Lima Memorial Hospital – Lima, Ohio December 2001
Artie sat in his hospital bed, staring glumly at the television set on the wall in front of him. A cartoon show was on but he wasn't paying any attention to it. It had been a week since the accident and he was still trying to come to terms with what had happened. He had awoken to a strange room that was pitch black except for some blurry, blinking lights somewhere near his head. Most of his body was in a state of pain, and when he tried to get out of the bed, he found that he couldn't move his legs. He couldn't even feel them. Understandably, he had started freaking out, crying and calling out for his parents. He made such a racket that a nurse finally heard him and came in to explain what had happened. She had told him that he had been in a car accident and that he had been badly injured. He had a million questions to ask, but she had pressed a button that caused him to fall asleep against his will.
The next day, his mother arrived at the hospital early in the morning, and ended up breaking down crying as soon as she saw him. The doctor had come in at that point, and explained as simply as he could to Artie what had happened and what the future held. The words paraplegia, spinal cord, and wheelchair were all that stood out to Artie. Aside from the paralysis, he had cracked a few ribs and had gotten some rather nasty cuts on his back and chest. The doctor had issued that he stayed in bed for awhile so his injuries could heal. Then they could try out a wheelchair once he was feeling better.
His mother had been at the hospital every single day that week, getting there as soon as they let in visitors and staying until closing time; sometimes even later if the doctors didn't realize she was still there and kick her out. His father and his siblings had come by a couple of the days, although they couldn't spend a lot of time there because his older brother and sister had school, homework, and other activities. They had brought him coloring books, video games, and movies in hopes to help him entertain himself. Nothing seemed to interest him though, and he spent most of his time either lying in the bed thinking, or doing his homework so he wouldn't fall too far behind.
Artie was completely miserable of course, but even after the doctor told him that he would never walk again, he didn't cry or complain. His mother was sitting right there, trying her hardest to hold it together for him. He knew that she blamed herself for it, and he knew that it wasn't. Apparently the driver of the other car had been speeding and not known that there was ice right before the stoplight. He hadn't been able to stop behind the line, and had barreled into the Abrams car. The man walked away with a few scratches and bumps. Artie would never be able to use his legs again. Only once his mother left for the night and he was alone in the room, had he let himself cry.
Hummel household – Lima, Ohio December 2001
Burt sat at the kitchen table, head in his hands. Only a week ago he had received the worst news of his life. The doctor had explained that they were stopping treatment on Karen. It was a hopeless case, and she only had three to four weeks left. He wasn't sure how he had managed it; getting Kurt to school, making dinners, and running the shop. Every waking second was consumed with thoughts of his wife, lying there in the hospital bed, her life draining away, and not being able to do anything about it. He hadn't gotten up the courage to tell Kurt yet. On one hand he didn't want to put a time limit on his time left with his mother. On the other hand, he didn't want there to be no warning. Kurt had endured so much already, but he wasn't sure how much more the eight year old could handle.
At 2:30, he left to pick Kurt up from school. They were going to go straight to the hospital to visit with Karen. Since it was a Friday, they didn't have to worry about Kurt going to school the next day, or him having to work on homework. On the ride to the hospital, Kurt was unnaturally quiet. Even with the current circumstances, he would usually be talking about his day and what interesting things had happened in his class. Today however, he was silent. Burt glanced in the rearview mirror at the brown haired boy in the backseat.
"So, um did anything interesting happen in school today Kurt?" he asked.
"Not really," came Kurt's quiet reply. "Hey Dad? I have a question."
"Yeah?" Burt asked hesitantly. He really hoped that Kurt wasn't going to touch on the subject of his mother.
"What's wrong with Mom? You haven't really talked about her this week and you usually do."
No such luck there. Burt cleared his throat and cast around for a delicate way to approach the subject.
"You know what buddy? Why don't we wait till we see her? Then we can talk some more. That sound good?" Burt met Kurt's solemn gaze in the mirror. The boy nodded then turned his attention to looking out the window. Burt sighed deeply. His son wasn't an idiot. He had to know that something was up. He just wasn't looking forward to letting him know what it was.
"So I think that if you are careful enough, we can try out that wheelchair tomorrow. How does that sound, Arthur?"
Artie's doctor glanced inquiringly at him over his clipboard. Artie had slightly zoned out when Dr. Berenson had come in and started talking to his mother about the progression of his injuries. He had been using a lot of big medical terms that didn't make any sense to Artie, so he had contented himself with staring at the man in fascination. He had never seen someone with hair in their ears before. When the doctor looked right at him though, he realized that a reply was expected of him and he nodded quickly.
"Good. The hospital will provide him a wheelchair for the time being so he can get some practice in. I think that is all. Good day." He nodded at Mrs. Abrams who thanked him as he walked out.
"A wheelchair honey. Should be interesting to get to know how to use that, huh?" Cathy said, brushing a piece of hair out of Artie's face.
"Sure Mom, it'll be….fun. I guess," Artie replied, his voice trailing off as he pondered the advantages and disadvantages of a wheelchair. He had only seen old people in wheelchairs before. Kids his age didn't use them. They just didn't have to. He knew that a wheelchair would be inevitable, but he hadn't really thought about it. How would he be able to go anywhere that wasn't a flat surface now? His dad had said that he would take Artie hiking. That was before the accident though, and there was no way that they could push a wheelchair through the woods. School would be difficult too. He probably wouldn't be able to use a desk, and he wouldn't be able to play in gym class anymore. He would have probably mused more, but his mother interrupted his thoughts.
"I have to get going honey, but I'll be here bright and early tomorrow, okay? Then we can try this wheelchair thing out." She kissed him on the forehead as she rose to leave.
"Okay Mom. I love you," Artie replied.
"Love you too," she paused at the door. "Get some sleep, all right sweetheart?" Artie nodded in agreement. "Good night."
Artie slumped down as soon as she was gone. He was not looking forward to this at all. He soon drifted off into a restless sleep.
"But….but…I thought you were getting better?" Kurt stared at his mother in concern. Burt and Karen had just told him that she would probably only be around for another month.
"I was sweetie, but….well the cancer came back. And they've tried everything but my body is tired of fighting and so it's shutting down. Do you understand?" Kurt's bottom lip quivered and his eyes filled with tears as he shook his head.
"I want you to get better Mom. I want you to come home with me and Dad. Why does it have to be you?" The tears that were brimming now started falling down his face. Wordlessly Karen drew him close to her, trying to hide her own tears from him. Burt sat against the edge of the bed and placed one hand on Kurt's shoulder, while grabbing Karen's hand with his free one. The three of them sat there in silences, sans Kurt's quiet sobs. Eventually they tapered off, changing to the occasional hiccup or sniffle.
"Kurt, I know this is difficult, but we told you so that we can make these next couple of weeks as good as possible," Burt said gently. "We're going to spend as much time together as we can." Kurt nodded, and reached forward to give his mother a tight hug. After a few seconds, he broke away and Karen kissed the top of his head gently. Kurt slid off the bed as Burt leaned in to give Karen a kiss goodbye.
The two walked out to the car in silence, a silence that was echoed the entire ride home. Burt wasn't a very talkative person normally, but the constant silence between him and his son was very straining. He didn't know what he could possibly say to make the situation better. There probably wasn't anything that he could say to appease Kurt, and with his luck he would probably make matters worse.
"We'll go see her first thing in the morning, okay Kurt?" Kurt nodded before giving his father a brief hug and padded off to bed.
It took his mother, the doctor, and a nurse, but they managed to get Artie situated in the wheelchair. The doctor said that he would be able to transfer himself in the future, something that Artie highly doubted. He wasn't exactly the strongest person in the world. Once seated, he awkwardly placed his hands in his lap, not sure what to do with them. After a few brief instructions from the doctor, he placed his hands on the wheels and pushed himself forward. He practiced turns and going back and forth in the room a few times before Dr. Berenson proclaimed (a tad bit too enthusiastically) that he was ready to try it in the hallway. The adults promised to walk a ways behind him so that he could try it without any interference. After a bit of maneuvering, he managed to make his way into the hallway.
It was simple enough wheeling down the straight hall, especially with nothing in the way for him to bump into. He was glad because he had other things to worry about. His fingers were constantly getting caught in the wheels, and although he hadn't been pushing for long, he could feel his hands rubbing raw against the rubber of the wheels. At the end of the hallway was the waiting room, where people sat either paging through magazines or in conversation with their neighbors. He tentatively pushed himself in, and was thankful that no one was watching him.
He glanced around at the people in the room. Most were either adults sitting by themselves or families with bunches of little kids running around, playing with various toys. What caught his eye though, was a boy who looked about his age, sitting by himself next to the wall. After a few seconds of struggling, he managed to get the chair pointing in the right direction, and wheeled over to the boy.
Artie wasn't sure why he was drawn to the boy. Maybe it was the sad expression on his face, or the fact that he was alone and looked like his age. As he drew closer, he took in the boy's neat clothing and the abandoned pile of Highlights magazines on the seat next to him.
"Hi I'm Artie. What's your name?" The boy looked up in surprise, obviously not having had spotted Artie earlier.
"I'm…Kurt." He replied hesitantly. He had never seen this boy before in his life. At school, most of the boys avoided him because he liked to hang out with the girls and play make believe during recess. The dark haired, bespectacled boy in front of him though was smiling cautiously at Kurt, and seemed friendly enough.
"What are you doing here?" Artie inquired.
"I…well I'm waiting for my dad to come back and get me," was Kurt's reply.
"Yeah, but why are you at the hospital," Artie pressed.
"Oh, well my mom is really sick. We're visiting her here. Why are you here?" Kurt asked. Belatedly he looked down and saw that Artie was sitting in a wheelchair.
"I was in a bad car accident," was the other boy's matter of fact reply. "And now I'm supposed to be trying this chair out."
"Oh. I'm sorry," was all Kurt could think of to say. He didn't really know how he was supposed to respond. The only people he had ever seen in wheelchairs were older people who needed to be pushed around.
"It's all right," Artie said. "It's not…that bad I guess." Both boys took a moment to stare at the chair in question. Artie was startled out of his thoughts when he heard his mother calling his name. He twisted and saw her motioning for him to come over by her.
"I have to go – "
"I think she wants – " both boys started talking at the same time. As if on cue they started laughing together.
"Maybe I'll see you later?" Artie asked.
"Yeah, maybe," Kurt replied with a smile. He watched as the boy awkwardly turned the chair around and headed over towards his mother. He turned and waved at Kurt right before they headed down the hallway, his mother pushing the chair now. Kurt waved back, still smiling.
"Who was that?" Artie's mother asked him as they headed back to his room.
"His name is Kurt. He looked sad so I went over to talk to him."
"Well that was nice of you," Cathy smiled down at her son. "Maybe you two will see each other later."
"Yeah, maybe," Artie replied, thinking of how nice it would to have a friend to talk to for once.
Thanks so much to all those who reviewed, favorited, and subscribed! I love hearing your feedback! Next chapter will feature more interaction between the boys.