Bianca felt strange. She was just waking up from surgery and wondered if it was the effect of the drugs, but something felt odd and she couldn't place it.
As she opened her eyes she smiled, the tedious white ceiling tiles above her head were now obscured by three pictures that the children had brought her before the operation. They had promised to draw her a new picture everyday so she never got bored with the view.
Miranda had painted a picture of herself riding on her pony Dexter with lots of apple trees in the background.
AJ had done a picture of the new house, the one they hadn't even had a chance to move into yet. He had drawn everyone outside looking very happy, Bianca, Marissa, Miranda, AJ and Gabby.
Finally there was the large orange and green blob which Gabby had proudly proclaimed was a pussy cat. Well, it did sort of have a tail.
Bianca was lost starring at the ceiling and thinking of her children when she heard a sob. Bianca recognised the quiet tears instantly.
"Kendall?" she called out.
Kendall's tear stained face appeared to the right of her. She looked awful; her face was pale and gaunt.
"Oh Kendall," Bianca sighed, troubled by her sister's obvious grief. "I just want to give you a hug. I'm so sorry about Zack!"
"I'm sorry too." sobbed Kendall. "I should have been here – it's just I… I didn't know. You and mom you've been all alone in all this. I'm so sorry."
Kendall held Bianca's hand to her cheek; planting a kiss on it before laying it back down on the bed.
Bianca was about to tell her sister that she had been anything but alone, with all the support from friends and family - but instead Bianca gasped. Her heart raced - she had felt the kiss!
She began to recognise the strange feeling that had been bothering her since she woke up. She knew what it was. She was feeling; the pressure of the mattress beneath her, the warmth of the covers over her chest - she could feel!
"Do that again?" Bianca begged.
"What?"
"Take my hand again?" Bianca cried. "I think I felt it!"
Kendall looked down confused, and then looked back up, her eyes wide with realisation.
"But Griffin told me you were paralysed! You can feel that? You can feel me holding your hand?"
"Yes!" gasped Bianca.
"Oh my god!" cried Kendall, "Your fingers moved!"
The grief that had been haunting her face vanished in an instant replaced with a look of pure joy. Kendall reached for the call button by the bed. She pressed it over and over again, a doctor needed to see this. - A nurse hurried into you room.
"She can feel!" cried Kendall, "She said she can feel me holding her hand and she moved her fingers."
…
David was by her side in an instant. He was cautious though and demanded caution from everyone else. But Bianca couldn't afford to be, this had to be real, this had to be happening. She had to get out of this bed to be near her children, to visit her mother, to sit by Marissa's bedside and hold her hand.
David began to examine her, starting by recreating the incident.
"Tell me when you feel anything." He said and almost at once there was a sharp pain on her right hand.
"Ouch!" she cried, surprised at the intensity of the sensation.
"That's very good." said David. "Can you try and move your fingers again."
Bianca starred at him; she wasn't sure how she had made her fingers move. Bianca reached inside herself. She thought of all the times she had held Marissa's hand, how perfectly their fingers melded together. She tried to imagine her fingers flexing and tried to force her body to obey
"Excellent." said David and he held up Bianca's hand so she could see. She concentrated intensely on her right hand and suddenly her fingers twitched. It took so much effort to produce that tiny movement, but it felt wonderful.
"Bianca, I'm going to examine the rest of you, okay? - Starting with the feet."
"Okay!"
Kendall who been standing back to allow the doctor to examine her sister, moved forward again to take her sister by the hand. A delighted grin plastered on her tear stained face.
"I want you to wiggle your toes Bianca. Wiggle them as hard as you can."
So Bianca concentrated on wiggling her toes. She closed her eyes and thought of a day at the seaside with her children and pushing her toes into the warm wet sand.
"Excellent." said David again. Bianca opened her eyes, a triumphant smile on her face, but then she noticed Kendall looking concerned.
"Tell me when you can feel any pressure." said David, just as Bianca was about to open her mouth to ask Kendall what was wrong. The sensation wasn't quite as quick as before, but there was a sudden sharp pain on her right leg.
"Ouch." she said.
"Okay and again." said David and once again there was a long pause before another three sharp pains moved along her right leg.
"Ouch, ouch, and ouch." She said playfully.
David smiled.
"Very good Bianca." said David. "Now I'd like to examine your left arm."
"Sure." said Bianca, wondering why he hadn't thought to test her left leg.
"I want you to close your eyes and tell me when you feel anything."
Bianca closed her eyes and waited. David seemed to be playing the same game as before, delaying the pinch so it would be more of a surprise. Bianca waited for the stab of pain.
"Okay, Bianca you can open your eyes now."
Bianca blinked her eyes open in surprise.
"But you haven't even…" began Bianca, and then she realised what was wrong.
"Bianca, the good news is you seem to have good sensation and some movement on your right side."
"But she's still paralysed on her left." said Kendall sadly.
"It's a partial paralysis, and you both have to remember that this is very early days. You are still on the road to recovery, Bianca. I am surprised you have this much muscle awareness and control so soon after surgery, that's a miracle in itself. Your nerves are still knitting back together and there are still further options for another surgical procedure down the road. But for now I want to have you work hard with a physiotherapist and give it time. We will wait and see what happens."
"I think this is wonderful." said Bianca, and she meant it. "I thought I would never feel anything again. This is amazing." Bianca paused for a moment, surprising her sister with a warm smile. "Everything is going to be alright Kendall, I just know it."
...