Page 5 of Bridge to Home

Harlow struggled to sit up. So much pain. “The top half of me hurts, but my bottom half, my legs are even worse.”

“Now that you’re awake, I’ve sent for the doctor. He should be here soon, Ms. Wynn.”

“The doctor. What about my husband?”

“Mr. Barbetz was here earlier. He said he would be back.” The nurse left the room before Harlow could ask more questions.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the pillow, taking inventory of her current condition.

Ability to move her arms? Check.

Hands and fingers? Check.

Feet and ankles? Check.

Head? Harlow moved it from side to side. Check.

She patted her stomach. Harlow could feel her stomach, but not her hips. Inching to the side, she reached past a jumble of tubes and wires and began gingerly tapping her outer thigh. Pain.

Harlow wiggled her leg. More pain. Her muscles felt like they were on fire.

A man clad in white appeared in the doorway. “Ms. Wynn?”

“Yes.” Harlow scooched back to the center of her bed, warily eyeing him.

“I’m Doctor Ashton. I was on duty when you were brought in.”

“My car…”

“Is totaled, I’m afraid. You’re lucky to be alive.”

“I dropped my cell phone and reached down to grab it,” Harlow said. “When I looked up, a truck was coming right toward me. I jerked the wheel and then everything went black.”

“According to the police report, your car flipped. It took extensive effort and equipment to extricate you from the wreckage. As I said, you’re lucky the airbags and safety equipment prevented your injuries from being much worse.”

The doctor grabbed a chart at the foot of her bed and began flipping through it. “Your memory and mental capacities appear to be intact. How do you feel?”

“Like I got run over by a freight train on my upper half.” Harlow winced. “My legs are even worse.”

“You suffered muscle contusions.”

“Muscle contusions?”

“The good news is it’s only temporary.” The doctor went into a long spiel about her injuries. Most of the medical mumbo jumbo went right over her head. What she could glean was a crushing blow to her leg muscles had affected the fibers and connective tissue, causing her severe leg pain.

“How long will I be in this sort of pain?”

“It depends on the extent of the muscle and tissue damage. It could be weeks, or possibly even months, before you’ve completely healed.”

Harlow’s mind whirled. She didn’t have weeks or months. She had hours.

“In summary, it is going to take some time to recover. I recommend a regimen of rest along withmassage therapy and possibly even a little physical therapy to help you heal completely.” The doctor glanced around. “Your husband, Mr. Barbetz, was here earlier.”

“The nurse told me he’ll be back.”

“I would like to discuss your prognosis with him, so we’re all on the same page.”

“Of course.” The doctor’s diagnosis echoed in her head.Muscle damage. She couldn’t do the movie deal. She couldn’t even walk! How long would she be like this?A sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.

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