In Sickness and In Health

Chapter Twenty Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Joey stayed the night under the guise of making sure Jamie was okay in the morning. Eddie insisted Jamie be allowed to sleep until he woke on his own after the events of the previous night. After breakfast, Eddie took Frank for his daily walk. He liked to take a half hour stroll every day to keep his breathing strong and his body moving. Joey couldn't help but think that soon Frank and Jamie could take those walks together.

"Dad!" Joey said shaking his father awake. "Dad, rise and shine." Joey was dressed in a pair of NYPD sweats and an NYPD tee shirt.

Jamie stirred and groaned opening his eyes. "Hey, you slept over?"

Joey nodded, "Yeah, I was eager to get started on our sessions. That and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Mom and Grandpa were really shaken up. She'll have my hide for waking you but they'll only be gone a little while. How about we start with going to the bathroom. It's ten steps."

"Joey, I can barely walk two steps, ten steps, it might as well be a 100."

"No, but the aisle at St. Catherine's is 48 steps so we better get moving." Joey was all exuberance and excitement. Jamie had to smile at that. "Okay, I'll need my walker."

Joey got the steel contraption and put it at Jamie's bedside. He got up by pushing with his arms and manually moving his left leg until it hung over the side of the bed. Joey secured the brace to his foot and calf, then instructed, "Now put both feet on the floor and push down with your legs and pull up with your hands."

Joey had no formal experience as a trainer not to mention none as a physical therapist, but he was experienced at being a Reagan and an officer with the NYPD. That was the kind of push Jamie needed now, he was certain of it. "Come on Dad, you are going to make the toilet or pee on the floor and upset Mom. You can do this!"

Jamie gritted his teeth thinking of his beautiful wife's face, thinking how beautiful she would look if he stood and held her in his arms again. He pulled with both arms and pushed with both legs. The left barely cooperated, so he, as Roger had previously directed, shifted his weight to the right.

"You can do it, Dad," Joey encouraged again. "You are doing it. Just a little more."

Jamie pulled himself to his feet locking his right leg until he felt his much weaker left one slightly engage. Jamie remembered Roger's lessons, move the walker, the weak leg, then the strong one...He lifted the walker up and placed it less than arm's length away, then focused on his bad leg. He tried to lift it up but it refused. "Just push it, Dad. Get it moving, push that foot forward."

Jamie took Joey's advice on this too and used his hip and back to force his uncooperative leg forward. He gasped in surprise and delight when it did move. Jamie's 1000 watt smile was in full force when he pulled his right leg up beside his left, take one full if not sloppy step.

"One down, nine more to go!" Joey praised.

Ten minutes later Jamie reached the bathroom. He was beaming ear to ear. This was going to work, it really had potential anyway to work. With Joey watching for safety reasons, Jamie used the bathroom and got himself washed for the day. Slowly, but surely he walked back to the bed, then nearly collapsed in exhaustion.

"Done?" Joey asked. "We just got going. We didn't even..."

Joey looked at Jamie. Jamie's chest was heaving and his eyes were closing in fatigue. "Let's get you into clothes and resting before Mom catches us. We can tell her I'm helping you..."

Jamie raised his hand quickly, a gesture he used often to halt Joey speaking, "No. No, we must make is a surprise. If I fail at this, I don't want her hope to be crushed. I'm so tired now and we barely did a thing."