Learning to Love Again Read Online Free Page B

the bed before her legs started to give out.  She was able to grab onto the edge of the mattress and catch herself before she fell to the floor, and managed to sink onto the edge of the bed instead, breathing hard from the exertion of walking a few feet, cursing her own weakness.  She waited a few minutes and then pushed herself into a more comfortable position trying to relax and regroup, waiting for Amy to arrive.
    Amy did a brief session with her, more to analyze her strength and see where she was at physically, and promised to return in two days to start their sessions.  She told Amy about the near miss while she was there, expressing her frustrations at her limitations, and Amy assured her that the weakness was normal, given her injuries.
    “You have to remember, Nicole, you’ve pretty much been stuck in a bed for…what, almost a month?  I bet they let you out of that hospital bed once, maybe twice a day, and only let you walk far enough to get to the bathroom and back to bed, maybe a lap around the hallway if you were lucky.  That’s not enough to regain any strength.  Their goal there was to get you ready to start your therapy with me; they didn’t want you to lose any more strength.  That’s why I’m here,” Amy pointed out as she fitted a pair of crutches under Nicole’s arms and showed her how to use them.  “Now, these are just for use here in the bedroom for now.  You need to use the walker 99-percent of the time.  Your ribs aren’t going to be up to the strain of using the crutches.”  She pulled it over in front of Nicole and helped her stand up so that she could adjust it and helped her get used to it.  She offered to get her a wheelchair, too, if she wanted one, but Nicole refused.  Amy made sure she didn’t have any questions about the exercises they’d gone over and then gave Nicole her cell number to have on hand, in case anything came up between sessions.  With a wave of her hand, Amy headed out the door, and Nicole released a ragged sigh.

    Nicole rested for a while after Amy left, the trip to the ranch and the mini-work out having taken their toll.  Unable to stand the pain any longer, she took a dose of the pain medication and woke up a few hours later, feeling a little more refreshed.  She glanced at the crutches, but knew her ribs wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of pressure.  Grudgingly, she pulled the walker over to the bedside and pulled herself upright.  She made her way out of her bedroom and down the hall, finding Mitch in his study, alone.
    “You’re looking a little better than the last time I saw you,” Mitch said when he looked up and saw her standing in his doorway.  “Come in before you fall in.”  He stood up and walked around his desk to help her to one of the leather arm chairs.  “Did Amy say you could be up like this?”
    “She didn’t say I couldn’t .  She just said to rest as much as I can.  I am not staying in bed all the time,” she returned.  “I’d like to see you bedridden for a month,” she muttered, lowering herself into the chair.
    “Now now, be nice to your favorite cousin.  I just don’t want you to overdo it.  Jack told me how bad it was even if you won’t admit it.  They couldn’t tell if there was any nerve damage to your spine until the swelling went down.  They kept you in a drug induced coma for four days just to keep you from moving and aggravating that spinal injury.  You’re lucky to be alive.”  Mitch sat down beside her, his arm around her shoulders.
    “So everyone keeps telling me.”  She leaned her head back, her eyes closed.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”  Mitch nudged her.
    “Nothing.  Ignore me.”  She could feel Mitch’s eyes on her, but she refused to open her own.
    “Alright, fine.  I’ll drop it for now, but I’m not letting you wallow in self-pity for long.  You keep it up, and I’ll go find a switch,” he warned her, standing up.  “Need something to