Accidental Hero

Chapter 9

I don't know how much time has passed when Dave wakes me up, knocking on the door to get me ready for another session. I'll check my new watch later.

"Hey, Matt, it's Dave. Ready to give this stuff another try?"

"Guess so. Not much else going on around here right now. What's next?"

"We talked a bit yesterday about using the long cane, and we will practice that again in a few minutes. There is a bit of information that you need so that you can maneuver indoors in spaces where you might not really need to use a cane, like in a familiar room or building space. These are called protective techniques, because they keep you from running into an obstacle that might be sticking out into the room, like a door someone has left partly open, or a piece of furniture that someone has moved and forgotten to tell you about. It does happen, and this gives you a chance to avoid collisions."

"I'm all about avoiding collisions."

"All right, Matt. I'm going to move you over here with your back to the wall." He taps me on the hand, and I take his arm. Dave stops, then turns me around and tells me to reach back to touch the wall. "Touch the back of your left hand to your right shoulder. Good. Now extend your arm out level with your shoulder, palm out."

I do it, and it feels like a salute, almost. "Heil, Dave!" I quip, and we both laugh.

"Not quite like that, Matt." Dave regains his composure. "Let me show you. It's a bit more subtle than that." He takes my arm and shows me how to hold it level and without locking my elbow. "Cup your fingers a little, and relax. The point is to guard yourself completely across your body with your forearm. If you stay relaxed, there is less chance that you'll hit something hard enough to hurt yourself. Got that part?" I nod. "Cool. Now for the other arm. You use that one to protect the lower part of your body. Hold your right arm slightly away from your body diagonally across your groin area. Face the palm of your hand toward your body. This will keep you from running into something low, like a table or a chair back."

"Otherwise, I'm going to have to get a really sturdy cup, huh?" I already have begun to feel like I can say things like this to Dave. I'd hate to think I had to be absolutely serious with him.

"Something like that, yeah, wise guy." I can hear his smile. "You need to practice doing this with opposite hands, too, because sometimes you'll use one hand to trail the wall. Okay, now, put your hands in the protective position, and walk toward my voice."

I feel sort of awkward doing this, and wonder what it must look like. "Am I going to have to do this for the rest of my life, Dave? It feels pretty stupid." I keep walking toward him, until my forearm comes in contact with something. I stop.

"Well, maybe not just like this, because you will learn other protective techniques along the way, but that just kept you from running into the edge of the door that I shut partway in front of you. Had you just had both arms out straight in front of you, Frankenstein style, you would have missed it on either side and run smack into it. Does it still feel stupid to you?"

I drop my arms, and my head. "Uh, no." I feel ashamed for being such a whiner. He could have let me hit it full force, just to teach me the lesson, but he didn't. I better pay attention to what he's trying to teach me. Suck it up, Matt, and don't be a dick.

"Good. Because that's the basic move we'll build from today. Next, I want to teach you about travel patterns. Since you were sighted, we can use letters of the alphabet to correspond with the types of routes. Hold out your hand, please." I stick my hand out. Dave begins to trace shapes into my palm. "There are four basic route types: the "I" route, which is a straight line; the "L" route, which is a straight line with a ninety-degree turn at the far end; the "U" route, like a u-turn, and the "Z" route, which turns twice, but keeps going in the same original direction.

"Makes sense." I feel like it's a little too easy. Gotta be a catch somewhere.

Dave continues. "You're familiar with the cardinal compass points, north, south, east, and west, I'm sure, right?" I nod. "At first we might use arbitrary directions as the compass points here indoors, but eventually, you will be able to recognize which direction you are facing by orienting yourself with the position of the sun."

"What if it's raining, or nighttime?"

"I guess you'll just be screwed, then, Matt," Dave deadpans. Okay, I deserved that after my earlier remarks. Touché. "Don't worry about that just yet. There are other ways to orient yourself, with landmarks, and by asking for directions. This will become second nature to you in no time."

I hope I have as much faith in myself as Dave seems to have in me. "Let's hope so."

"Now, another part of this is trailing the wall in a space. Turn to your right, and use your arm positions we talked about. Walk forward until you come to the wall, then turn so that your right shoulder is next to the wall."

I get a little too cocky and walk a bit too quickly, almost headlong into the wall, but my arm takes the brunt of the blow. Beats the hell out of creaming my nose into the wall, I guess. I put my right shoulder against the wall.

"Okay, Matt, good. Put the back of your right hand touching the wall, and use your left hand and arm like we did a while ago. You should almost be touching the wall with your left hand, and you have a couple of options for your right hand. You can either just brush your pinky fingernail against the wall very lightly, to keep you going in a straight line, or you can trail the back of your forefinger on the wall. Whichever feels best to you. Now, walk toward my voice."

Dave has backed away from me a few feet, and I follow the wall toward him. Eventually, I come to a corner of the room, and he tells me to continue following the wall towards his new position. I come to a gap in the wall; I assume it's the door frame. I stop. "Door, right?"

"Yes, and you've come from the side away from the hinges. Let me show you why you need to keep your other hand up." I hear the squeak of the door hinges, and the door comes into contact with my upraised forearm. "Not everyone remembers to fully open or close a door, Matt, so it's up to you to keep yourself as safe as possible. Otherwise, you'll be explaining too often how you got the shiner."

We practice this around the room a couple of times, and then Dave asks me if I practiced at all with the cane last night. I tell him that I did, and he checks my pencil grip technique, and then the two-point touch arc. He corrects my hand position a bit, because I don't quite have it right at belt buckle level and centered. Then Dave challenges me. "Are you ready to try this out in the hallway, Matt?"

Oh, hell, yes. Anything to get out of this room. "You bet. Let's go terrorize some nurses."

Dave chuckles. "You do realize that I've created a monster, here, right?" That makes me laugh, too. "Okay, then, wise guy. Find the door and then take a right in the hall. Let the adventure begin!"

-o-

When Dave drops me off back at my room, I'm assaulted by the overwhelming scent of all sorts of flowers. Not only that, but the sound of the room is...different. I stop in the doorway, somewhat confused by the change. I hear someone wheeling a cart nearby, and I ask. "Excuse me, but am I at the right room? This wasn't like this when I left."

A female voice answers. "Oh! You're the young man who saved the fellow from getting hit by the truck, aren't you? Yes, the doctor had given us permission to let the florists know that you could receive gifts now, and all this came while you were out with the instructor. Why, I think everyone in New York City sent you flowers and balloons!"

That's it! I could tell there was something hovering around in the room. It was sort of a weird feeling, like all this stuff was floating above me. I reach out and touch a batch of helium balloons. They make a strange noise bouncing off each other. The movement gives me a sudden feeling of vertigo. That and the sticky-sweet smell of the flowers. I have to sit down, and quickly reach out with the cane for the recliner. "I'm sure they're beautiful. But there's too much here. How about sharing the wealth with some of the other patients on the floor? They could appreciate the flowers a lot more than I really can. If there are cards, could you leave them for my dad to read to me?"

She hesitates for a moment, then says, "I'm sure that would be fine. You're a generous young man. I'll have one of the aides come in and do that as soon as someone is available. Is everything okay? You look a little pale. Oh, and I'm Sister Teresa, your nurse for this evening. Can I get you anything, Matthew, is it?"

"Please call me Matt, Sister. I'm fine, thanks. Just a little overwhelmed with all this, that's all."

"Good, then. I'll check back later with you, Matthew. Supper will be around shortly."

I flip open my watch and touch the hands. I can't quite tell if it's four o'clock or five by the positions, but I'd guess it's more like five since it's near supper. This is another thing that's going to take practice. I snap the crystal shut just as the phone rings on the nightstand right beside me. I think it's a fire alarm at first, it's so freaking loud. I follow the shrieking noise to pick up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hey, son! I tried calling earlier, but there was no answer."

"Yeah, Dad, I was out with Dave, the O&M instructor. We went all over the building today, using the cane. You should have seen me! I didn't walk into a wall even once!" I've got to be cheerful for the old man.

"Good for you, Matty! I'm sorry I haven't been there as much. You know I've been training real hard for this fight tonight. I've got to keep going to earn us a living. This match tonight could mean that I'm back in contention for the big money." He hesitates, and lets out a long sigh. "You do understand that I want to be with you there, don't you?"

"Sure, Dad. I'm fine." That's sort of a lie. "In fact, I want you to know that Miss Jewel was really impressed with you. I can tell." That was not a lie. "She told me to wish you luck with the match."

"Geez. That was nice of her. Say, I gotta go. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Behave yourself, Matty."

"I will, Dad. See ya." I bite my lip when I realize what I just said.

"Night, son." He hangs up.

I put the receiver back on the phone, and pray he wins his fight. He needs the boost so badly.

-o-

Supper wasn't bad. Fried fish, this being Friday, I suppose. Some of those old Catholic customs die hard. Just like some of the crusty old nuns that have been by to see me. Some of them are okay, even nice, like Sister Teresa this evening. A couple of them must have done duty at a Catholic school. I get the feeling they might rap me across the knuckles with a ruler if I don't sit up straight or whatever. Then there's the one that comes late at night, when I can't sleep. That's Sister Margaret, or Sister Maggie, as she told me to call her. She doesn't say much, just talks so softly when she does. I like her.

-o-

Friday night television has never been much to watch, and now that I can only hear it, it's pretty useless. I've been fidgeting around with my cane practice, and keep checking the time. It's moving pretty slowly right now. It's getting late, and I can hear all the old farts on the floor coughing or snoring or complaining to the nurses about something. It'll get quieter pretty soon.

Nine thirty, I think my watch says. There's a tap at the door, and I tell them to come in. "Hey, Matt, it's me, Dennis. I'm working the night shift tonight, and I'm here a little early. Man, it looks like a flower shop exploded in here!"

"Hi, Dennis!" Good, someone to talk to. "Yeah, I told the nurse earlier that we could give most of this away to people who didn't have anything to look at, since there's so much."

"Cool. I'll take care of some of that in a little bit before I start the shift. How are you doing with stuff?"

"Honestly? I'm bored shitless, Dennis. Pardon my French." He laughs. "There's not much to do if you don't watch tv, and that's a bit of a problem now, you know?"

"Well, there are some radio stations on the tv remote, if there's anything that interests you there. Hey, you sure got a lot of balloons along with the flowers. Hmmm..." I hear him move across the room, and he sounds like he's taking one out of the bunch. The mass above me seems to waver. I suppose I'm just feeling the shift in the air of the room. Dave mentioned something about feeling the air pressure changes that you can feel. Guess that's it.

"That was an ominous 'hmmm', Dennis. Whatcha up to?" He's coming back toward me.

"Here, Matt, hold this for a second." He puts a balloon in my hands. Then I hear a whooshing sound, and then a Donald Duck voice: "Have you ever played with the helium in a balloon, Matt? Heeheeheehee."

It's so outrageous, that I burst out laughing. "No, how do you do that?" I'm intrigued, and ready to be sort of goofy for a change. I didn't really expect this out of Dennis. After a long day of relearning all the mundane stuff of life, this is awesome. "Show me!"

"Untie the string from the neck of the balloon, then hold it so it doesn't fly away from you." I get it loose, and manage to drop the first one. It flies around the room sounding like an old man farting. "Don't worry, you've got a lot more in here. Take this one and try it again."

The second time is a success. "Now what?"

"Just put the balloon up to your mouth and inhale as much helium as you can. It won't hurt you." He does it again himself. Donald Duck replies, "See, isn't this hysterical? Come on, try it!"

I take a big gulp of the gas. "Do I sound as funny as you do?" Now, I'm Donald Duck. "We aren't going to get into trouble with this, are we?"

Donald, I mean Dennis, says, "I won't tell if you won't tell! Heeeheeeheeeheee...."

Another breath. "I just hope the sisters don't find out." And with that, all my helium is gone. My voice comes back to normal. We are cracking up, trying to keep it quiet. "Thanks, Dennis, that was funny."

"You're welcome. It's not often we get to have a lot of fun here. Now, I'll be the Flower Fairy and deliver all these extras to the other rooms for you. Then I have to get to work." I hear him bring a cart in from the hall, and he gathers up the bouquets. "Later, Matt."

Flower Fairy, indeed. I smile, and get ready to go to bed. It's been a long day.