The Accident Story - Part 4: “Learning How To Stand, Walk, Jump, Skip…Again”

Day 147

After over 2 months of being confined to a body cast I was more than ready to have it removed; and the day my cast was removed was a day I will always remember. The sound of the saw buzzing and cutting into my cast frightened me, but I soon realized there was no danger, only sweet freedom! However, I wasn’t prepared for the sight of my legs - they were so dark and so tiny. And I began to itch like crazy--finally able to scratch after 2 months--and my skin quickly began to shed. I felt like a leper!! Gross!

My femurs were completely healed, but during the time in my body cast, having my legs perpetually straight, something had happened to the muscles. Atrophy. Physical therapy would be required to “wake up” my muscles so I could then begin my education: learning how to stand, walk, jump, skip…all over again.

Me - all dressed up to go to Church

It was going to be a long process for me, so in the meantime I would have to move around using a wheelchair. That was so cool for me! It enabled me to be able to sit up, to be in different parts of the house, to be able to move myself around - no more confinement to my bed, although my bed had to remain in the living room. I’d be able to go out of the house, to places like the mall, where I soon learned what it must feel like for a handicapped person…people would stare or deliberately look away. It was hard to take, but I only had a fraction of the experience that so many others have, so I am in no position to complain or feel slighted, hurt.

Me - camera shy!

When it came to my physical therapy I would be driven to the hospital, and because my legs were still “frozen stiff” I had to be laid out in the back seat of the car. One time my mom had me placed in the front seat, with my legs extended across her lap. And wouldn’t you know it…a cop pulled her over (the speedometer was broken and Mom had no idea she was speeding). He certainly couldn’t understand why I was laying down in the front seat.

My physical therapist was this great man named Dr. Bob Martin. He was so kind, so supportive and helpful. In the beginning he would place me in a hot tub and then he would slowly, carefully but firmly, start working my leg muscles, specifically my knee, so that my legs would begin to bend and extend. It hurt, but it was necessary. Eventually there was no more atrophy and then I could begin more extensive work on my legs. I would have weights strapped to my ankles and I would have to do leg lifts. Then I moved to what was affectionately called the “electric chair”, where I would be seated and do more intense leg lifts. I also had to ride on a bike, which was fun because I realized that the saying “just like riding a bicycle” is so true! I remembered how to ride!

During my time in physical therapy I met a very kind woman named Sally Cowley (I loved her name!) She worked somewhere in the hospital and she visited with me one day during my routine. I told her I loved reading and she was impressed by this (I guess she expected a 12 year-old to be into video games or sports, not books). She surprised me with a card and a book Where The Red Fern Grows, which I read and enjoyed. Then she gave me some other books to read. I am still touched that she would take time out of her schedule to visit me and to give me books; me, a virtual stranger!

When it came time for me to take my first steps, I was surprised at how hard it was to stay upright. I would stand between two beams, just trying to get my balance back. After just a few months I had completely lost my balance. I would grab the beams to steady myself, while I would shake like a leaf. My feet felt tingling sensations, my entire body felt like collapsing to the floor. I started taking my first step, one foot at a time and I felt like I was a little baby again, taking baby steps. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to walk again, but the regular routines and practices made it possible. I started using a walker to move around the house, but I was also given crutches and was encouraged to use these rather than the walker. The crutches helped me practice movement: I’d extend with my right crutch and left leg, then the opposite, and this helped me get the science and method of walking.

I got very comfortable with my crutches and felt like they were a part of me. One day I was walking with my crutches alongside my mom and my doctor. We came to the main doors and as I walked the doors suddenly began to close on me. I almost fell down, but an instinct kicked in and I caught myself with my crutches. Mom and my doctor were relieved, and I was amazed that I had the impulse to catch myself.

I was walking very steady by the spring, and in April I returned to Roberts Junior High. I couldn’t ride the bus, since I still required my crutches to walk, so Mom drove me and picked me up every day. I was sad about returning to school because I really enjoyed having a tutor at home, and Mrs. Twitchell was so nice and helpful (and my grades had never been better, even in Math!) In May I was no longer using the crutches, although I remember that I was still very cautious about moving around.

I remember my first steps vividly, but I don’t remember when I learned to run again, to jump again, to skip again. I remember that I couldn’t jump for a long time, even after I was walking all right. I just couldn’t figure out how to lift myself off the ground. I’d stand in place and just wait for something to happen. It was probably very funny to witness (and even now I find myself having a good chuckle about it!)

But I did jump again, I did run again, and I even skipped again. I was able to do all those movements; I was able to dance; I was able to play volleyball; I was able to swim; I was able to sled. Just thinking about all of that makes me feel so grateful, so blessed, because I know that not everyone gets the chance to walk again. I was so lucky that my experience only lasted for six months, and it was an experience that I am grateful to have had. It helped me, it strengthened me, it taught me, it humbled me, it changed me. It's so true when they say that "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger."