Page 62 of Free Heart
“I want to hangboard,” Jeremiah says, springing from Leenie’s lap to grasp the edge of a nearby table—thankfully empty—and lifting his little feet off to swing inches from the floor. “I want to hangboard and eat meat!”
Leenie stuffs two of his apple slices into her mouth to keep from saying something mean.
Jeremiah drops down and poses with his hands on his hips. “I’m gonna climb El Cap’tan! I’m gonna be just like Dan!”
Leenie nearly chokes.
PART THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Sejin
Five weeks since free solo attempt
Dan is fidgetyas we wait in a patient room at the orthopedic clinic in Fresno for Dr. Hennessey to report back to us about the latest scans on Dan’s leg.
I’m less restless and more exhausted, the same as I’ve been for the last month. Dan’s new social media endeavors aren’tnotworking, obviously. They just aren’t bringing in a lot of money yet. Not to say that they won’t eventually, but social media is a fickle god, and Dan’s a weird guy.
He’s famous enough now after his fall, though, that he got a lot of followers right away, most of them the same kind of folks I’ve been avoiding around town—curious gawkers who want to know more about what it felt like for him to fall, how bad did it hurt when he landed, and if his life flashed before his eyes.
All of these are real questions left in the comments of the TikTok videos he’s made, and the Instagram Reels he’s put up. I honestly can’t believe the gall of some people.
He’s still working on figuring out how to edit together a nice-looking video so he can start posting montage videos from various past climbs taken by both him and Rye, and some from Peggy Jo too, along with narration from him about what each route was like. He’ll refer to his meticulous notes and offer up his experience as a reference point for climbers on topo, strategy, holds, etcetera, along with photos of his drawings, videos of his actual past climbs, and more.
So far, he’s posted some short videos to TikTok following trends or with popular music in the background, and some commentary on TikTok and Instagram about his fall, his recovery thus far, and his current situation—not climbing, long road ahead, and all that. He’s been good at replying to comments in an engaging way, and I don’t know why I’m surprised by that, but I am.
But we’re still flat broke and this orthopedist isn’t cheap. We already owe his office enough that it makes me nauseous.
Dan says it’s notwe,it’shewhen it comes to the medical debt. But what kind of seahorse leaves his angelfish high and dry just because money is, as always, hard to come by?
“Mr. McBride,” Dr. Hennessey says, sweeping into the room like he’s never had a moment’s worry about his competence in life. Which is good. That’s what we want in a doctor. But for a moment I feel about three feet tall, and all too aware of how precarious Dan’s and my lives have been, and how incompetent I really am.
Dan, at least, is an expert at climbing. What am I an expert at? Serving cappuccinos? Teaching KPop to babies? I really ought to find something I want to excel at and focus.
I’ll get right on that, as soon as we aren’t drowning in debt.
“I’ve got good news, and I’ve got even better news,” Dr. Hennessey says, slapping some films up on the light box on the wall and flicking it on. “This is your leg,” he says unnecessarily. “And these are the pins, the plate, the rod. It all looks good. But this is the extraordinary thing—” Here he indicates a white bulge on the bone. “That’s the callous. I told you last time it was already forming, and here it is coming along nicely. It seems your body has gone into overdrive with healing. It’s almost like you’re several months out from this fall instead of just five weeks. Obviously, as an athlete, you were quite healthy before this happened, and your youth helps as well.”
“Great,” Dan says, peering at the films. “What’s that mean for me?”
“It means you can lose the moonboot and start weight-bearing with your crutches.Mildweight-bearing, mind you. It’s also time to start regular PT. I understand you’ve made special arrangements to deal with that?”
“I have,” Dan says with a grin, taking hold of my hand and squeezing it.
I’m excited for him, but anxious too. What if he gets overconfident? Works himself too hard? Does something dumb?
“Does hehaveto lose the moonboot?” I ask. “It’s a good reminder to him not to push himself.”
Dan brings my fingers up to his lips and kisses them, and I’ll give the doctor credit that he doesn’t even blink. He must know we’re a couple, but if he didn’t, he does now. “Don’t worry about me, Doc. I’ll be careful.” Dan glances at Dr. Hennessey. “Uh, that ‘Doc’ means him, not you.”
Again, to give him credit, Dr. Hennessey stays on topic, addressing my question. “He can keep the moonboot around for when he goes out and wants to alert the public that his leg needs special care, but otherwise I don’t want him wearing it at home. It’s important he start reminding his muscles how to do their job, especially if he wants to get back to his sport.”
I appreciate that Dr. Hennessey sees climbing as a real sport, and not a silly hobby, but I also don’t think he fully understands how passionate Dan is about getting on a wall again as soon as possible.
This must all show on my face because Dr. Hennessey says, “Don’t worry, Mr. Sutley. He’s not going to be able to push himself too far, too fast. He’ll be surprised at how weak his leg is and how fragile it feels. I assure you, he won’t be trying to climb this week or next.”
He smiles at my worry, and I feel reassured by his calm certainty. “Muscle atrophy happens faster than you’d imagine. He’s going to have a scrawny little leg to build back up before he can trust it to do what he wants.”
