by: Marty Chrisman
When Bo went to Luke’s room, he found two nurses standing beside his bed. One of the nurses glanced at Bo as he came into the room and said, “Hi, Bo.”
“Hi, Mary Anne.” Bo told her with a smile. She was one of the regular nurses on this floor and had become friends with the Duke family during the time Luke had been hospitalized.
“Jeannie and I were just about to see how Luke can tolerate sitting up on the edge of the bed.” Mary Anne told him with a grin. “How about giving us a hand?”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I’m gonna get Luke’s legs and swing ‘em over the side of the bed and Jeannie’s gonna help support him from behind if you wanna come over here and support him from the front that would be a big help.”
“Okay…” Bo said walking over to stand beside the Mary Anne. Luke was lying on the bed watching them suspiciously. I don’t wanna do this. Don’t make me do this, not yet. I’m not ready to try…..not yet. He wanted to tell that but he couldn’t. I’m afraid. What if I can’t do it?
“Luke, we’re gonna sit up now…just on the edge of the bed…and just for a couple of minutes. Now you’re probably gonna feel real dizzy and that’s okay. That’s normal. You’ve been in bed for a long time so it’s gonna take a little while to get used to sitting up again.” She smiled encouragingly. “Bo’s gonna help us and so is Jeannie. Now the first thing I’m gonna do is swing your legs over the side of the bed, then Bo and Jeannie are gonna help you sit up. And we’re gonna take it real slow and easy, so don’t worry about nothing…..”
Mary Anne pulled back the sheet and grabbed Luke’s legs just below his knees. As she slowly moved his legs towards the side of the bed, Bo saw the nasty looking scar that ran down Luke’s right hip where the doctors had put in the metal plate to set his broken hip. A Mary Anne moved his legs, Jeannie gently pulled Luke’s shoulders towards her so that he was lying sideways in the bed.
As Mary Anne gently slipped his legs over the side of the bed, Jeannie put her hands behind his shoulders and motioned for Bo to grab his shoulders from the front and to help him sit up. In one easy fluid motion, they maneuvered Luke’s body so that he was sitting upright. He leaned forward awkwardly and would have fallen forward if Mary Anne hadn’t been standing in front of him to keep that from happening.
Luke immediately closed his eyes as a severe wave of dizziness swept over him as his body tried to adjust to the sudden change in position. He made a soft moaning sound deep in his throat. “Just another minute.” Mary Anne told him gently “I know you’re dizzy but it’ll be okay.” That’s easy for you to say. You don’t feel like you’re gonna hit the floor face first any minute. Or that you’re gonna throw up all over everybody if they don’t let you lay back down. Finally Mary Anne nodded and the three of them repositioned Luke back in the bed. She looked at Luke assessing his condition and how well he had tolerated sitting up. His face was pale and a thin sheen of sweat covered his face but he was fine. He had tolerated sitting up as well as could be expected after being bedridden for so long. So, he would be set up once every two hours for at least 2 minutes at a time. Gradually the time would be increased until he could sit up for at least 10 minutes without any support.
Mary Anne quickly checked Luke’s vital signs and the two nurses left the room, leaving the two cousins alone.
“You did pretty good.” Bo said with a grin. His grin faded quickly when he saw the look that Luke gave him. Luke may not be able to talk, but he could still express himself quite well with just his eyes. And Bo knew how to read those eyes. He’d been doing it all his life. “Okay, so it wasn’t so great. But you had to do it sooner or later. And you gotta get used to sitting up again before you can do anything else.” Yeah…but you’re not the one who still feels sicker than a dog from doing it and has a headache to boot.
As Luke became more aware and alert, his frustration increased with his present condition, especially not being able to talk. He could make sounds but that was about it. He could hear in his mind the words he wanted to say but he just couldn’t say them. And it was starting to make him a little crazy already. God, please don’t let me stay like this. I will go crazy. I’ll do whatever it takes as long as I can get better and not stay like this for the rest of my life. Just please give me the chance and the strength to be able to do it.