I was wrestling a pair of socks on first thing in the morning. I'd managed an awkward process of dressing myself, just one more step to feeling less useless and it'd been working for me alright. Usually left me pretty breathless and annoyed but it beat having to ask for help.
I bent over, slipping my sock over my toes. I had to yank the material pretty good to get it to slide under my foot that rested on the ground. The elastic band snapped against my skin, stinging slightly as I let go, picking up my other sock to do my right foot.
I was halfway through getting my other sock on when the realization hit me.
Holy fuck.
"NAN!"
I brushed my hand along my ankle unsure if I was actually feeling it or if it was a mind trick because I was watching my hand.
"NAN!"
Holy shit.
"NAN!"
Holy fuck.
She appeared in my doorway seconds later, breathless and wide eyed as she clutched her chest.
"What, what's wrong? Are you okay?" She sputtered.
I realized I had probably scared her, screaming her name repeatedly.
"Sorry, I uh...can you help me?" I asked.
"Of course Love, with what?" She released a breath, coming closer.
"Can you just...um...adjust my foot?"
She gave me a flat look. I knew it was a ridiculous request, I was long past needing help getting comfortable in my chair.
"Yeah, please." I pleaded.
"Which one?" She said squatting down in front of me.
"Left."
I closed my eyes, focusing as hard as I could. I wanted to be one hundred percent sure that I was right. I sucked in a breath as I felt her fingers wrap around my ankle.
"What?" She asked. "Are you okay?"
I opened my eyes, staring down into hers. A smile tugged at my face, my heart pounding hard. Tears swelled in my eyes.
"I can feel that." I choked out.
"You can feel this?" Nan asked excitement flashing through her.
Laughter bubbled up inside me, spewing out. I'd basically given up hope that I'd ever feel anything past my left thigh. I had made no progress for so long.
"I can feel that." I repeated through laughter and tears.
Nan stretched up, pulling me into her from where she kneeled at my feet.
"Oh Owen." She cried.
I was crying too, happy tears.
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"Alright, good practice everyone." Coach yelled as we all wheeled ourselves into a circle with him. "We're going to do our scrimmage Saturday and then the in-house season starts in two weeks. Get some rest and Rookie I need a minute."
I watched all the other guys pass out high fives and good games as they made they're way off the court. I stayed where I was, wiping sweat from my forehead.
"Haven't seen you're name on the roster for the in house games. Whats up with that?" He asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. Am I ready?"
I felt like two months wasn't long enough. That I needed to be better. I was still getting a feel for the ball and getting the coordination down to dribble while pushing myself. I hadn't noticed the difference between my left and right arm until I went to dribble for the first time. Even though I'd gotten stronger and gained more muscle control in my right arm, it was leagues behind my left still.
"We need to build your stamina and improve your dribbling but what better way to do that then feed you to the sharks." He said, looking down at me from where he stood.
I laughed.
"Your dad showed me a video of you doing a bicycle kick at one of your games. If you can master that, it'll be no time before you're running the show here." He encouraged.
The bicycle kick was different though. I had full use and feeling of my body and no chair to get in my way. Don't get me wrong I was loving basketball but I still hadn't gotten the boundaries of my chair down quite right. Every so often I'd dribble the ball a hair too close and it'd ricochet off my chair no doubt into the hands of the opposing team. And that was something that couldn't happen during a game. The difference between winning and losing. And I was too competitive not to win.
"Think about it Rookie. I'd love to see you in the roster." His hand gripped my shoulder, shaking me slightly before he swooped up a bottle of water and walked off.
I watched him leave. It wasn't that I hadn't thought about signing up. I had. It definitely appealed. But I didn't do anything halfway. And I felt halfway for sure. Then again maybe he was on to something.
Maybe I wouldn't feel ready until after I jumped in.
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Its a shorty. Which probably makes it worse you had wait two days for it. Sorry about that. I ended up going out last night with the hubs and some friends and well now I'm nursing a hangover because I'm old and can't drink. Though in my defense I think the night took a turn when we started doing shots of whiskey 😂. Those weren't my idea.