Tenderly Beats the Lonely Heart

by K. J. Janssen

  The Center is initiating a new protocol that includes family and/or loved ones in the rehab sessions. Apparently, they have studies that show that when the families are involved in the exercises, the response from the patient improves upwards of thirty-five percent.”

  No one was eating cheesecake. They were hanging on every word Emily spoke.

  Emily checked her notes before she continued, “For the next few weeks, the physical therapists will be concentrating on motor functions, coordination, basic movement, balance and simple skills involving getting in and out of the bed, using the bathroom, bathing, dressing and eating. These are skills that we take so much for granted, but to a

  TBI patient they can present major hurdles.”

  She turned to Miriam. “Dr. Jensen requested that you take part in the sessions they have set for next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 9am. He mentioned your experience with Sports Medicine and he felt that it would be especially beneficial if you participated in these initial sessions. Any future participation on your part will depend on the progress Thomas makes at these sessions,

  Miriam replied, “Oh, that’s great.” She looked at Emily, Louise and Walter. “You don’t mind if I go first, do you?”

  In unison, all three responded, “Of course not.”

  “Thank you. That will be a lot less awkward than me going alone to visit him in his room.”

  Emily closed the tablet. “There is another issue that we need to discuss. After tomorrow’s visitation, Dr. Jensen suggested that instead of a group visit, we limit the number of persons to one or two. His reasoning makes sense to me, but I want to get your take on it. When we are all there, Thomas appears to be overwhelmed. Tension builds as he has to direct his attention to more than one person at a time. Dr. Jensen feels that tomorrow is an exception, because it will be the first time that we can ignore the blue line and be at Thomas’s bedside. We will be allowed hold Thomas’s hand, but we have been cautioned not to attempt to hug him or kiss him since that could cause involuntary movement in his neck that could cause damage before they have a chance to restore normal functioning. We’ll have to keep that in mind, but even so, just to be able to hold his hand will be a blessing after all these weeks.”

  “You can say that again,” Louise said.

  “While we’re on the subject, we should probably discuss what the doctor said about limiting visitors.”

  Miriam volunteered, “I will be working with Thomas next week for three days, so I won’t need to be involved with daily visitations.”

  “Thank you, Miriam, that makes sense. What I’m thinking is that Louise should be the first to visit him alone. After all, she was the last one to be with him before the accident. Walter and

  I can go together the next time.”

  Walter nodded his agreement.

  “Thank you. Are you sure?”

  “Yes, of course, Louise. You’re the logical one.”

  “There is so much I want to say to him. The kind of stuff that’s hard to say standing behind a blue line with other people party to the conversation.” She thought a moment about what she had just said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I just meant that it’s hard to express yourself when others are in the room. You know what I mean.”

  Walter answered, “Yes, Louise, we know what you meant, and I think you are the best choice to be the first.”

  “Well, now that that’s settled, let’s do justice to this cheesecake.”

  Miriam raised her hand, “Just a small piece for me. I have a date with Mike tonight and he always likes to stop at a small café for a light snack. I don’t know how he does it. He has the appetite of a lumberjack, but he never seems to put on weight. I guess he has one of those overactive metabolisms takes care of those extra calories.”

  Walter rubbed his mid-section. “I sure wish I had me one of those metabolisms.”

  * * *

  Thomas was anticipating today’s visit in spite of Dr.

  Jensen reminder about the no-hug rule.

  His eyes lit up as Emily, Louise and Walter entered his room. Emily and Walter went to the right side of the bed and Louise to the left. He immediately reached for Louise’s hand as he felt Emily grasp his right hand.

  “It’s so great to touch you all again. It’s funny how you miss something as simple as a touch; how often we take things like that for granted.”

  Emily let go of his hand so that Walter could hold it. Thomas immediately tightened his grip.

  “How is it going Mr. Mayor?”

  “Just perfect, son. I see you still have a nice firm handshake.”

  “That will have to do for now. It’ll be a while before we can arm wrestle again.”

  “All good things in time.”

  Louise was rubbing his hand against her face. “It’s so nice to feel your touch again. I don’t know if you heard yet, but Miriam will be working with the Physical Therapists for three of your sessions next week. And Monday afternoon I’ll be visiting you alone for about a half-hour. I can’t wait.”

  “Neither can I. That’s really good news.”

  The rest of the visit was spent on bringing

  Thomas up-to-date on what was going on in Owensburg. When the half-hour was up, Thomas’s dinner arrived so they said their goodbyes and left.

  CHAPTER 56

  “I can’t believe that I will be working with the Physical Therapists three days next week.”

  Mike looked surprised. “You mean you will actually be working at the Center on Thomas’s exercises? That’s incredible.”

  “Yes, it is. They have a new protocol that includes family members and loved ones as part of the schedule. Apparently, they discovered over the years that patients respond better to the rigors of therapy if they go through it with someone they know. I thank god for getting such a chance. I was at my wits end trying to figure out how to get closer to my son and then along came this opportunity.

  “I’m happy for you Miriam. You deserve a break. When will you be doing this?”

  “Next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at the Center’s Physical Therapy suite. I’ll have to go through some training myself, before I work with Thomas, but that shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve done a lot of work with injured athletes at my job. I can’t imagine that they do things too differently.”

  “I’ll bet you never imagined that your job would be instrumental in helping you know

  Thomas.”

  “Not in a million years. It’s funny how things work out. One of the reasons that I chose that particular vocation was because I wanted to help young men reclaim their lives after they were injured either playing sports or from driving accidents. It was my way at the time of giving something back. Does that sound strange to you?”

  “Not at all, it makes perfect sense. That’s why I chose Family Law.”

  Mike pulled her close. “You’re a very giving person, Miriam.”

  The hug led to a kiss and subsequently to the two of them spending the next two hours in bed.

  CHAPTER 57

  Dr. Jensen did the introductions. “Miriam

  Walton this is Wendy Marshall. She’s the lead

  Physical Therapist assigned to Thomas.”

  Miriam shook her hand, “I’m pleased to meet you.”

  “Same here.”

  “I updated Wendy on your experience in

  Sports Medicine.”

  “Yes. We’re glad to have an extra hand, especially someone with your unique skills. I’d like to take a few minutes to outline what we will be doing for the next three days…”

  Dr. Jensen interrupted Wendy,” I don’t think you will need me for the next couple of hours. I’ll be back at eleven to wrap things up.” With that he left them to their work.

  The ladies sat down, and Wendy showed Miriam the plan for the morning. “Dr. Freenold chose the Turnwell Convention for our sessions. Are you familiar with that disci
pline?”

  “Yes, we used it quite often.”

  “That’s great. It will save me a lot of explaining. Well then, we might as well get things set up. They will be bringing Thomas down in a few minutes.

  * * *

  Dr. Jensen arrived just as they were getting ready to return Thomas to his room. “Well, Thomas, how did your first day of PT go?”

  “If you’re asking, ‘am I exhausted’, the answer is yes. If you are asking if I made much progress, you’ll have to ask these lovely ladies here,” he said motioning his head towards Wendy and Miriam.

  “What do you say, ladies. Did our patient cooperate with the program?”

  Wendy looked at her clip board. “It looks like he scored a seventy-two which is very good for a first day. We had a few rough spots and I even think I heard him utter an expletive under his breath, but that too is par for the course given the amount of exertion we demanded from him.”

  Thomas looked embarrassed. “I apologize if I said anything off-color. I must have been caught up in the moment.”

  “Oh, don’t be silly. If I had a nickel for every swear word uttered in this room, I could take an extended all expenses paid vacation to Hawaii.” Dr. Jensen turned to Miriam. How does our work here compare to the Sports Medicine venue you work in?

  “Actually, it is quite similar. Many of our sports injuries involved concussions so we use the Turnwell Convention quite often. It was by far the best option in those cases.”

  “Thomas, how was it working with someone from outside the center?’

  “It was good, Doctor. She was just as tough with me as Wendy was and I was glad of that; maybe not at the time, but now that it’s over I am glad she didn’t cut me any slack. I know I’m not going to get out of here until I can do all this stuff right. So, Miriam, thank you.”

  “You’re more than welcome, Thomas. You’re no different than the jocks I’ve had to work with. They want to get well so they can get back on the field. The motivation for you is the same and I admire you for it.”

  “Thank you, that means a lot to me. I promise both you ladies that I will try extra hard tomorrow. You’ll be very pleased with the results.”

  Wendy replied, “That’s the spirit. I’m going to hold you to that.”

  Miriam nodded her agreement.

  * * *

  Once again, Dr. Jensen showed up at the end of the second day’s session.

  “So, how did it go for day two?” They all looked down.

  Wendy offered, “It didn’t go as well as we expected. Score wise, only forty-eight percent.”

  Jensen looked surprised. “What happened?”

  Thomas answered, “It wasn’t them, it was me. I just couldn’t do some of the exercises. I either didn’t understand what I was supposed to do, or I just couldn’t get my body to do what was required.

  Either way I just couldn’t do any more.”

  “Well, don’t let that bother you. It’s not unusual to have setbacks, especially when you’ve been on a fast track. You go on back to your room and I’ll have a look at what you did accomplish today. We’ll resume our sessions tomorrow morning.”

  As soon as they wheeled Thomas out of the room, Wendy addressed Dr. Jensen, “Thomas gave an accurate assessment of what happened today. The demands of the exercises seemed to require more strength than he could muster. I could see that he was really trying to keep up, trying to do what we required, but he just didn’t have the strength to do it. I know that he will eventually meet the requirements, but we’re going to have to go a little slower. I hope I’m not speaking out of turn, but is Dr. Freenold certain that Turnwell is the best discipline for Thomas’s condition?”

  “I’ll certainly discuss that with him. Thank you for your honest assessment.”

  * * *

  Dr. Arnold Freenold slammed his fist on the table.

  “So now my decisions are being second-guessed by Therapists. How many TBI cases have they managed? What’s wrong with this world today? Everybody with a little experience thinks they’re a damn expert.”

  “I’m sorry, Doctor. Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s just that this has been the first significant setback for Thomas and it took everyone by surprise.”

  Freenold was silent for a few minutes. “I’m sorry for the outburst. I guess that was my ego talking. Of course, we must look at our choice of conventions. After all, this is supposed to be a team…all input should be invited and respected. Now let me see, Turnwell came the closest to meeting the needs of Thomas Mortinson. If that is failing us it appears that we need to be innovative in our approach. I’m going to join you tomorrow for his next session. Call a meeting a half hour before for you, me, Mrs. Walton and Wendy to go over alternative protocols.”

  He sighed and put his hand on Dr, Jensen’s shoulder. “Frederick, sometimes this work makes me feel old”

  “I know what you mean, Arnold. Why don’t you join me at my club, tonight? We can discuss this some more.”

  “I think that would be a capital idea.”

  “I’ll see you at seven, then.”

  CHAPTER 58

  Louise hurried to Room 333 unaware that

  Thomas’s morning rehab session had not gone too well.

  “Louise, I’ve been waiting for you to get here.”

  Tears formed in her eyes as she rushed over to the bedside and sat down next to him. She grasped his hand and squeezed it and he did the same. “Oh, Thomas it’s so wonderful to be this close to you and to hold your hand. I’ve missed you so much. I wish I had gone with you when you went to get the wine. Maybe things would have turned out differently.”

  “Yes, you’d be lying in a bed like this in another room with your head cut open and your body trying desperately to return to normal functioning.”

  “You don’t know that. Maybe we would have returned to our table sooner and avoided the stage entirely when it fell.”

  “Yes, that’s possible…but that’s not what happened. Anyway, what’s important is that you’re safe and I’m mending.”

  She lifted his hand and kissed it softly.

  “You’re right, I should concentrate on the now. You’re getting the best care here at the Center and we should be thankful for that. How did your session go today?”

  He got quiet and looked away. “Not well at all. I couldn’t seem to muster the strength to do a lot of the exercises. I don’t understand it. I did so well the first day. I got a good night’s sleep and had a full breakfast, but my strength just seemed to drain out of me. I just couldn’t do what they asked me to. I’ve never experienced that condition before. I used to do a lot of training when I played ball. We started slowly and worked our way up to the harder exercises, just as we are doing here. I was always exhausted by the time we finished, but it came on slowly. This thing today just overwhelmed me.”

  “What did the Therapist and Miriam say about that?”

  “They were as surprised as I was. My scores were really low. They were talking about slowing down the pace a bit until I was ready. I feel like I let everyone down.”

  “Don’t talk like that, Thomas. Isn’t it possible that Dr. Freenold overestimated the level of your recovery and assigned an improper program?

  What do they call it, a convention or something like that?”

  “The Turnwell Convention.”

  “That’s it. It is possible that they were misled by the rapid progress you’ve shown. He did say that each TBI case is different. Isn’t it possible that they should be taking a different approach to your rehabilitation?

  “Of course, anything is possible.”

  “Well then I’ll discuss that with Miriam at dinner tonight.”

  “I don’t see how that can do any harm. I just want to get back on track. I miss being with you. I hate being apart from you and not to be able to hold you and make love to you.”

  Louise’s face reddened. “You sure have a silver tongue,
Thomas Mortinson. You know I feel the same way. When I saw that ‘Beast” fall on you I thought I had lost you forever. It was the worst moment of my life.” Tears were cascading down her cheek.

  Thomas reached out and tried to rub them away, but they were dropping faster than his thumb could erase them. “Please don’t cry. Everything is going to work out for us. You’ll see.”

  “I know, but just the thought of being without you tears at me. I can’t help it.” “There is nothing that can keep us apart. In fact, I have a confession to make. I was planning to propose to you when the show was over. I had a ring and everything.”

  Louise reached into her pocketbook and brought out the ring box. “This ring?”

  “That’s it. Where did you get it?”

  “It was with your personal things when you were brought here. Walter thought you would want me to hold it for you.” She took the ring from the box and handed it to Thomas.

  He took the ring and in the most somber of voices asked her, “Louise O’Neill, will you marry me?”

  “Yes, of course I will. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. “This will have to do for now.”

  She put the ring on her finger and held it out to admire it. “It’s a beautiful ring and it’s a perfect fit. How did you know my size?”

  “Oh, I borrowed a ring from your jewelry box.”

  “The ring with the three pearls?”

  “Yes, how did you know?”

  “I was missing it one day. I looked all over and couldn’t find it. Days later it suddenly appeared again in my jewelry box. I thought that I had just missed it while I was searching.”

  “I never saw you wearing it. I thought it would be safe to borrow it. Just my luck that you would suddenly miss it.”