The Truth in the Stars

Part 14: Wrong Cord

"Mark! We have to go!" my mom screamed as she ran inside.

I ran down the stairs.

"Why? What happened?"

"Your dad had an accident. He's okay, but he's in the hospital," she responded.

"What!" I stammered.

"We'll talk on the way there."

As I got in the car I couldn't help but assume the worst, but even that was not what I would find. My mom explained the situation to me. My dad had been at work and had tried to lift something too heavy for him, and fell over onto another stone block. The object he was carrying wedged him against the block injuring his spinal-chord.

When we pulled up to the hospital we practically ran inside.

"We're here to see Mr. Murray!" my mom said quickly.

"I'm sorry, but he can't have any visitors yet," the lady at the counter said. "You can wait here until then though."

My mom thanked her, and we took a seat at one of the open benches. We didn't say much to each other, as both of us were too worried about my dad to talk. We waited there until it was dark, and my mom asked to see Mr. Murray again.

They walked us back through the hallways until we reached his room. My dad was lying on a bed, his wide figure limp. The nurse left us, and went to get the doctor to explain the situation.

"Hey, Charlie," my mom said shakily, almost crying.

She knelt next to him and held his hand between hers. He didn't move his body, but his eyes drifted towards her.

"Hey. I'll be okay, just not the same," he cried.

I stood back, knowing he couldn't see me yet. I didn't know what he meant. He must have gotten hurt worse than he looked.

My mom was crying when the doctor came in.

"Are you his family?" he asked as I examined his name tag.

I could see my mom was trying to wipe her tears away so I responded, "yes."

He closed the door and began his explanation and diagnosis.

"I assume you already know about the accident. When Mr. Murray was wedged between the blocks his spinal-chord was damaged. When it was damaged it also damaged some of his nerves. Mr. Murray, I believe you already know this, but you won't be able to walk again. You were paralyzed from the waist down. He'll have to stay here for a while while we watch him recover from the initial trauma. Mr. Murray will have to learn the basic skills again so that he can live with the injury on his own."

I couldn't believe it. What would we do? He wouldn't be able to walk or even work at his job anymore. I walked over and sat next to my mom so he could see me. He glanced at me and smiled.

"I'll be okay."

"No, you aren't! You can't even walk anymore!" I cried.

He tried to hold his smile, but gave in.

"I know, but you have to understand that I still have the things that matter most, Lillie and you," he consoled.

I'm not sure if he was consoling me or himself. Maybe all of us. My mom eventually stopped crying.

"How long are you gonna be stuck here?" she asked.

"Until recovery. Even then I'll probably have to come back to learn how to do some other skills, and have check-ups."

"I'll visit you as much as I can. I promise."

"I do too," I added. "I'll come after track."

He smiled again. I tried to smile too, but all that came out were tears. I could never imagine something like this could happen to me. I guess you could call it lucky that he's even alive. I thought about all the choices I had made. What if I had told him that I had entered the talent show? What if I had made better choices?

"I saw your performance  on the news today. You sounded really good, even though the audio on the video wasn't great," he smiled.

"Thanks dad. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was going to but..."

I stopped, thinking about what had stopped me from telling him. It was so stupid. I wished I had told him before all this happened. I cried with my mom, thankful that my dad was alive and upset with myself.