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"Rate your pain level"
The physical therapist assigned to me questioned pointing at a chart with different smiley faces to rate my pain from low to high, I shrugged looking at him with an annoyed look.
"What pain? I'm paralyzed"
"Your wound, I'm asking about your abdomen"
It was still slightly tender while it healed from surgery, I pointed at the three on the chart letting the physical therapist take it down on a clip board.
"Let me start off with an introduction, my name is Rodney Washington I'm from Crenshaw and your husband asked me to help with your physical therapy for the next six months, do you have and questions or concerns for me?"
"Six months for therapy? can I get it done quicker then that?"
I wasn't ready to spend a half year or even more trying to learn how to walk all over again, I had things to do and work to be done.
"I can't say it's all up to your body and how fast it takes to therapy and we can only start off slightly slow because of your wound steal healing up, we don't want to disturb that and cause any further damage"
I looked down at my phone waiting to see if a text or call would come through from Ermias, he knew about my first day of rehab and was suppose to come for support.
"How hard is this?"
"I won't feed you lies and tell you it's going to be easy but it is rewarding once you get to the end of it, day one especially is the hardest and pain will be unbearable at times but I won't push you pass what you can handle" I checked my phone once more sitting it to the side and nodding.
"Alright, I'm ready"
Rodney smiled walking behind me to wheel me to the therapy room, it was embarrassing for me to be pushed around like this and I was angry that I was in this position because a white cop was mad that he couldn't intimidate me.
"I'm going to lay out this mat and I'll start with stretching your legs out to avoid leg spasms"
"My legs can still move even though I'm paralyzed?" I was so confused at all of this and it made me frustrated that I was by myself doing this when I was a newly married woman.
"Not exactly it's really your spinal cord isn't able to relay nerve signals to your brain"
Rodney pushed away my foot rest on the wheelchair standing in front of me he put his arms underneath mine helping me up slowly and lowering me down to the purple mat on the floor.
"Kierra just understand your injury isn't permanent and can be corrected with extensive therapy, like your husband says it's not a sprint it's a marathon"
Little did Rodney know that I needed to hear Ermias words for myself in person, yes he was doing a lot already with running all his businesses and trying to get justice for me but right now I just needed him to step away and come see about me.
