"Good. Yeah I went to the exercise room and found some
weights. I tried to pick up the 50-pound one, but that was too
much."
"Which one did you end up working with?" Mark asked.
"The 25-pound."
"That's still a pretty good size, considering you haven't
done much in a month," Jesse said picking up the magazine
that was lying on the bed.
"Jesse, since when are you interested in a motorcycle
magazine?"
"I was just wondering what it was."
"Read it if you want. I was just kidding."
"That's okay," Jesse said looking at his watch, "I
need to get going. I've got an early shift tomorrow and I'm
tired," Jesse said getting down.
"Alright see you later."
Jesse left. Steve yawned and Mark was the first to get up,
"I think we'll get going. You need your rest."
"Dad, you don't have to."
"No, you need your rest. Tomorrow's a big day." Amanda
said as she stood beside Mark.
"Alright."
"See you tomorrow, Steve."
"Bye, Dad."
Amanda patted Steve's shoulder, "Good luck tomorrow."
"Thanks."
Mark and Amanda both left, so Steve decided to get into bed. He
had gotten pretty good at getting back into bed. He lowered the
bed and was soon asleep.
****************
The next morning after breakfast, Dr. Reynolds came into the
activity room where Steve was sitting, "Ready to get to
work?"
"Yeah, let's go," Steve wheeled himself down the hall
and into the therapy room. There were a couple of people already
working in there.
She walked in front of him and directed him to a mat, "Okay,
what we are going to do first is work on getting you able to sit
up on your own. You need to get down on the mat and lay
flat."
"Okay," Steve waited a minute, "how do I do
that?"
"You want me to help you?"
"Please."
"Alright," she walked over to him. She moved the
footrests and put Steve's feet on the floor, "Now, let's try
to stand up."
Steve knew how to do that so he stood without much problem. Dr.
Reynolds supported Steve so he wouldn't fall, "Now just
slowly go backwards. I won't let you fall." Steve slowly
went backwards and soon he was sitting on the mat. "Lay
back, Steve." He did so, and Dr. Reynolds sat next to him.
"Okay, now what I want you to do is try to roll over on your
side. Not only will this help you sit up on your own, it will
also show just how much strength you have."
Steve moved his arm over his body and tried to roll on his side.
He didn't make it his first try or even his second. But on his
third try he managed to get on his side. He was sweating already.
He rolled over and was on his back again. "Good job, Steve.
You've got pretty much strength I see, we've just got to work on
getting it back. Most people can't do this on their first day.
You're doing good. Now let's try again."
Steve did and he managed to roll to his side on the first try
this time. Dr. Reynolds and Steve continued working for a while
longer. They quit right before lunch, but they had another
session after lunch. So about an hour after lunch, Steve was on
the mat again working with Dr. Reynolds. They worked on him
rolling over. By the time they were finished, he was able to roll
on his side on the first try. Towards the end of the session,
Steve was working on sitting up. By the end of the session, he
was able to sit up on his own. Once Steve was back in his
wheelchair, Dr. Reynolds pushed Steve back to the activity room.
Steve was exhausted, but dinnertime was getting close, so he
didn't want to go back to his room.
Steve went back to his room after he ate. He was already sore
from all the work, but he couldn't let that bother him. He got up
into bed, and fell asleep in no time. Mark and Amanda walked in
saw that Steve was asleep. They wanted to know how things went
that day, but they didn't wake him. Instead they walked to Dr.
Reynolds office and found her getting ready to leave, "Dr.
Sloan, what can I do for you?"
"We were just wanting to know how Steve did today. He was
asleep, we didn't want to bother him."
"That I don't doubt. He was exhausted when we finished. He
did excellent today. He was even able to sit up on his own,"
she said sitting down behind her desk, "Have a seat."
"That's good," Amanda said as she sat.
"It's impressive. I wasn't expecting him to sit up for at
least a few days of work. We'll still work on it some more, but
it won't be as long as I had thought. Tomorrow we're going start
some leg exercises. And then after a while of doing that, we'll
start trying to get him standing on his own."
"Are you going to keep doing two sessions a day?"
"Yeah, I think that's best. If we keep at it, I think he'll
do better. He will be tired, though, once we finish the day, but
that's the best way to regain his strength. And once he starts
gaining back his strength, he shouldn't be as tired."
"Thank you, Dr. Reynolds," Mark said as he stood.
"No, problem."
Mark and Amanda walked out of the room. They decided to go on
home instead of waiting for Steve to wake up. They did go back to
the room and Mark left a note on Steve's wheelchair, "Steve,
Amanda and I came by last night, but you were already asleep. We
didn't want to disturb you. Dad"
********************
Go
To Part Four
