Beauty From Ashes

Chapter 9

"No, please don't leave me!! DON'T LET ME GO BACK!!!!"

"Go back? To where?! Jefferson, hurry up!!"

"There are demons!! They're REAL!! They live in Hell and it's real! They had me, they're trying to take me back!" Megan just stared down at me with great confusion and concern. "Please don't leave me!! DON'T LET THEM TAKE ME BACK!!!! PLEASE!!!!"
I had screamed out before they held me down and gave me medicine. The nurse had stepped back clearly horrified by those words.

But the reactions from everyone else was to be expected. They thought I was delusional from a panic attack. It's difficult because I want to share what I saw, but there's hardly anyone who would actually believe me or even trust my words.

I still haven't told anyone who I really am or what happened to me down there. After seeing how my brother and my parents reacted towards my pornography, I can't even imagine how other people would handle it, especially my nurse, Jillian, or that one kid Albert.
Well, maybe I shouldn't really call him a 'kid.' We seem to be around the same age.

Currently, they've been giving me a lot of physical therapy to help me get back into walking. I spent the first four weeks with a brace around my hips and feet, and to travel from room to room I had to use a wheelchair with assistance. But for 10 days, I've been slowly going through more tests and therapy to walk, and today I'm down to my last ones.

At 9 AM Jillian comes into my room, and helps me stand up out of bed before slowly walking me into another doctor's office. I came up to Dr. Coleman, the African-American director of the hospital. "Ah, good morning doctor."

"Good morning Ms. Olson. Now, I only have a few simple assessments I would like you to perform, and we will give our results then. Is that okay?"

"Absolutely. I'm ready."

He nods. "Nurse Larson?" Jillian steps away letting go of my shoulders.
I'm finally able to stand up on my own. For the past few days, I've been having difficulty with falling over constantly, but I've slowly regained my balance. "Okay. I want you to walk over there and then to the other side of this room."

"Okay." I'm a little slow, mainly since I barely woke up about an hour ago. For the last 10 days, they've been helping me relearn how to walk. Once I get into the groove of the moment, I'm able to walk to both sides, just barely putting on more necessary weight for my feet.

"Now stand up straight. Try to stand on your toes if possible." So I do, and I'm barely able to do the second part. My pinky toes are still in a lot of pain, but I'm able to push through it. "Now lower again. Hold still." I stand straight and still while he steps behind me to inspect. "Do you still feel any pain?"

"Only in a couple of toes."

"I see. Lift up your right foot. Jillian, reach into that box over there."

"Yes sir." I raise my foot while Jillian pulls out a new pair of shoes with a special padding on the inside.

"Lower your foot and slip it inside." He takes one of the shoes and holds it still for me to insert my foot. "Now see if you can press down." The inside feels warm and comfortable. I press down and it's firm and relaxing. "How does that feel?"

"Very soothing."

"Good. Ms. Larson picked out this pair for you, and the padding on the inside, I recommend using that for 20 days. The heat it provides will help numb the pain you are experiencing. Once those days are up, simply return them to Ms. Larson."

"Okay, doc."

He gives me a few more tests, one of which involves riding an exercise machine shaped like a bike. It was slightly hard on my knees, but other than that it all went well.