Read Online All My Tomorrows by Karen D. Badger - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Karen D. Badger
Ads: Link
door open. "Get in."
* * *
Jordan and Maggie drove to the western fringe of the property to where the land abruptly fell off to the lake. An uncomfortable silence settled over them as they both stared out at Lake Champlain.
Maggie turned in her seat to face Jordan. "Tell me about your accident."
Jordan dropped her hands from the steering wheel and allowed them to fall into her lap. She stared at them for several minutes before she looked at Maggie.
"Like I said, I was sixteen at the time. I was riding my horse, Sally, who by the way was a mustang. Anyway, I was riding Sally across the field and she stumbled and threw me. I landed pretty hard, and at an angle that broke my back at the L1 vertebrae, just below the small of my back. I was in a hover… ah, I mean, a wheelchair until I was thirty."
"Oh, my God. How old are you now?" Maggie asked.
"I'm thirty-two."
Maggie did a quick calculation in her head. "So, you were in a wheelchair for fourteen years? How awful for you."
"Awful doesn't even begin to describe it, Maggie. I grew up on this… er, I mean, I grew up on a farm very much like this one, and I felt so incredibly useless stuck in that chair. I spent a significant amount of time after school in the barn with my father. I helped as much as I could with the horses, and we enjoyed small carpentry projects together, but I didn't venture far from the property. I was an only child and my parents were somewhat older than those of other kids, so it was a pretty lonely childhood."
"Where are your parents now?" Maggie asked.
"They died in a car accident when I was twenty-six."
Maggie was crestfallen as she imagined the emotional and physical pain and suffering Jordan must have endured in her life. "I'm sorry," she whispered softly.
"Thanks," Jordan replied without looking up.
"So how did you come to have the implant?"
Jordan lifted her head and pressed it against the headrest. "I volunteered for a spinal implant development project being conducted at the University of Vermont Spinal Institute. They almost didn't accept me because my injury was so old, but I persisted and eventually, they gave in. This is actually the second implant. The first one lasted for two years then failed several months ago. So far, this new one is working well."
Maggie tilted her head to the side. "So, how does the implant work? I mean, you walk like there is nothing wrong with you."
"The implant sends alternating electrical pulses to both sides of the injury site and in theory it encourages the nerve endings to begin growing toward one another. Hopefully, some day soon, they will bridge the injury site and grow together. In the meantime, I have restored mobility, and with any luck, at some point, the nerve endings in my skin will wake up and smell the coffee too," Jordan explained.
"I had no idea that medical science has progressed so far. It's like a miracle," Maggie exclaimed.
Several more moments of silence passed as Maggie digested the information Jordan had given her. Finally, she touched Jordan's hand. "Jordan, close your eyes," she said softly.
Jordan turned her head to face Maggie and drew her brow into a frown. "Why?"
"Humor me, please," Maggie replied.
Jordan dutifully closed her eyes and waited for Maggie's move.
"Can you feel this?" Maggie asked as she rubbed Jordan's knee with her hand.
"No." Jordan's eyelashes fluttered.
"No, no, no, don't open your eyes. Do you feel this?" Maggie ran her hand along Jordan's thigh.
Jordan concentrated hard but failed to feel any direct stimuli. "No," she said impatiently.
Maggie allowed her hand to roam across Jordan's abdomen and into the crevice between her legs. "How about this?"
Jordan dropped her chin to her chest without opening her eyes. "No. I don't feel anything."
"Surely, you can feel this," Maggie said as she slipped her hand into Jordan's shirt.
Jordan stiffened, but kept her eyes closed.
"Yes, you can feel that. How about this?" Maggie reached far enough inside
* * *
Jordan and Maggie drove to the western fringe of the property to where the land abruptly fell off to the lake. An uncomfortable silence settled over them as they both stared out at Lake Champlain.
Maggie turned in her seat to face Jordan. "Tell me about your accident."
Jordan dropped her hands from the steering wheel and allowed them to fall into her lap. She stared at them for several minutes before she looked at Maggie.
"Like I said, I was sixteen at the time. I was riding my horse, Sally, who by the way was a mustang. Anyway, I was riding Sally across the field and she stumbled and threw me. I landed pretty hard, and at an angle that broke my back at the L1 vertebrae, just below the small of my back. I was in a hover… ah, I mean, a wheelchair until I was thirty."
"Oh, my God. How old are you now?" Maggie asked.
"I'm thirty-two."
Maggie did a quick calculation in her head. "So, you were in a wheelchair for fourteen years? How awful for you."
"Awful doesn't even begin to describe it, Maggie. I grew up on this… er, I mean, I grew up on a farm very much like this one, and I felt so incredibly useless stuck in that chair. I spent a significant amount of time after school in the barn with my father. I helped as much as I could with the horses, and we enjoyed small carpentry projects together, but I didn't venture far from the property. I was an only child and my parents were somewhat older than those of other kids, so it was a pretty lonely childhood."
"Where are your parents now?" Maggie asked.
"They died in a car accident when I was twenty-six."
Maggie was crestfallen as she imagined the emotional and physical pain and suffering Jordan must have endured in her life. "I'm sorry," she whispered softly.
"Thanks," Jordan replied without looking up.
"So how did you come to have the implant?"
Jordan lifted her head and pressed it against the headrest. "I volunteered for a spinal implant development project being conducted at the University of Vermont Spinal Institute. They almost didn't accept me because my injury was so old, but I persisted and eventually, they gave in. This is actually the second implant. The first one lasted for two years then failed several months ago. So far, this new one is working well."
Maggie tilted her head to the side. "So, how does the implant work? I mean, you walk like there is nothing wrong with you."
"The implant sends alternating electrical pulses to both sides of the injury site and in theory it encourages the nerve endings to begin growing toward one another. Hopefully, some day soon, they will bridge the injury site and grow together. In the meantime, I have restored mobility, and with any luck, at some point, the nerve endings in my skin will wake up and smell the coffee too," Jordan explained.
"I had no idea that medical science has progressed so far. It's like a miracle," Maggie exclaimed.
Several more moments of silence passed as Maggie digested the information Jordan had given her. Finally, she touched Jordan's hand. "Jordan, close your eyes," she said softly.
Jordan turned her head to face Maggie and drew her brow into a frown. "Why?"
"Humor me, please," Maggie replied.
Jordan dutifully closed her eyes and waited for Maggie's move.
"Can you feel this?" Maggie asked as she rubbed Jordan's knee with her hand.
"No." Jordan's eyelashes fluttered.
"No, no, no, don't open your eyes. Do you feel this?" Maggie ran her hand along Jordan's thigh.
Jordan concentrated hard but failed to feel any direct stimuli. "No," she said impatiently.
Maggie allowed her hand to roam across Jordan's abdomen and into the crevice between her legs. "How about this?"
Jordan dropped her chin to her chest without opening her eyes. "No. I don't feel anything."
"Surely, you can feel this," Maggie said as she slipped her hand into Jordan's shirt.
Jordan stiffened, but kept her eyes closed.
"Yes, you can feel that. How about this?" Maggie reached far enough inside
Similar Books
