An Unexpected Fate

Cast Away

Two weeks later, Ellie and her parents drove up to the hospital. Ellie was ecstatic, today was the day she was getting her leg cast removed. Abigail had wanted to come too, but she had to work. Her parents had picked her up from school just before the fourth period and taken the long drive from her school to the hospital. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long for the doctor to come see them.

He led Ellie into a small room and helped Ellie get up onto a gurney. "Alright, Ellie. How's your leg been?"

Ellie shrugged. "A bit sore sometimes, mostly when I've been standing for ages or walking."

"That's to be expected. Even if your knee is fine, the cast is still putting a lot of pressure on your leg. It's not extremely sore, is it?" The doctor asked.

Ellie shook her head. "No, mostly just uncomfortable. Shooting pains, sometimes."

"What about your stomach?"

"It's sore when I think about what happened, but it's fine most of the time." Ellie said.

"Good. Unbutton your shirt and I'll check the healing." The doctor said, grabbing a small magnifying glass. Ellie nodded, unbuttoning the bottom of her shirt and holding it apart. She shivered slightly as the doctor pressed against it with his finger. "Sorry. Does that hurt?"

"No more than someone pressing your stomach does normally, I suppose."  Ellie chuckled.

The doctor laughed. "Fair enough. It's healed nicely. Doesn't look like it'll leave a scar either. If it does, it'll be faint. All in all, pretty lucky. You can button yourself back up now."

Ellie smiled to herself as she buttoned her shirt. "Thank god. I was worried about it ruining my beach bod."

The doctor laughed again. "Yes, well, it shouldn't. Anyway, let's see about getting that cast off. " Ellie's eyes widened as he pulled out a small buzz saw. "Don't worry, this is for cutting through the plaster. I'll do my best not to nick your skin, but if it does catch you, it'll shut off immediately. Nothing more than a little cut. Ready?"

Ellie took a deep breath. "Do it."

"Here we go." The doctor said. He fired up the buzz-saw and moved it to the top of the cast. He gave Ellie a small smile as he began to push the saw down into the plaster. Sparks of plaster went everywhere as the doctor dragged the saw downwards. Ellie felt a relief of pressure as the cast slowly started to fall away. After a few minutes, the cast was fully off. Whatever relief and joy Ellie had was immediately replaced with a feeling of nausea as a foul odour struck her.

She gagged. "What the hell is that?"

"Six weeks of your leg being stuck in a plaster, I'm afraid to tell you that smell is you." The doctor said. He took a damp cloth and started to wash off the plaster remains. Ellie looked down. The skin around her knee was slightly off-colour and it looked very hairy. She shuddered uncomfortably looking at it. "Judging by the lack of bruising, everything looks good. Can you bend it for me?"

Ellie nodded. She slowly pulled her leg back, watching her knee rise. She let out a relieved laugh. "That feels so good..."

The doctor chuckled. "Alright. Sit up for me, let me check your reflexes."

Ellie struggled up into a sitting position. "With the little hammer thingy?"

"Yes, with the little hammer thingy." The doctor said. He struck her on her leg, just above her knee. It twitched and kicked out a little. He did it again. The same thing happened. The doctor smiled. "Everything looks good. Can you stand?"

Ellie nodded as she slid from the table, trying to stand up. Her leg was shaking and felt a little weak. She felt a pain as she fell back against the bed. "I... It hurts."

"That's normal, the muscles might be in atrophy from not being properly used. Take it slow." The doctor said.

Ellie nodded as she stood back up again, slowly. She put her good leg down first, using that to steady herself. Then, carefully and slowly, she placed her other leg down. She winced as a pain went through her leg. She fought through it until she was able to put it flat down. Then, she pushed off of the bed until she was free standing. "It's a little sore."

"A little is good. Do you want to try walking up and down the room?" He said.

Ellie took small, shuffled steps. It hurt as she put pressure back on her leg. But after a few steps, the pain wasn't too bad. After a few more, she could barely feel the pain. "It hurt to start with, but it's not too bad now."

The doctor smiled. "Good. You should keep away from doing a lot of physical activity for a few weeks, running, dancing, the like. Apart from that, it looks like you're good to go." The doctor wrote something on a form and handed it to Ellie. "Give that to your parents to give the nurse at the pharmacy. They'll give you painkillers and a cane. If your knee flares up and starts hurting, take two once a day."

Ellie took the note. "Thanks. Is that me, then? No more check ups?"

"That's you. Like I said, keep away from strenuous activity and it should be okay." The doctor smiled.

"When do you think I could go back to physical exercise?" Ellie asked. She was eager to get back to cheerleading and ballet now that her cast was off.

"Start of the new year, probably. To be safe, I'd recommend waiting until school starts back. If you can handle walking around all day, every day, you should be okay."

"Thank you." Ellie said. She opened the door as the doctor started to clean up in the room, walking back to her parents, ready to go home.