by: Marty Chrisman

Luke sat on the bed anxiously watching the door waiting for Jesse and Bo to arrive. Today was the day he was finally going to go home. He glanced up and smiled when Cindy came into the room, disappointed that it wasn’t Bo and Jesse, but pleased to see the therapist that he owed his recovery to.

“I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye.” Cindy told him with a grin and a hug. “I’m gonna miss my favorite patient.”

“I’m gonna miss you too.” Luke admitted with a wicked grin.

“There’s that smile again.” She teased him “I’ll bet you’re gonna have the girls lined up back home just waiting for you to ask them out again.”

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by: Marty Chrisman

Luke was laid up in bed for six days. Then he was finally allowed to get up again. Cindy started his therapy sessions again, concentrating on working with the muscles in his legs. If he regained the feeling below his waist, she wanted him to be in shape to start working on learning how to walk again. She had explained to him that he would have to learn how to keep his balance all over again because he had not been able to walk in almost three months but she was confident that he would relearn how to walk fairly quickly once they were able to start working on it. He had already accomplished all the goals she had set for him in his other therapy sessions. Secretly, she was pleased with his progress. He was one of her biggest success stories.

Two weeks after the surgery Luke woke up in the middle of the night, not sure at first what had awakened him. Then with a start, he realized that he had a cramp in his right leg and that was what had awakened him. He moaned softly and tried to straighten out his leg to work out the cramp but couldn’t quite manage it. Bo apparently heard him moan because suddenly he was awake and at Luke’s side.

“Luke, are you okay?” he asked anxiously

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by: Marty Chrisman

Luke opened his eyes, then groaned softly and closed them again. He could feel the pain in his back from the surgery and taste the metallic aftertaste in his mouth from the anesthesia. He was also severely nauseated, a side effect he always got when he was given any kind of anesthesia to put him to sleep. He knew it would pass but he’d be sicker than a dog for awhile until it did.

“Luke,” Bo’s voice said softly at his side “Are you awake?” Luke nodded without speaking but kept his eyes closed. He felt Bo holding his hand and rubbing it gently. Bo knew the side effects that Luke experienced when he had any type of anesthesia, so he was well aware of how sick Luke felt right now. The doctor had left an order with the nurses to give Luke something to help with the nausea if it got too bad. But Bo knew that Luke wouldn’t ask for anything unless he got sick enough to start vomiting which could rip open the stitches.

Bo left his cousin’s side just long enough to wet a washcloth with cool water and bring it back to put on Luke’s forehead. The doctor had told the family that the surgery had gone well and that the disc had been repaired. Now all they could do was wait and see if the feeling returned to Luke’s legs or not and the doctor had told them that could take a few weeks before they’d know for sure. Luke heard the door open and then Uncle Jesse and Daisy’s voices but he still didn’t open his eyes.

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by: Marty Chrisman

Luke lay back in the whirlpool and closed his eyes, feeling himself relaxing as the warm water swirled around him. He had to admit that it felt good. He was still uncomfortable with the aides providing his personal care. Even though Bo provided a lot of the care for him, there were times when the aides had to provide the same care. Some of the aides were young, not much over 16 and Luke knew it embarrassed them to have to care for someone like him whom they considered young and attractive.

It was one thing to work with a patient who was comatose. It was something entirely different to deal with one who was awake and alert enough to talk to you. It embarrassed Luke too, the nudity didn’t bother him, but having to depend on them to help him with his more personal needs did. He still had a catheter because he had no control over his bladder, he couldn’t tell when he had to go and when he didn’t. The same thing applied to his bowels so he had to be cleaned out every other day which was really humiliating and embarrassing.

The therapy sessions with Cindy were starting to help. He could feed himself now using his silverware so the feeding tube had finally been removed. And they had started him on solid foods that morning which was a vast relief even though he didn’t really care for hospital food. He had to admit the food here was a lot better than most of the hospitals he’d been in but he still missed Daisy and Jesse’s home cooking. He had finally let Cindy coax him into the wheelchair but he still hated it. He was terrified of the thought of spending the rest of his life in one.

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by: Marty Chrisman

True to her word, Cindy came in the next morning after the breakfast trays were collected. Smiling at Luke who looked back at her warily, she said “First thing we gonna do is sit you up on the side of the bed for a little while. You’ll probably feel really dizzy at first but that’s normal so don’t worry about it. I’m gonna be standing right in front of you and I’m gonna have Bo stand behind you and neither one of us is gonna let you fall.”

Before Luke could object, she threw back the covers and grabbed his legs, glancing at Bo, she said “Bo, just get Luke’s shoulders and help him set up. On the count of three.”

Bo got into position and waited for her signal. “One, two, three…” when she reached three, Cindy gently swung Luke’s legs over the side of the bed while Bo held his shoulders and helped him raise into a sitting position. Immediately, Luke felt a severe wave of dizziness sweep over him. He was sure he would have fallen on his face if Cindy hadn’t been standing in front of him, supporting him and keep him upright. It took several minutes but finally the dizziness started to pass, leaving him feeling slightly nauseated. “How ya doing, Luke?” Cindy asked

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