Ed’s In Therapy

Bron parked as close to the front of the clinic as she could and trotted round to open the passenger door. She helped Ed swing his legs round and then held out her hand to steady him as he gingerly eased himself forward until his feet touched the ground.

"One day soon, honey, I'm gonna be the one running round to open the door for you."

"And don't think for one minute that I won't sit back and let you," Bron grinned. "Now, do you need help getting to the clinic?"

"No, sweet Bronwyn, I have to do this on my own. Depending on what Toni has in mind for me though, I may well need a hand getting back to the car."

Ed stopped by the front door and took a deep breath, mentally shaking off the fear he'd been harbouring over his first therapy session. Letting out his breath slowly he nodded to Bron, who opened the door and stood back to let him through.

Toni smiled and waved at Bron and noting Ed's slow progress she winked and nodded to her, hopefully letting her know Ed was going to be fine for the time she would have him.

"Good morning Ed, I'm glad to see you here, follow me into my...torture chamber," seeing the look on his face she laughed, "not really Ed I was only kidding. Since this is your first time I want you to know I'm going to be very easy with you...I don't hurt...I promise." Toni led him into a treatment room and got him settled in a comfy chair.

"I've looked over the doctor's orders and know the extent of your injuries, Ed...Now tell me what bothers you the most," she said quietly and sat down across from him.

"Man, what kind of therapist are you, Toni? I could answer that question in different ways," Ed smiled, wriggling in the chair until he found a good position. The pain from my hip is sometimes more than I can bear. I try to keep it from Bron, but I've got a feeling she knows. I guess the bullet bounced around in there like a pinball machine, ricocheting off the bones until it decided to lodge itself down deep."

Ed realised he was breaking out in a cold sweat and felt himself shaking. He gratefully accepted the glass of water that Toni held out to him.

"Pathetic, eh? A man in my profession shaking like a leaf just talking about things. You think I need emotional therapy as well as physical?"

Toni looked at Ed for a moment and smiled, "you brought it up didn't you so it’s on your mind. I will do what I can for the pain you have; you're going to see some relief Ed...This is not going to become a way of life with you. I don't know you well but I'd hazard to guess you've been a very physical man all your life and this disability is playing' with you big time. Pain is nothing to be ashamed of...we all suffer pain of some kind." Toni tossed the clipboard on the table.

"Men are the worst when it comes to pain...now a woman will moan and groan and cry but a man thinks he can't even acknowledge he has a pain. I'm going to touch you now I want to see what kind of motion you have from that shoulder injury." Toni moved his arm around and felt up and down his arm and across his shoulder. "Can you get up on the table?" she asked, "I like to feel where you hurt Ed, I do things a little differently than most therapists. Oh I'll give you some exercises to do but I'm a hands on kinda person." Toni stood back and watched how he moved from the chair to the table.

Ed sat silently, taking in what Toni had said. She was right; he had brought up the subject... Was it shame he was feeling, or was he just frustrated that he wasn't healing as fast as he used to? He was pulled from his thoughts when Toni stood in front of him, gently taking hold of his arm.

His shoulder was stiff through lack of use, but he was relieved when he realised that it wasn't actually painful when Toni manipulated it. He gave her a lopsided smile when she placed his hand back on the arm of the chair. The smile faded when she asked him to get up on the table though. Would he be able to do it?

Determined not to ask her for help, he managed to get up out of the chair with the help of his cane, and slowly inched his way to the table. How was he going to manage to get up onto it? He saw a low step just underneath and hooked it out with his cane. Wobbling a bit, he stepped up and tried to turn. The end result wasn't very pretty. He ended up falling onto the table in a less than elegant heap. He winced a bit when Toni helped get his legs straightened out.

"Sorry 'bout that. More of an ugly duckling than a stately swan. Do you want me to lay flat, or can I prop myself up a little?"

"What I'd like you to do is turn on your good side, I have a pillow to put between your knees, hey don't worry about finesse you got up there under your own speed and next time Ed say something like...can you bring the table down a bit...cause I can it's adjustable. I'm still learning what you can and cannot do on your own."

He was a mass of painful nerves his muscles tight all over his body, she could tell just by touching him here and there. Slowly she ran her hand over his hip and stopped lightly tapping, "this is the epicenter of your pain." That wasn't something she had to tell him of course but now she knew for herself. She never questioned how she could find pain, her hands told her and for Richie she could take it away. Just like her grandmother used to do for her father and for her.

Toni manipulated his leg around a little just to see, she kept her hand on the painful center as she moved it. "Do you have a whirlpool bath at home Ed?" she asked leaning over and pulling out a pair of cotton trunks. "I've got a special one here and have been dying to try it out, no pulling yourself in or out it’s got a special seat that raises you up and down and out. I'd like to put you in it for a little while so you can relax your muscles before we do anything else."

Ed mentally kicked himself for not asking Toni to help him onto the table. He told himself that he would be more open with her from now on. Why couldn't he be more open with Bron though? He tried to relax but his body remained as tight as a drum. He was anticipating the pain before it arrived. He jumped when Toni tapped the centre of his pain, even though her touch was feather light. When she started moving his leg he bit his bottom lip to try and stop yelping in pain. He looked at Toni and realised that she knew without being told just when and where the pain was.

He realised Toni was talking again and caught the word 'whirlpool'. Concentrating, he realised she was asking if he and Bron had one at home.

"Ah, no. We just have a normal tub. I guess if your state of the art contraption helps, we'll be placing an order with Jeff to have our own installed. I'm sure Bron would love it," Ed smiled glancing at the trunks Toni waved in front of his eyes.

Toni left Ed to change into the trunks and light cotton robe and got her whirlpool going at just the right temperature. It sat in a partitioned off section of its own with a view of the rolling hills beyond, the lighting was on a dimmer...everything she thought would induce a feeling of relaxation.

She walked slowly with him to the whirlpool and got him settled in. Bringing him a fresh glass of lemonade she left him dimming the lights.
"Don't go to sleep now and drown on me," she said over her shoulder.

She smiled to herself, no chance of that; she'd be looking in on him from the screen in her office. Meanwhile she walked over to see about Mrs. Weldon, an elderly lady that came in once a week to ride the bicycle.

Six minutes went by and she walked in her office to have a peek at Ed.

Ed was relieved when Toni left him alone to change, even though it was quite a struggle for him. Finally ready, he let Toni help him to the whirlpool and into the special seat that would lift him up and place him gently into the swirling warm water. He laughed when Toni warned him not to fall asleep and drown, no fear of that, he was way too tense to sleep.

Toni left him alone and sat there watching the bubbling water. It was just the right temperature, and he found himself slowly relaxing despite the nagging pain in his hip. "I think Bron would love one of these, only smaller," he thought to himself, wondering if they should have it in the bathroom or out on the deck area. He smiled, thinking of Bron in a hot tub under the stars.

Totally relaxed now, he rested his head back and closed his eyes enjoying the relief that the bubbling cauldron of warm scented water was affording him.

Toni watched him for a couple of minutes and satisfied he was just enjoying himself she attended some paperwork on her desk. Checking her watch she would give him twenty minutes.

Grabbing a couple of fluffy towels she walked back to the whirlpool and slowly brought the lights up. She smiled, "are you cooked?"
Toni planned to put him through the gentle exercises his doctor had ordered.

Toni's voice broke into Ed's subconscious and he realised that he'd almost fallen asleep. He looked at her and smiled. "Just medium rare, honey. I have to say that this has done wonders. I haven't felt so relaxed for ages. Is that it for the day?" he asked hopefully.

Toni grinned, "I'm afraid not Ed, we've got to go through a few exercises."  Toni helped him back to the room and she could tell he was feeling much better. After he dried off and dressed she came back in and didn't push but showed him a few gentle movements, "just think of yourself as a dancer Ed, slowly we lift turn and back." His movements were restricted but at least he was trying. That hip of his was going to take a lot of work. Toni moved behind his chair and gave him a deep shoulder massage to try and loosen up his movements.

"Now we can call it a day Ed, you've done really well for the first time. We'll set you up for twice a week and look here we've finished about on time," she smiled, "I'll bet Bron is out front waiting for you...show off a little Ed," she said encouragingly as he stood up.

Ed smiled at Toni's remark and took a deep breath as they walked towards the door. Sure enough, Bron was waiting for him and gave him one of her special dazzling smiles as she stood up to take his cane across the room.

"No need for that, honey. I'm gonna try and get to you without it."

And slowly but surely, that's what he did, although he grabbed the cane when he reached Bron and a light coating of sweat was beading across his brow.

"Hi Bron, watch him today, he's feeling pretty good right now but don't let him over do it. He did good and I think we can make some real and lasting progress, he's got to take it slowly though. Are you listening to this Ed?" she smiled. "Twice a week Bron," Toni handed her the appointment schedule and patted Ed on the back.