"So today we are going to have another go at walking the length of the bars!"

Bianca gave Frankie a sceptical look. Her body was slowly getting stronger and stronger. She now had the strength to power the hospital wheelchair she was confined to. It was the partial paralysis in left leg that was keeping her in it. She couldn't feel any part of it. When her girls asked her about it she described it like having a dead leg. The whole limb feeling like jelly after you sat on it too long. It was as close a description she could get.

She couldn't feel it at all. Sometimes she would sit and poke it at the strange border high on her thigh where sensation ended. She also couldn't move it very well, it didn't always do what she wanted and movement was very limited. No matter how much she concentrated she hadn't been able to wiggle her left toes properly. When she tried to stand she could feel the pressure of her foot on the ground in her hip but nowhere else. Walking was proving impossible – she had no balance. She had no idea if her foot was flat on the floor before she put her weight on it. Her knee kept bending unexpectedly, buckling under her mid step. As much as Bianca would love to be back on her feet again her left leg was holding her back by not holding her up.

"I have a little present for you first however." said Frankie in response to Bianca's doubtful glance.

He pulled from behind his back a leg brace. Bianca eyes widened at the cumbersome device in his hand.

"You think it will help me walk?" Bianca asked

"This is a loaner to see how you manage. If it does what I hope it will, then we can get you measured for your own."

Bianca scooted forward to the edge of her wheelchair, in order to give Frankie the access he needed to fit the brace. It consisted of an ugly blue sandal attached to two metal rods with a mechanical knee joint, all of which was fitted to her leg by large Velcro tabs around her calf and thigh.

"How does that feel?" asked Frankie as he finished fastening the last tab, and then balked when he realise what he said.

Bianca grinned at him, she was getting used to the saying that kept tripping people up.

"I can't tell you what it feels like… but I can tell you it looks hideous."

Frankie gave her an embarrassed smile.

"Shall we get you on your feet?"

"You bet!" said Bianca, hauling herself out of the chair with Frankie's help, before gripping onto the parallel bars.

The brace had passed the first test, she was standing.

"Try to take a step." said Frankie.

Bianca bit her lip in concentration as she looked down and willed her left leg to move forward.

She couldn't get her knee to bend.

"You need to put the pressure on the toe to release the knee joint." explained Frankie as he knelt beside her, moving her foot into a point which allowed her knee to bend and lift. Bianca took a step. She moved her right leg forward next; her arms supported the most of her weight.

"And again." said Frankie, sliding along a little beside her on his knees.

Bianca moved her arms a little further along the bars and steadied herself. It took a lot of concentration to point her toe and she felt the knee joint release so she could lift her knee and take a step, the joint going rigid again as she planted her foot on the ground. She swung her right leg quickly to take another step. Without waiting for Frankie's prompt she took another step, and another… Step after step. Her arms were trembling with effort, sweat poured down her back but Bianca couldn't take her eyes of the magical devise that was letting her walk. She only stopped when she ran out of parallel bars.

"Can you turn around." asked Frankie, he was just behind her; she guessed he was ready to catch her if she fell. Only she wasn't going to fall.

"I can try." said Bianca. She moved both hands onto the left bar and putting her weight on her braced left leg she used it as a pivot while she stepped round with her right leg. She didn't imagine she looked very graceful as she plonked her hands back onto both bars in order to regain her balance.

"That's excellent." said Frankie, now they were face to face she could see he looked genuinely impressed. "Do you think you can make it back to the chair?"

"Try and stop me!" said Bianca, determination in her eye.

Frankie ducked under the bar in order get out of her way as Bianca took her next step back towards the wheelchair waiting at the other end of the room. Bianca found herself grunting with effort at every step, but her goal was getting closer and closer.

"Point… bend… step…" She muttered like a mantra, "Point… bend… step…"

"You can do it!" cried Frankie, cheering her on from the side-lines.

Bianca finally reached the end of the bars but she didn't stop, she reached out with her right hand towards the chair, seeing her intent Frankie supported her left elbow as Bianca stepped away from the bars and walked towards her chair.

"That was incredible." said Frankie as he helped her sit back down.

"Yes it was." said Bianca, breathlessly.

She was utterly exhausted but she couldn't stop smiling – she could walk!

…