Bound

Pins and needles

This morning I woke at 4 in the morning to this weird sensation in my legs. I became really sweaty and I threw the covers off my legs and saw some slight twitching coming from my right leg. I didn't know what to do, I could feel something in my legs but I couldn't move them. "Dad! Dad!" Dad flew into my room within 5 seconds. "What's the matter Coop?! What's wrong? Are you hurt!?"

"My legs...they feel numb but I can't move them." Dad rushed over to my bedside and felt my legs for something. "Can you feel it?" I shook my head. My dad moved my legs around in his hands. "Come on Cooper I'm gonna take you to the hospital." Dad scooped me up in his arms and in our pajamas, we drove to the hospital. To be honest I thought dad was overreacting because he was running inside like it was an action movie emergency. Dad signed us in and we waited in the waiting room until a nurse took us back. "Everything's gonna be okay buddy, daddy's here." He reassured. But I knew dad was mostly reassuring himself, I was still in shock.

"Hi I'm doctor Matthews." A red-headed lady came in. "What seems to be the problem?" "My son cooper is paralyzed from the waist down, and today he woke up with this strange tingling feeling in his legs but he can't move them." The doctor furrowed her eyebrows and started feeling my legs and moving them around. "Does it hurt or feel like a burning sensation?" I shook my head. "No."

The doctor Matthews sat up and wrote something down on her tablet. "Okay, we're gonna have to run some tests and do a EMG if that's okay?" My dad nodded. "What's an EMG?" "It's a test we do to test and see if there are electrical responses to nerves. We will also do an MRI." My dad nodded and doctor Matthews excused herself and told us a nurse would come and take us to the radiology floor of the hospital. We sat in the exam room waiting.

The room was so quiet you could hear our heartbeats. Dad reached out for my hand. I glanced at him and turned back to staring at the ground. "You'll be fine okay? I'll tell you what, for being such a good trooper how about I buy you breakfast when we get outta here?" I liked the idea and so I accepted.

The nurse came and took us to radiology where everything was set up. They gave me a hospital gown and dad took my clothes for me. They laid me down on the bed and then they started the MRI. "Okay Cooper we're gonna take some pictures of your legs and make sure that nothing's wrong okay?" The radiologist said. They put me in the machine and I was in there for what felt like an eternity. "Alright Cooper we're all done." They slid me out and dad picked me up and hugged me. They sent me to the another floor for the EMG test.

The set me down in this big bed and they started the test. They inserted needles but It didn't really hurt because I couldn't feel anything but I did feel some buzzing sensations. The test took 30 minutes and then they sent me and dad back to our original exam room. Doctor Mattews came in shortly afterwards. "Hello, so the test results came in from Cooper's EMG and MRI. There seems to be some activity shown in both legs according to his EMG but it's most likely blood circulation, same can be said for his MRI. We don't see anything wrong like a tumor or hemorrhage."

"Then why do I have that tingling feeling?" I asked hoping for some answers. "I think it's a pinched nerve that is giving off signals in the body and your brain is reacting to it by trying to numb itself but it produces a tingling feeling instead. We can schedule you for a brain scan later on this week just in case?" She asked looking to my dad. "Yes, I'll make an appointment right away." He said.

I was discharged soon after. We left the hospital, with dad putting me into the car. "So how about some breakfast?" He asked. I nodded eagerly. I suggested taco bell and so that's where we went. We ate in the car in silence. Mostly because dad was still concerned about my legs....and so was I. "If the feeling doesn't go away or gets worse then we'll go to emergency again okay?" I nodded but I could dad wanted a verbal response. "Okay, I promise." But I wasn't too sure myself. Maybe.....just maybe.....this could be the start of something?