Mandie Shaw and Celia Hamilton were out enjoying a horseback ride during their free time at school. The warm April sun shone bright and the feeling of spring was in the air. The girls laughed as they road side by side.
"We really should start heading back now." Celia acknowledged. "The noon bell will ring soon."
Mandie breathed a deep breath of the sweet warm air. "I hate to go back but you are right." As they were riding back across the field to the school Mandie's horse spooked. The horse whinnied, reared up on its hind legs and then started running as fast as it could. Mandie lost her grip on the reigns and clung helplessly to the horse's saddle as he tore across the open field. "Help me!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Celia was close behind her, not sure what she would be able to do to stop the large animal but she would try none the less. "Mandie!" Celia yelled "Hang on!" Mandie could feel herself slipping off the saddle to one side. "Help!" Mandie screamed again. Though she tried with all her might she could not hang on any longer. She screamed as she fell to the ground and tumbled a few feet before stopping in heap.
Celia watched in horror. "Mandie!" she screamed. She quickly dismounted and fell to her unconscious friend's side. "Help! Someone please help!"
They were closer to the school house now and Uncle Cal ran to them as quick as his old legs could carry him. He knelt down next to Mandie "Missy Manda! He called. But Mandie lay there lifeless. He scooped her into his arms and hastily made his way back to the school house. As they entered through the side kitchen Aunt Phoebe met them "Lawsy Mercy! What happened to my chile?"
"She fell off dat horse out dere, send for a doctor." Cal said as he rushed through the kitchen without stopping. He carried her all the way to Mandie and Celia's room on the 3rd floor and laid her in the bed. Celia was right behind, tears streaming down her face. "Mandie! Mandie, wake up!" But Mandie remained unconscious.
Hours later Mandie started to stir. She had no memory of the incident. She blinked her eyes a few times but the room was blurry. "Ah, Miss Amanda." A familiar voice said. "It's about time you woke up." She turned her head to see Dr. Woodard next to her bed.
"Dr Woodard, what are you doing here?" Mandie asked sleepily. She started to sit up but cringed in pain and quickly lay back down.
"Well young lady, it seems you were riding a spooked horse when you fell and managed to break four of your ribs." The kind doctor poured her a glass of water and held up her head while she drank. "Luckily you were unconscious so you weren't aware when I was trying to get them back in place and wrap you up."
"When will I be able to get up?" Mandie asked. She immediately feared she would have to miss the precious last few weeks of lessons before her college entrance exam.
"I will come back to check on you in a week. Until then you are to remain in bed. If everything is healing well and you feel up to it you can get up but I want you to limit your activity to walking and sitting." He responded then with a mischievous grin added, "No running through alleys or exploring rooftops." The doctor started examining Mandie. "Now do you have any other aches or pains?"
"My whole body hurts." Mandie groaned.
"Well that's to be expected." Dr. Woodard replied. "From what I hear your fall was very bad and you very lucky you're not more seriously hurt."
Just then Celia walked into her room. Seeing her friend awake she squealed with relief and raced to her bed. "Mandie! Oh Mandie! You're awake! I was so worried!" She tucked a loose strand of Mandie's hair behind her dear friends ear.
"I'm just fine Celia." Mandie gave a little laugh but cringed in pain once again.
A few moments later Mandie's grandmother burst in the door. "Amanda! I came as soon as I could. Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm alright Grandmother." Mandie replied.
"You could have been killed Amanda! Why do you insist on doing dangerous things all the time?" Her Mrs. Taft implored.
"Now Mrs. Taft" Dr Woodard began. "Riding a horse during free time is not typically dangerous. It was just an accident."
Mandie gave the doctor a glance of gratitude.
He winked at her and added "I have sent a message to John and Elizabeth to let them know what happened. Normally I would suspect Elizabeth to be on the next train out, but she is not well enough to travel yet after her bout with the fever." Then he chuckled to himself. " I'm not even going to mention it to Joe or we all know he'll skip his classes come here to see for himself that Miss Amanda is alright."
Mandie smiled at the thought of Joe. She missed him terribly and couldn't wait until next month when she would be done with classes and exams and would go home to spend the summer with him.
"Let's let Amanda get some rest. I'll be back next week to check on you." The doctor bid them all farewell and Mrs. Taft left shortly after.
Miss Hope came up to visit a later that evening and brought Mandie her dinner. "I'm sorry you have to eat here by yourself, Dear" she fussed. "It's okay Miss Hope, a week isn't too long I suppose." Mandie gave a painful sigh. "Although, I am already tired of lying here." She took a bite of the delicious food. Mandie didn't realize how hungry she was, she had missed the lunch meal. While she was eating, her stomach starting hurting. "That's weird Mandie thought. I suppose my stomach is sore from the fall too. She didn't think too much of her discomfort and fell back asleep for the rest of the night. The days that followed passed slowly for Mandie and she was getting anxious about missing her classes. Celia brought her work and assignments up to her but it wasn't the same. She was also more and more troubled with pains in her stomach that seemed to be brought on each time ate and seemed to be getting worse with each day that passed. Finally the week was over and Mandie couldn't wait for the moment Dr. Woodard would clear her to go to class again.
"Hello Miss Amanda." Dr Woodard greeted her. "How are you feeling?"
"Ready to get out of this bed!" Mandie replied emphatically.
"Have you experienced any headaches or blurred vision?" He asked as he held a light to her eyes and examined them. "No Sir." Mandie responded.
"Any other pain anywhere else?" He asked.
She suddenly realized she might not get her freedom back if she told Dr. Woodard about the pain in her stomach. "No Sir, I feel fine" Mandie answered.
Dr Woodard unwrapped Mandie's midsection and felt her ribs where the breaks were. It was extremely painful but Mandie tried her best not to show it. "Well, it looks like everything is healing nicely." Dr. Woodard said. He rewrapped the bandage. "You can get up now but remember go slow and be careful." he reminded her.
Mandie was relieved. "I will. Thank you Dr. Woodard."