Chapter 9

Angela 

Angela is in her office when suddenly there’s a rapid knocking that comes from the door. “Come in!” she responds.

Sebastian comes in with Skye following behind him. “Angela,” he says, “will you at her leg? She’s been limping on it for a while now.”

“Yes, I noticed that she was injured when she first got here. Will you lay down on the couch, sweetheart?”

“O…okay,” Skye whispers. Skye walks over to the couch and lays down.

“May I touch your leg, sweetheart?” Skye nods. Angela gently grasps onto Skye’s leg and tries to pinpoint where it’s the most painful. When Angela touches Skye’s ankle, Skye cries out in pain.

“Ah, sorry, sweetheart. Is there anyone else that is tender?”

“My h…hip, I s…sort of b…broke i…it. I d…don’t k…know if it h…healed p…properly.”

“May I examine it?”

“O…okay.” Angela gently begins to examine Skye’s hip. A few seconds after she starts Skye flinches away from her, due to pain. “S…sorry,” Skye mumbles.

“It’s okay. What’s your pain level most of the time with your hip and ankle?”

“Erm…”

“Don’t lie to me. I can’t help you if you lie.”

“An eight or nine?”

“Are you sure?”

“Y…yes…”

“Will you please walk around the room for me?” Skye nods and stands up and begins to limp around the room.

Angela sighs. “Sweetheart, come with me. I need to get x-rays of your ankle and hip.”

Sebastian looks worriedly at Skye. “Will it h…hurt?” Skye asks, softly.

“No,” Angela answers, “I promise it won’t hurt.”

“O…okay.”

Angela begins to guide Skye to a different room. Sebastian follows quietly behind them. Halfway there, Skye reaches out and grasps onto Angela’s hand. Angela looks startled, but doesn’t withdraw her hand from Skye’s.

After a while, they arrive at room with a big machine in it. Skye whimpers softly and hides behind Dr. Graylen. “Sweetheart, lay down on the examination table. I promise it won’t hurt. It just looks scary.”

“I n…need help,” Skye whimpers quietly.

“Come here,” Sebastian says, “I’ll give you a boost.” He walks over to her and gently helps her onto the examination table.

“Alright, just hold still for a few seconds,” Angela says. There’s a clicking noise and then Angela appears again. “All done.”

“T…that’s it?” Skye asks.

“Yes, now let’s look at your x-ray.” Angela brings a picture of Skye’s x-rays over to her. “It seems like you have some pretty bad scar tissue on your hip and your ankle. I’m not sure what you did to cause such bad scar tissue, but hopefully physical therapy will help lessen the pain. If i can find a pain medication that’s safe for you to take while you’re pregnant I’ll let you know.”

Skye looks relieved. “Th…thank you,” she whispers.

“I’ll introduce you to one of our physical therapists. She’ll help you manage your pain level better than I can right now.” Skye nods in understanding. Angela’s eyes glaze over as she mindlinks one of the physical therapists. “Come with me,” she says after a few minutes, “I’ll introduce you to your therapist now.”

Skye takes Angela’s hand again and follows her to yet another room. Sebastian quietly follows behind them. “D…doctor?” Skye mumbles, sounding strained.

Angela stops, “What is it, sweetheart?”

“Y…you’re moving too fast.”

“Ah, sorry.” Angela leads her to a room that has a lot of space. There’s a young woman in the room, talking to someone. “Anne,” Angela says, “come here.”

“Dr. Graylen?” Anne responds, “What do you need?”

Angela points to Skye. “This is Skye. She needs physical therapy on her ankle and hip. She has really bad internal scarring that’s causing her to be in a great deal of pain.”

“Alright,” Anne replies, “May I take a look?”

Skye looks uncertainty at Angela. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” Angela encourages her, “You can trust Anne.” Angela leads Skye to a couch that’s in the room. “Sweetheart, sit down.”

Skye sits down on the couch. Anne begins to look at her ankle. “You’re ankle looks a bit swollen,” Anne states, “May I touch your ankle?”

“O…o…okay,” Skye whispers. Anne gently begins to examine Skye’s ankle. Skye grips onto the couch so hard that her knuckles turn white. “Ouch!”

“Sorry, kiddo.” She turns to Angela. “I’m afraid all I can do to help is therapy to reduce pain levels. It’s been too long since the injury happened for me to guarantee a full recovery.”

Angela sighs. “That’s what I was worried about. Excuse me, I have to go and look for a medication that she can take while she’s pregnant.” Angela leaves the room.

“E…erm…” Skye mumbles, uncertainty.

“Are you able to sit on the floor?” Anne asks.

“Y…yes,” Skye answers. She slides off the couch and onto the floor. Anne begins to show Skye some stretches that would help manage her pain.

“How does that feel?” Anne asks as she gently stretches Skye’s leg.

“Ooh, t…that feels g…good.”

“Good, let me know if it starts to hurt, so I can stop.” Skye nods her head.