Chapter Two
Case #87312 – Jaime Sommers
I don't remember my accident, and since most of the rest of my memory has come back, Rudy says I probably never will. Thank God for small favors (or, in this case, a big one)! I do remember waking up in the emergency room with Steve beside the gurney, trying to look brave and sound reassuring. I knew better; things were not ok. I felt myself sort of fading, and right before I passed out, Steve asked me to trust him, that he knew a way to possibly save me. Of course, I nodded. I wanted him to feel at least a little better about things, but I was sure I'd never be waking up again. I had no idea what that single nod was signing me up for!
I'd never even heard the word 'bionic' before! The first morning after the surgery, when I woke up, everything – arm, legs, etc. - looked so normal that I thought the night in the ER was just a really bad dream. I mean, I saw that my arm was gone. Not broken, or even shattered – just...gone. My legs had looked a lot like hamburger, from what I could see. Then, all of a sudden, I wake up and there's not a scratch or bruise to be seen. Had to be a dream, right? When Steve told me the truth, I freaked out all over him. I'd never been so angry, or so scared. Steve knew just what to say, though, and how to say it. The fact that I wasn't alone and that Steve had been there and would help me through it helped me to calm down and put it all in the right perspective. I was alive!
Once the panic was out of my system, it was fascinating to slowly discover all the things my new legs and arm could do! Scary, but really exciting. Plus, no one could ever simply step out of the room to talk about me again!
Rudy asked about nightmares, and yeah – I had a few, especially in the beginning. I used to dream I was all alone, off in a corner somewhere, one arm and no legs and unable to do anything. Everyone else had gone and left me alone in my dark little corner, forgotten forever. The other nightmare was an old standard: falling endlessly, and knowing that if you reach the bottom, you die. By the time I finally left the hospital, the nightmares were pretty much gone.
Steve and I had so much fun, training together while he helped me get up to full strength! At 40 or 50 miles per hour, he was still teasing me about being a slowpoke. Then again, he's been teasing me since I was five years old. One afternoon, Steve proposed and I thought life couldn't possibly get any better, but in the blink of an eye, it was all just gone. We hadn't even finished planning the wedding when I – died. Still seems really weird to say that, but it's true.
I remember waking up in the hospital and having no clue who or where I was. Steve ended up having to let me go when I couldn't remember him. I tried so hard that it caused real, physical pain, and that's when Steve knew he had to say goodbye and leave me in the doctors' hands. It took me way too long to realize the strength of character and the depth of love he showed by doing that for me. He never stopped hoping, though, and I think somewhere deep inside of me, a tiny part kept that invisible torch burning, too. That has to be why things never got deeper with Michael; my inner voice knew he wasn't the one.
Once Helen found out Steve and I were bionic, she pointed out that now we were truly 'made for each other' and she's right. Who else could know what we go through, or share what we share? To this day, Steve feels guilty for signing me up for this 'miracle' called bionics, because of the problems – physical and emotional – that we've had to deal with. I know in my heart-of-hearts, though, that when he finally puts that ring on my finger and we kiss, he'll know he made the right decision.
END