– Stand up on the foot.
Max put his foot on the floor and stepped on it for the first time in a long period of time.
– Do you feel pain?
– No, not at all. I feel like I am standing on the gypsum and not on the leg.
– Transfer your weight to the leg.
Maxim did what he was asked.
– Do you feel pain?
– No, everything is good!
– Sit down then, let’s take the gypsum off.
Doctor was mashing Maxim’s leg, which was blue. Feeling was very strange.
– Move your figures, and then move your foot. What do you feel?
– It does not feel like I am moving my leg.
– That is normal since you have not been using your leg for a while. Don’t worry! It will disappear soon. Try to stand on the healthy leg first. Like that, careful.
Maxim was standing on the healthy leg, lacking courage to stand on the broken one.
– It feels light that is so unusual.
– Step on it slowly.
Closing his eyes and feeling coldness, Max put the foot on the floor.
– Stand on both legs, what are you afraid of?
– Well, I am standing, – objected Maxim.
– Come on, don’t be scared – added his dad who was standing behind him. Next moment he felt acute pain, piercing him from head to toes. Not feeling anything, he fell on the floor and dropped the chair. His father tried to catch him, but Max, totally relaxed, bent and fell on the floor in the sitting position. Then the doctor and the father lifted him and waited for him to gain consciousness. It was getting back slowly. Maxim felt a pain which was more spiritual then physical. He understood its necessity and benefit. Suddenly he started to shake and suffocate. Opening eyes, Max saw a doctor, holding a piece of cotton with ammonia near his nose.
– Put it away please! I feel better!
– Where did you feel pain?
– Everywhere from head to toes, as if I was pinned down with a needle.
– You need to stay in bed now. You will have to learn again how to walk. Start with walking at home with the crutch. When you feel tired, go to bed right away, ok?
– Ok, I got it, I should start walking and have rest.
– Good job! Please remember not to give your leg extra work, because the fraction is covered only with a think layer of cartilage. If you break it, you’ll not be able to walk properly. Actually it will be good to be able to flex your leg after that. So take it seriously, you are an adult…
– Please don’t worry, I understood. I will use the crutches to get to the car and will start walking at home carefully and slowly.
– Don’t go outside yet, it is very slippery and dangerous there, so don’t even think about it. Take your time, nothing is going to happen with you. At the spring time, after the snow melts, you will be able to get outside.
– If the weather is good, can I at least go outside to sit on the bench near my house?
– Yes, you can. After a month it will be necessary for you to see me again. We’ll make an X-ray to see how your bone is healing. Don’t forget to do it, – said the doctor to the father more to the son, who already was at the door.
– Yes, I’ll take him to your office.
Maxim was jumping along the hospital hallways and everyone looked at him with surprise.
– Dad, don’t hold me, I can make it.
He became uncomfortable in the car: leg was used to the gypsum, and it was difficult for him to adjust to the change. Max decided that if he didn’t think about it, he would feel better…
– How are you feeling?
