Chapter Eight: How are Physical Therapy and Visitors Alike?

Well, it's Saturday morning and it has been about 24 hours since Phoebe's life hung in the balance. It is clear now that, although she has very serious injuries, she is going to make a near, perfect recovery. Thank God for this. Despite this prognosis, it is important to remember that she has a long recovery ahead of her. It is important to make a note about human nature here - cockroaches aside, humans are probably one of the most resilient, if not the most resilient creatures on the face of the earth. This resiliency is both a blessing and curse. We have the wonderful ability to face even the most traumatic adversity head-on, deal with it, recover from it physically and emotionally, and then move on. This most wonderful of human traits is also one of our greatest challenges. We are SO good at recovering and moving on that we lose sight of the lessons. History has proven that we, without fail, repeat these traumas. We "recover" from them and fail to implement the steps necessary to break the cycle because we are so resilient that we have mentally and physically moved on when the time comes for substantive action. Talk about a blessing and a curse. I am editorializing - or is that philosophizing - here because Phoebe is recovering so quickly and will make a full recovery that there will be no constant reminder of the issue with the crosswalk. I fear that we'll be unable to make the necessary and appropriate LONG-TERM changes to prevent a repeat occurence. What are the chances that another student will have two (or three) guardian angels on their shoulders and will be one-half step back from their death? We know that lightning does strike twice in the same place.
We talked a bit about the day and time. Phoebe was surprised to hear that it was only 24 hours since the accident. We had one last impediment to mobility and that was about to change - we hoped. She was still wearing her neck collar and flexion/extension X-rays were scheduled. The orderly and I wheeled her downstairs after a dose of meds. She took the ride well but I was reminded of her pretty severe concussion when we spoke several times about the same trip down. She couldn't remember it and didn't know how we got to X-ray. Apparently the short-term memory loss is affecting her recall. I also knew that Phoebe wasn't completely herself as we were waiting for the X-rays. I stroked her forehead and hair and told her that I loved her and we were going to get through this. Ordinarily she wouldn't let me do that - she is shy and reserved and becomes embarrassed easily. She is the one who least likes it when Carol and I hug, kiss, and tell each other how much we love them. I hope that's just an age thing - people need to be open and receptive to caring and compassion. There's not enough love in the world. Phoebe went through the various contorsions to get the desired X-rays. They took the collar on and off multiple time and jostled her around to position her just so for the X-ray. She is a trooper - nary a word of dissent or pain from her. We returned to the room and prepared for a long wait to get the verdict. By the time we got settled in, the decision had already been rendered. The collar could come off. After a brief celebration, the collar was permanently removed. We were all surprised to hear that Phoebe didn't want to keep the nasty thing for a souvenir! We were informed that she would be getting physical therapy in a few hours and she should rest. After another question from Phoebe about what day and time it was - yes, it's still Saturday CC +1 (crosswalk crash) just about 30 minutes since the last time she asked. The day is shaping up to be interminable. Just then the oral surgeon entered. He had bands to put on the brackets attached to the extensive bridgework of braces installed during the surgery. She is supposed to have a minimum of three bands on each side. These bands hold her reconstructed jaw in place. For some reason, Phoebe didn't get the idea about keeping still and keeping her teeth together. She kept breaking the bands. Without the right tools they don't go on well. As three of us put our hands and fingers in various places on her lip and gums in an effort to make room and to reach the brackets, I kept thinking about how painful this must be for her. We finally ended up compromising with two bands on each side with the promise of better tools and different bands on Sunday. Phoebe rested until the PT ladies came. They got her up and Phoebe took four steps in her walker. She sat upright in a chair and attempted to type and do e-mail. By this time it was early afternoon on Saturday - shaping up to be one of the longest of her short life. Word was now out about Phoebe's location and friends and family began to drop by. She visited with many of them for a couple of hours. As the friends and family came and left, it was apparent that visitors and physical therapy are identical in the fact that they tire you out. Phoebe is resting soundly for the first time in two days. I will ask her what she dreamed about when she wakes up. I could see her eyes, hands, and legs twitching with dream-state activity. I hope she's not dreaming about a crosswalk...