The next day Ally was starting therapy for the first time. Austin had come to Sonic Boom extra early so he could escort her to the appointment. They were headed to the same hospital they were at the last few months when Ally was first shot. They had a specialized wing for therapy patients. Ally's doctor is set to meet them for the first hour of the appointment to give her a regular checkup. Then for the next two hours Ally will be with a personal trainer to help get the strength back to her legs. Ally's checkup went pretty well and soon they were all with Ally's trainer Kurt in the hospital gym. Austin and Dez helped Ally sit on the mat that Kurt had set up and Kurt began reciting the safety precautions for them all to follow. Dez, Trish and Austin had decided to do some exercises with Ally so she wouldn't feel too alone.
"For starters, everyone uses their own mat. No one shares, and no one borrows someone else's mat. Got it?" Kurt began. Dez rose his hand. Kurt frowned.
"What is it kid?" Kurt asked.
"Why can't we share or borrow someone else's mat?" Dez asked. Before Kurt could reply Trish interjected.
"Because someone might have a contagious disease in here." Trish said, and Kurt shook his head in disagreement.
"I don't have contagious patients. The reason is because I hate those couples that share everything and never separate," Kurt said harshly.
"I guess that means you aren't married Kurt?" Trish asked. Kurt let out a groan.
"Let's just get back to the rules. The second rule is that no one is allowed to touch the equipment around me unless I say too. We don't need any of these weights causing an injury, especially to the patient who already has injuries." Kurt continued. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Next rule is no food or drinks in here. We don't want anything a patient could trip over on the ground or be distracted by." Kurt said, just as Dez pulled a juice bottle out of his book bag. He slid it back inside the bag slowly and averted his eyes from Kurt's menacing gaze.
"Finally, everyone needs to silence their phones, beepers, etcetera because they are another distraction from our work. Everyone got it?" Kurt asked.
"Yes." Everyone replied. Ally was ready for the therapy to begin. She wanted to walk again someday. Kurt grabbed a mat to his side, and sat on the floor completing the circle of people they had made.
"Ally, first I want you to straighten out your legs, and stretch your arms out to touch the tips of your sneakers." Kurt said. Ally very slowly moved her legs out in front of her. By the time she had done that, she was gasping and obviously in pain. She then stretched her arms out as far as she could, but could not reach the tips of her sneakers without yelping in pain. Kurt watched her every move and every now and then jotted down notes in the notebook he held. Around Ally, Trish, Dez and Austin did what Kurt asked Ally to do. When they were done, Kurt gave more commands.
"Ally, please attempt to pick yourself up and stand as long as possible. Kid, stand behind Ally in case she falls," Kurt said, pointing at Austin. Austin stood up behind Ally, and it almost took her a half an hour to get up after screaming so much that Austin covered his ears for some time. It was really hurting her to move her legs. When she was finally up she stood for five seconds before falling back into Austin's arms. Again, Kurt jotted down some notes before continuing the commands. Austin helped Ally back to her mat and sat down on his.
"Finally Ally, on a scale on one to ten, ten being the most painful, how much do you think it would hurt for you to walk to that chair behind you based on the tests I just gave you?" Ally turned her neck to look at the chair then turned back around.
"Ten, I probably wouldn't have been able to walk without falling the whole way there." Ally said. Kurt nodded and wrote in his notebook. He didn't speak for a while, and the room became silent.
"Ok, for the next few days Ally's appointments will be very rigorous considering that she cannot stand for more than a few seconds. The therapy will slow down as Ally becomes more able to do the exercises." Kurt said after a few minutes.
"The point is for Ally to be able to walk without pain." Kurt added. Austin looked at his wrist watch realizing that the appointment was almost over. Dez and Trish stood up and helped Ally back into her wheelchair with a minimum of screaming in pain and Austin pulled Kurt aside to talk with him.
"You really think Ally's legs can be fixed?" Austin asked him.
"Look, I know the doctors told you she may be paralyzed. But I try to stay positive for my patients. It remains to be seen if she can walk again. I want to see her back every week for the next month before I can decide how much this is helping her." Kurt said, turning away from Austin to put his notebook on the table in front of him. Austin walked away and together all four of them left the hospital toward Sonic Boom.
"I hope he thinks I can get better," Ally said. Trish looked down at her and smiled.
"I'm sure you will, it just takes time." Trish told her reassuringly. Austin stopped pushing the wheelchair and hugged Ally from behind.
"You'll be fine," Austin said. He walked in front of the wheel chair and kissed Ally on the cheek. Ally was blushing when he pulled away.
"Let's just get out of the hospital and back to Sonic Boom." Ally said. And with that they walked through the doors of the therapy wing out into the streets.