Page 4 of Blinded
“It still hurts, but I felt something give.”
Sandra released the pressure and smoothed the area. “That’s good. We’re going to try it again. Inhale, please.” Again she felt the pop, indicating the muscle was releasing some of its tension. She repeated the procedure four more times until she heard him give a loud sigh and felt the largest pop yet.
“That’s incredible! What did you do?” he asked as he rubbed his leg.
“It’s a trigger point massage technique. You find the center of the tension knot or spasm and apply steady pressure. If it works, you get small releases, and if you’re lucky, you can relieve the entire spasm. You, sir, got lucky. How does it feel now?”
“Sore, but so much better. Thanks, Doctor Duncan.”
“You’re welcome, Doctor Lewis. Let’s get your pants back up so we can continue.”
There was something in his eyes when he continued with his leg lifts and Sandra puzzled over it. The first few days it had seemed like he was trying to force her to quit, or maybe what they said was true and doctors were the worst patients in the world. Even when he was cooperating he could still drive her crazy, the way he was constantly trying to be in control. While Sandra encouraged her clients to reclaim their independence as quickly as possible, she didn’t want them to go overboard and think they didn’t need her when they did.
Because of his overworked state and the muscle spasm, she decided to hold off on introducing him to heel and toe walks until next time. They continued through his routine without incident. When she left him at 5 pm, she reminded him about overdoing. “Assuming you haven’t overdone it again when I get here on Wednesday, we’ll start with heel and toe walks and if you behave, some simple step downs. Please be ready.”
“I wouldn’t want to miss that,” he said. She couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
When the doorbell rang at 4:00 on Wednesday afternoon, GT was waiting and surprised at how eager he was. Sandra had promised him new exercises today, and he was anxious to make some forward progress. His previous session seemed like he was marking time. He hated to admit she could be right, but he had taken it easy this morning. He didn’t want to be held up another day.
“You’re right on time,” he said as he let her in.
“Traffic and my other clients cooperated. Are you ready for the new exercises today, Dr. Lewis?”
“Absolutely. I took it easy this morning so I’d have the energy for now. I trust that’s acceptable?”
“Very good. It’s always nice when my patients follow my advice. Shall we start with a warm-up?” Sandra asked.
“I’ve done that already. I’d like to start with those heel and toe walks if you think I’m ready.” GT was having trouble containing his excitement. Would she be willing to skip the warm-up today?
“Humor me,” she said. “I’d like to see you do some leg lifts sitting and standing before we move to the new stuff.”
GT sighed. She was going to be difficult. “I’ve just finished leg lifts. Why can’t you take my word for it?”
Sandra smiled, although it didn’t reach her eyes. “Long experience with patients who want to move faster than they should. Show me ten standing leg lifts with your left leg. If those are smooth enough, I’ll let the sitting ones go.”
“Listen, Sandra. I'm a surgeon and I can't do my job properly if I'm cutting corners. It's the same for my hobbies. You can't climb unless you're prepared, and you and your equipment are in top shape.”
“How many sets did you do of each?” She was like a dog with a bone.
“Three sets of ten for each leg, both sitting and standing.”
She tilted her head and raked her eyes up and down his body as if she had x-ray vision. “All right. Show me five standing with your left leg and we’ll move on.”
GT sighed, but obediently did the leg lifts. Not wanting to be asked to repeat them, he was careful to do each fully and completely. God they were boring as fuck. “Satisfied?”
“Yes, Dr. Lewis. The next exercises are heel walks and toe walks. Let’s try them first with the crutches and then without if you’re feeling stable.” She moved about ten feet away from him. “Walk to me here on just your heels.”
He followed her instructions and found the crutches were practically in the way. He got halfway to her and asked if he could drop them.
“If you feel secure, yes,” she answered.
What a relief to feel like he was making headway. He had to focus on his balance, but otherwise, walking on his heels wasn’t much of a challenge.
“Good job, Doc.” Sandra moved to where he had started, picking up his crutches along the way. “Now try the same distance, this time on your toes.”
Again he did what he was told and again, it went smoothly.
“Excellent. I want you to do that three more times and then we’ll try some beginning work on the stairs.”
