POT SHOTS
CHAPTER 8
WORK, WORK, AND MORE WORK
Sandy was beginning to feel more like a relative than a hired professional, and she reminded herself that there was only so far that she could let that go or instead of helping her mission, it might begin to interfere with it. This was a family she'd already started falling in love with, and she told herself that when Bo was better, another family somewhere else was going to need her. Still, she was glad that she had accepted their invitation to Sunday dinner. Whether something was different that day or she hadn't noticed it so much before at lunch, Bo seemed extremely embarassed about having to be fed at the table in front of her, and wasn't cooperating too well with Luke.
She knew what they were going to be doing that week in regards to his legs and speech, but she hadn't known exactly what they were going to work on with his strongest skill, his hands. Now she did. She hoped Bo was ready because they were going to have a grueling week.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Luke asked her if she was a Longhorn, trying to make light conversation before his exasperation with Bo started to show.
"Huh?" she asked back, then started laughing as she realized what he had asked. "No," she replied. "Me and Bobby are the only ones in the family who aren't, and we have been labeled as traitors!"
"Well, what are you guys?" Luke asked.
"What's a longhorn?" Daisy asked, and the men rolled their eyes.
"The mascot for the University of Texas," Luke told her. "Their teams are called the longhorns," he said, putting his fingers together to form their signal. "Hook em horns, ya know like the Georgia Bulldogs."
Daisy just shrugged, not being interested in sports.
Answering his question, Sandy started talking. "Bobby is a Red Raider." When she could see that they couldn't quite place it, since it wasn't one of the more well known schools, she added, "he went to Texas Tech. He was the first in my family to break with tradition and go to a school other than the pride of all of Texas."
"You think he was just being a little rebellious?" Daisy asked.
"Well, my daddy did," she giggled, "but no, he wasn't doing it to upset anyone. He wanted to be a meterologist, namely a tornado expert, and Texas Tech is the best school in the country in that field. He made a sound decision, but it almost killed my parents and my older brother. They kind of held their breath when Timmy announced where he was going, wondering if Bobby had influenced him, but he made em happy and went to Austin. They probably thought they were home-free with me, but I guess I fooled them. At least Bobby made them aware that there were other schools in the country besides the University of Texas. He'd already graduated and had a good job, so my daddy couldn't say that going somewhere else hurt him."
"So what are you?" Luke asked again, slyly shoving a spoonful of food into Bo's mouth. His idea had worked. Bo forgot about his embarrassment, hanging on Sandy's every word, and Luke took advantage of it, feeding his cousin without him even being aware that the older cousin had won that battle. Bo had always been stubborn, and Luke had learned long ago on how to outsmart him without him even knowing it.
"I am a Blue Devil," she said, then started laughing as she thought about how ironic it was. "I went to Duke." The entire table lost their dinner as they laughed so hard that they turned red.
"I didn't know that they named a University after us," Uncle Jesse said in his best civilized voice, only prolonging their mirth.
The next day, Sandy did something she never did. She showed up for work in a Duke University t-shirt and shorts. If their conversation the day before hadn't been so funny, they would have paid little attention to it, concentrating on her extremely nice, bare legs instead. However, as soon as they saw it, they picked up where they had left off the day before.
"I never wear any type of logo affiliated clothing to work, but somehow, I just couldn't resist," she explained.
"How come?" Daisy asked, not understanding why she wouldn't if she wore jeans.
"Cause you never know when it's gonna start an argument," she answered. "I didn't think that you'd be offended, though, considering it is your last name and everything."
"Why would that start an argument?" Daisy asked, finding this a strange topic.
"Because a Longhorn never knows if they're walking into a house where an avid Sooner Fan, or Aggie Fan lives, and rivalries like those really do go way beyond the playing field. Some schools just hate others, and I don't need that getting in the way of my work. I'd hate to think that someone would let it interfere with their treatment or the treatment of a loved one, but it does happen."
"It don't make no sense to me," Daisy said, and Uncle Jesse agreed.
"Tell that to a die hard fan," Sandy advised.
Sandy asked Bo if he minded a slight variation in their schedule that day. He shook his head no, and she told him she appreciated that. She shared her idea with him, saying that she wanted to start with the bars so they could get them out of the way, and then she wanted him to be able to rest a little. Luke was getting ready to pick up Bo, when she asked if there was an extra hat around. He pointed to a cap on the rack. Making sure it was loose enough so that it wouldn't irritate his scalp, she put it on top of Bo's head. "Don't want you getting sunburned," she told him. He looked up at her, his insecurity showing about the still healing wound. She just winked at him, and told Luke to bring him outside.
She talked to Luke a little before they got started, making him understand that he couldn't let Bo fall, not in the very beginning. She'd never met anyone yet who wasn't really afraid of the intimidating device, and a fall might mean that they'd never do it again, but he had to, if he wanted to walk.
As she had promised in advance, it was scary and it was hard work, the hardest Bo had ever known. He'd barely moved but a few inches, and wondered just how this was ever going to help. She assured him that it would, and it would become less difficult.
"Bo, right now your arms are having to support all your weight. They're not used to doing that. They're not really designed to do that. Your legs are. We're going to teach your legs again how to do it, and your feet how to move, which you already know how to do. Remember all that wiggling last week? We were imitating the movements that our feet make when we walk, so see, I wasn't just being silly. Although, you do have real cute feet," she laughed, and he blushed. "Anyway, before that even happens, you're going to be building up your arm strength, too, and by the time that everything is evened out the way it's supposed to be, you're going to be very strong, but it's not going to happen over night. Now, I know that you trust Luke, and I hope you're gonna be able to trust me, cause we're not going to let you fall."
By the time they were finished, Bo was exhausted, hardly able to keep his eyes open. If she hadn't scheduled in a nap, she would have had to make time for it. He couldn't have went on if he tried. Luke got him settled in bed, telling him that he did great, and how proud of him he was.
"I love you, Bo," he said, as Bo held out his hand.
When he moved aside, Sandy sat down next to him and brushed the hair out of his eyes, another gesture she had not meant to do. He opened his eyes when he felt her touch.
"Luke's right, you really did do great, Bo! I'm proud of you, too."
That seemed to make him feel better, and he grinned.
"Now you take a little nap, cause we got some stuff we gotta do when you wake up. Okay?"
Dozing off, he nodded. She bent over and kissed him on the forehead, but he was too far under to open his eyes. He did, however, feel it, and she couldn't believe that she had totally lost control of her own actions. Her brain wasn't doing the thinking around this patient, her heart was, and Bo Duke had most definitely managed to capture that.
When they walked out of the boys' room, she told Luke that she needed to go get a few things, but asked if he could be around when she got back. She wanted to have Bo back outside for what she was planning, and she knew that she couldn't carry him. He promised that he would be there, and if he wasn't, she or Daisy could give him a call on the CB. She promised to return.
Before asking for Bo, Sandy found a shaded spot under a big tree by the side of the house. She spread out a blanket and set down a basket, then asked Luke to go get his cousin. Bo saw what was waiting for him, and wondered if this was business or pleasure. Sandy asked Luke to set him down so that his back was resting against the tree as she slid in a large cushion behind him, Apologetically, she then informed him that this was one of those rare times when she and Bo needed to be alone. Luke excused himself, wondering like Bo, just what the heck was going on.
"I hope you're hungry cause I've got some really great stuff here. Fried chicken, cornbread, and an apple. See, this week, we're gonna work on teaching you how to feed yourself. How does that sound?" She waited for a reaction, and was glad that he seemed pretty excited. "This may sound like a strange menu, but everything has two things in common. It's big enough for you to hold it, and it's solid enough not to need a utensil, which we won't work with til later this week. So, are you hungry?" she asked, and he nodded.
Sandy tucked a napkin in his shirt as she laid out the food. Supporting Bo with one arm, she leaned him forward as she scooted behind him, then tugged him back so that she was directly behind him, cradling him. Bo was taken off guard by the feeling that was running through him, wondering what she was doing.
"I'm not getting fresh with you, Bo."
Before she could continue, he said, "darn," shocking them both.
"Bo, that's great!" she told him, hugging him, and making a mental note that he had probably just responded without thinking about it. Now she had to figure out a way to use that later on. "And funny," she told him. "You are a funny guy, aren't you?" He shrugged. "Well, anyway, I'm not getting fresh with you. There are certain things that I can only do by sitting like this. Did you ever have someone try to show you how to hold a baseball bat?" Bo nodded. "They probably wrapped their arms around you to demonstrate the right grip and stance, right?" He nodded again. "That's what I'm doing. So let's eat."
The last thing that they needed to work on was his speech, and she really wanted to do that out of ear shot of the family, too. She had something in mind, and she wanted it to be a surprise.
"You know, Bo, you're pretty lucky. You've got a family who really loves you," she said, and he nodded. "They tell you all the time, too. Don't they?" He nodded again. "I'll bet you'd like to be able to tell them that you love them back, wouldn't you?"
Bo cast his eyes downward, afraid of his own reaction, but he nodded.
"Well darlin, that's exactly what we're going to do then," she told him, cupping his face and turning it upwards, trying to convey that he had nothing to be ashamed of in showing his feelings.
Capitalizing on the noises that she'd had him making the week before and his spontaneous remark, their goal was for Bo to be able to say a few words on cue by Saturday. They'd work on specific words and phrases first, then move into being able to converse freely. This was only a foundation just like a house was built on.
The therapist only gave a very short verbal report that week, stating that they were in a time when results couldn't always be seen. Of course, they'd seen him working on the bars, and that progress was being measured in inches, but to Bo, it was really miles, and it was larger than it might sound. They'd also seen Bo's grip and grasp getting better and stronger, and they were going to start working on finger movements the following week.
She didn't elaborate on his speech, only saying that it was improving and she thought Bo wanted to share something with them. She turned the floor over to her student, then slid into the kitchen. This was a family moment.
The Dukes encouraged him, praising as far as he'd come. Slowly, he looked at each one of them. "Luke," he said, which they were all used to. Then he looked at his uncle and clearly said, "Uncle...Jesse," which caused a dead silence. Daisy and Luke stopped looking at Bo, turning to look at their uncle, who was recovering from the shock. "Daisy." Unable to contain their excitement, they jumped up and ran over to their youngest, hugging him and kissing him. They never dreamt there was more. As they were telling him that they loved him, he started talking again, and they froze, being quiet so they could hear. "I...love...ya'll." There wasn't a dry eye in the room, or the kitchen, when they were finished.
Bo looked around the room for his teacher. She winked at him, and he held his hand out, which was her cue to come over. Taking his hand, she knelt down so that she could see him better. She had no idea that this week for show and tell, she was going to be part of the audience. He looked at her, and plainly said, "Sandy."
It was her turn to be shocked. "Oh, you sneak!" she exclaimed, which told everyone else that she didn't know he could say that. It seemed that Bo had been doing a little homework that week on his own.
Squeezing her hand a little tighter, she returned it, but Bo wasn't finished. "Thank...you," he told her, and that was enough to send a few drops of water running down her face, which he brushed away.
Taking his face in both of her hands, she told him that he was very welcome, and she was very proud of him, encouraging him to continue saying new words. Then, once again, she found herself kissing his forehead.
"This calls for a celebration!" Uncle Jesse announced, and everyone looked at him. "Just lunch," he grinned. "Well, I didn't know we were going to be celebrating or I would have fixed something better," he said, inviting everyone to sit down.
Sandy sat across from Bo, and nodded, silently telling him to go ahead and put into use what else they had spent all week practicing. She let Daisy fix his plate, but announced that there was one little thing they'd forgotten in their presentation. When everyone was seated, she told Bo to go ahead. Reaching for his biscuit, Bo grabbed it. His touch was a little too hard yet, so he made a lot of crumbs, but he still managed to get the roll to his mouth and took a bite, grinning like a cheshire cat. Then he put it down, and grabbed his spoon. He couldn't hold it between his fingers like one normally did, but he could pick it up the way a child who was learning to eat would. By the time he got it and the food to his mouth, a lot of it had been spilled, but in the primitive sense of the word, Bo Duke could feed himself. He smiled at her, and she smiled back, as the family asked if there was anything else they'd forgotten to tell them.
Uncle Jesse led them in a heartfelt prayer of thanks, and Bo surprised himself when he heard himself say 'Amen.' Sandy knew that words would now start flowing. The next step was to get them to flow together more easily, but that was gonna take a little time and a little practice. Uncle Jesse announced that he wanted to propose a toast. "To Bo. We're so glad to have you back, son, and I can see now that you're going to be just fine." As the kids raised their glasses to the man of the hour, the Duke patriarch cleared his voice, indicating that he wasn't finished. "And to Bertha, where ever she may be." The Duke cousins all looked at each other, but Sandy hadn't understood exactly who he was referring to. "The Good Lord giveth and the Good Lord taketh away. He took away a BattleAxe, then gaveth a miracle worker. To Sandy."
"How'd you ever get into this?" Luke asked her.
"Accident, I guess, or fate. I knew that I wanted to work in medicine, just hadn't decided which field. I was working in the hospital at Duke as a tech when I got involved with a patient who had been in a car accident, and I found the more I worked with her, the more I was getting out of it."
"Did she recover, too?" Daisy asked.
Sandy thought back to the incident, letting the events run through her mind like a movie in fast forward. Everyone at the table was watching her, knowing that she wasn't with them anymore.
"Sandy?" Bo asked, bringing her back.
Emerald eyes looked at Bo, and smiled, liking the way he said her name. "Sorry," she apologized. "She wasn't as lucky as Bo," she said, wanting to drop the subject.
"So, how do you pick who you work with?" Daisy asked, not catching on that they should have changed the topic.
"Oh! That's easy!" Sandy remarked, sounding more like her old self. "They have to be male, blonde, and very good looking," she said, directing her comment at Bo, who snorted.
"Then how'd you take Bo, here?" Luke asked, regretting his words as soon as they escaped his lips. He'd always kidded Bo, but not since his cousin had almost died. He'd been operating from his protective mode, and that included sparing his best friend from even his own mouth. To his surprise, he heard Bo laugh at his joke. Glancing over at him, Luke saw him looking directly at him, his eyes thanking him for treating him in a more normal manner and assuring him that everything was all right.
Oblivious to the private conversation taking place between the boys, Sandy answered the question, "he fit the criteria." There wasn't anything funny about the way she had said it, and Bo's eyes darted in her direction, wondering if she had just complimented him.
"No, seriously," Daisy stammered, "how do you determine who you'll work with?"
"I do have guidelines," Sandy replied. "I take on the cases that are going to be the hardest, but that really have the best chance of total recovery. There's plenty of physical and speech therapists that can deal with minor or routine type injuries, but complex and serious ones don't have a lot of specialists. The one thing about those kinds of cases is that everyone is different, and each one has to have a customized plan. That makes it more interesting and more challenging. I don't work with patients whose injuries are permanent and irreversible anymore, because there isn't anything that you can really do for them, and they're often helped more by emotional counseling in learning how to deal with and accept what's happened to them. I like possibilities," she concluded.
"Well, you are certainly very good at what you do, so I think you made the right choice," Luke told her.
She thanked him as everyone agreed. "Because there's hope, I get to work with the best patients. Isn't that right, Bo?"
"Yes," he said, again surprising himself with another new word.
"I told you that you'd be a chatterbox in no time," she giggled.
Two months ago, Luke would have replied with a smart allec comment about how to shut his cousin up. Still regretting his earlier jibe, Luke stopped himself. This ordeal had taught him to never take anything for granted. Bo's constant talking used to drive him crazy at times, but it was nothing compared to the silence of the last few weeks.
