Kurt had promised Blaine ever since the very first night at the hospital that he was going to be there for him every step of the way until he was able to walk again. His doctors weren't sure at first how long it would take for him to get moving again, but they were both willing to do whatever it took.
After two weeks in the hospital they transferred him to a rehabilitation center at the NYU medical center. He stayed there for the rest of his recovery, and Kurt stayed every night with him. He had to leave before Blaine woke up so that he could go home to get ready for work, but Isabelle let him leave at lunch to go spend the rest of the day with his boyfriend.
His progress was slow, and it was hard for them to be patient sometimes. It started with his toe twitching. Just two weeks after he got hurt, Blaine was moving it all on his own, and he drew his leg back when the nurse poked the bottom of his foot. It was something so little, just a wiggling toe, but it was improvement.
He had his fair share of setbacks, too. Naturally he had pain from his fractured neck. At least he wasn't paralyzed from his neck down. The first two weeks they spent in the first hospital were the worst. Blaine was in horrible pain and was exhausted from the strong medicine he was on, so he didn't do much besides sleep. When they transferred him he started to do a lot better. He didn't sleep as much, and they got him sitting up. He sat in a power chair and pushed himself up and down the hallways. Kurt loved watching him get better and better each day. There really was a light at the end of the tunnel.
Blaine's parents and sister flew from Lima to be with him. Kurt spent his first night back at the apartment in weeks. He'd stayed with Blaine every single night since the beginning. It felt good to actually be in a bed, but he missed his boyfriend. He'd just seen him hours before, but he missed him.
Three weeks and two days since he got hurt, the therapists at the hospital got him sitting on a stationary bike. He could only push with his right leg, but it was better than no legs. He could only do it for half an hour before he became exhausted. Kurt and a doctor helped him back to his room, and he took a three hour nap.
The day after he started on the bike, he was able to move his left leg. He couldn't wiggle his toes, but he could turn his ankle and bend his knee. They celebrated with Nutella cupcakes from the bakery down by the apartment.
"Kurt," Blaine said one night. Kurt had been so worn out that he didn't hear him at first. Blaine poked his thigh, and he sat up, confused at first.
"Huh? What's wrong? Do you need me to get your nurse?" he asked.
"No," he reassured him quickly. "I'm fine. I was thinking. Did you mean what you said when you wouldn't leave me? Because I know that guy from Vogue likes you. You could be with him, and my parents could take care of me for the rest of my life. I really want to get better so we can go home, I just didn't know it would be so slow." Kurt pressed his lips together and squeezed his hand.
"Don't worry about how long it takes," Kurt told him. "Whether you're walking again in three months or three years, I'm not going to leave you. All your medical bills are paid for. The court said we don't have to pay a dime for you. I don't want to be with anyone else, Blaine. I'm barely going in to work so that I can be with you. Don't think that I'm going to leave you. We're going to both walk out of here, and you're going to be just fine. I'll be here every day with you until that happens."
Kurt looked down at Blaine after his little lecture and realized he was crying. Kurt brushed the tears away with his thumb and kissed his cheek. His boyfriend had never been very emotional, but the last few weeks had taken a toll on both of them.
"I love you," Blaine said quietly. Kurt stroked his hair and kept on holding his hand.
"I love you, too," he said back to him. And he meant it. He wouldn't go through everything they'd been through with just anyone. They were going to be okay, no matter how things turned out.
Four weeks after the accident Blaine could stand up. He was in a stander, so he was heavily supported, but he was putting weight on his legs. It hurt his back to stand up, so they only had him do it for fifteen minutes a day. It was progress. There was a pool on the ground floor, so a therapist took Blaine down so he could stand in the water. He did a lot better there, and he could stand for over half an hour.
Ever since their conversation late that one night, Kurt had remained one hundred percent supportive of Blaine, but he tried to step back and be a boyfriend rather than a caretaker. Blaine had doctors and nurses and therapists for that. His legs were getting stronger every day, and he could lift them up when he was sitting on the edge of his bed. They'd gotten him started walking in the pool, and with heavy support on a treadmill. His right leg had always been stronger than his left, but he was bearing weight on both of them. Blaine's family came and went whenever they could, but airline bills racked up quickly. Kurt tried to compensate by bringing his laptop to the hospital and letting Blaine Skype his parents, which worked out nicely.
Blaine's progress remained steady. He walked in the pool and on the treadmill. He sat up independently and fed himself again. He could raise his arms above his head. Kurt started spending more and more time away from work to be with him, but Blaine forced him to go. Most of his day was filled with therapy, but Kurt wanted to be there with him. He felt like he was missing out on seeing all of his improvements.
On the days that he got to see Blaine all day, there was no telling how things would go. Sometimes he would do great, and Kurt would stay overnight with him and they would talk until Blaine fell asleep. Some days Blaine was in so much pain he couldn't stand up. His doctors said that was to be expected, and that setbacks were inevitable. It didn't help that he got the flu, either. Kurt stayed with him for three days straight, and got maybe ten hours of sleep total. Blaine was in pain all over and had a fever of 102 and there was nothing Kurt could do to help him. It was hell, but they got through it. Once his fever broke, Blaine slept for twelve hours straight, and then he said he was starving. It took him about a week to get back the strength he had lost, but then he was back at it.
Slowly, they got him walking with only minimal support. He held onto a bar on either side of him, and Blaine walked fifteen feet to Kurt. A doctor went right behind him, and he almost fell, but he regained his balance. Kurt remembered hugging him at the end and telling himself not to cry. Blaine didn't cry. He just wanted to sit down. Kurt knew they were getting out of there soon.
"Kurt, I really hate this," Blaine stated one day out of the blue. He was supposed to be taking a nap, but he insisted he couldn't go to sleep. "I don't mean this," he gestured to the hospital room. "When's the last time you slept at home? When I was sick you were up all night with me. You still have a life, too, you know. Go see a musical or something with Rachel. Are you going to the Vogue fashion show this weekend? You haven't said anything about it. I only heard about it on Twitter."
Kurt sighed. In all honesty, he'd put his entire life on hold the minute Blaine got hurt. Isabelle understood he couldn't make it to the fashion show. He hadn't talked to Rachel in weeks. He hadn't slept in his own bed since the last time Blaine's family had visited.
"Blaine, it's fine," he assured him. "I don't mind spending time here with you. What else would I do? I don't want to leave you."
"Go to the fashion show," Blaine begged. "It's one day. And sleep at home the night before so you can get some real rest. Please? For me?" Kurt looked down. Blaine had plenty of doctors around that would let Kurt know if something came up. Sleeping at home did sound nice.
"I'll think about it," he told him. "Fair enough?" Blaine smiled, and Kurt bent down to give him a kiss. Once he finally fell asleep, Kurt went out into the hall and called his dad to get his advice. He was really uncomfortable leaving Blaine for a full day. His dad told him he needed to do it.
"You need to live your life, Kurt. Blaine's doing so well. You should be able to get out and do something enjoyable for one day without feeling guilty. Your boss needs you. Blaine needs you, too, but nothing bad will happen to him while you're gone. He'd probably enjoy a little alone time. You need to do this, Kurt. For you and for Blaine."
That was all the convincing he needed. Kurt hung up and called Isabelle. She was surprised to hear from him, but said she could really use his help for the weekend. Kurt was glad to get to go, even if he was nervous about leaving Blaine.
But he did. He slept at home, and he never wanted to leave his bed. He went to the fashion show, and he told Blaine all about it when he got back to the hospital. He was doing so good, and Kurt was sad he missed out on him having a good day, but he knew he had made the right choice.
Blaine kept making steady progress. His walking got better and better everyday. His balance wasn't so good, but his therapist worked with him daily on it. With some support to make sure he didn't fall, Blaine could bear all of his weight and walk with arm crutches. He was pretty fast, too. He walked down and back the hallway, and Kurt let himself cry when he made it to him.
Since he went to the fashion show, Kurt was more confident with leaving Blaine alone for periods of time. He went to work from eight to five two days a week, and he slept at home one night a week. Blaine seemed just fine with it, so Kurt finally stopped hovering so much.
Two months to the day after he got hurt, Blaine's doctor said he was going to be able to go home soon. He had two full weeks of rehab left, and they were confident that Blaine could be walking with just arm crutches by then. His therapy became more intense, and it ranged from walking to swimming to climbing stairs. It was physically exhausting for Blaine, and Kurt just wanted to leave the hospital and never go back.
Kurt got everything ready at home for Blaine to come back. He made sure there was nothing he could possibly trip over, and he bought all of his favorite foods to make. It was going to feel weird, both of them finally living back at home again.
The day Blaine got to come home felt like a dream. Kurt had been so discouraged about his recovery, but he made it. It took him a little bit to pack everything up, since he had done his best to make Blaine's room as cozy as possible. Blaine walked out of the hospital, one arm using a crutch, and one arm linked tightly with Kurt's, and they didn't look back.
Author's Notes:
Yay Blaine is better! I felt like yesterday's drabble was pretty quick, so I hope this one kind of gives you a little glimpse into his recovery.
I based this off of lots of personal experience. A girl in my town got hurt like Blaine did on a trampoline, and she broke her neck and was paralyzed. I joined a group on Facebook for her and got to see all of these videos of her learning to walk again and biking and swimming, so I kind of based Blaine in this story off of her, medically speaking. I've never written anything like this before, and I tried my best to write them in character as much as possible.
Also, I work at a preschool for kids with special needs, so I'm around physical therapists a lot. They have standers, a zillion different types of wheelchairs, parallel walking bars, etc. of course, they're meant for young kids, but it was easier to write when I knew a little bit of what I was talking about.
Lastly, I have an uncle who is paralyzed. He has brain cancer and is paralyzed on his right side. He and my aunt had to renovate their house to make things accessible to him, but Blaine in this story recovers relatively quickly, so he's able to move around their little apartment just fine after he gets used to it.
Geez, I've been rambling. I get started on my personal life and I just don't shut up. I hope you liked this! I'm off to fill prompts.