Physical Therapy

All names, locations and references are fictional. The story may contain some mildly graphic descriptions of injuries and mention of death.

This a long read at 34k+ words, but felt it worked better as a single story than several smaller ones.

Physical Training is PT and every Marine will know what that means. The same could be said for Physical Therapy, especially for those that deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Of course, depending on what types of therapy, the person helping could easily be described as a Physical Terrorist.

I met my wife while I was in Physical Therapy for the second time. Technically we had met while I was there the first time, but she wasn't willing to engage beyond the scope of our professional interaction.

Meeting Desiree.

She had a very formal, professional shell that I was able to break through with some humor. That's pretty much my personality, I use humor to break the ice with everyone. I remember the day she got assigned to be my Physical Therapist for the second time. She was looking at my chart as she walked over to me and looked at me and said, "You again?"

I smiled, "They said this was the only way I could see you again."

She said in a very matter of fact fashion, "I don't date patients."

"I'm lucky, I'm not just any patient, I'm a repeat patient."

She sort of laughed, "So Mr. Smith, what brings you back to me?"

"The obvious answer is your smile and the fact that you're beautiful. But your leadership said that it had to be business related so I found a way to come back to see you."

She laughed out loud at that. "Okay, okay. Physically, what brings you back?"

I pulled my shorts up slightly and watched her smile.

"Petty Officer, I'm not certain what you were hoping to see, but I was referring to the scars on my thighs."

"Wow. I was also checking out your shin. I see you have a plate on your tibia. How's that feeling?"

"I can put some weight on it now, but not my full weight and not for too long at a time. That I'm getting used to, however my quads are crazy tight. I'm guessing the shrapnel cut it pretty deep and maybe when they stitched me up, it wasn't quite aligned properly or something."

"Give me a few, I want to pull your full record and see what they did. Have a seat here, or if you want, head over to the table by the window. I'll be back shortly."

I went over and sat on the table and was really loving the feeling of the sun coming in.

"I checked your record and they had to remove some portions of some muscles in your legs due to the infections. Looks like you were in Germany for about four months as they fought to get them under control, wow. When they finally stitched you back up, there were some muscles that were a bit shorter than they used to be. That's an easy fix luckily. As you recall from your last visit, easy fixes don't mean pleasant or painless. We'll have to work on getting mobility back in your legs. You have some atrophy as well and we can work on that once you can load your weight back on both of your legs."

"I'm going to start with some Ultrasonic massage therapy on your upper legs to start to get them to loosen a bit and then we can start with some basic stretches and eventually progress towards building some muscle and getting your strength back. How's that sound? First, how's your right calf doing? I know we put a lot of work into that for you last time."

"The right calf is doing well, luckily. Especially now that it's now my good leg. All good, so long as you are my Therapist." I winked at her which made her smile.

She was a gorgeous woman. Dark skin and black hair, with a stunning figure, or it certainly seemed that way from what I could see in her uniform. As we got to know each other a bit more over the following weeks, I learned that her accent was from Puerto Rico. She had joined the Navy to get away from home. I shared that I had spent two years in college, but wasn't happy and needed other challenges, so I joined the Marine Corps.

During one of our appointments, she was using the Ultrasonic massage tool on my upper thighs and the inevitable happened, I got an erection. "Uh Petty Officer Gonzalez, do you have a towel that I can use?"

"Sure, why do you need a..., oh. I see."

I was trying my best to apologize, but she was understanding. "Tell you what, how about we do some stretches for now? If I give you a towel and you only have it around your waist, that will draw more attention and that could easily result in a reassignment of patient to therapist, okay? At least I got your right quad warmed up. Lay back and bring your feet up, bending your knees, keeping them together, okay."

"There, I'm sure you'll feel better knowing that you're not being so obvious, but of course, I'll not have the same view..."

I looked her in the eyes and I'm pretty sure I saw her face color change. She looked down and asked me to bring my feet even closer to my butt. I could feel my quads tighten up.

"How's that feeling?"

"Tight."

"Since you can't put too much weight on your left leg, we can start with some seated quad stretches for now. I'll also show you how you can do these while laying on your side using a resistance band as well."

"Thank you, especially for being understanding earlier. It wasn't intentional, I had sort of zoned out and well... I'm sorry."

"You're good. It happens occasionally, perhaps not as obvious as what I saw earlier, but it happens." She smiled at me and started to teach me a new set of stretches.

"Do they have you at the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Pendleton?"

"Yep. I've already been counseled on the potential for a Med Board, but that's not really my plan at the moment."

"You've got two Purple Hearts, what are your plans? I'm hoping it's not a third one..."

I could sense some pain in her voice.

"Sure as hell not looking for a third one. I've had enough of the challenge and adventure of being a grunt. Once I've recovered enough to pass a PFT, I'll submit a request for reenlistment and a lateral move to a new MOS. I'm hoping for something that has more of a technical skill involved that might carry over to a life outside of the Marine Corps. How about you, what plans do you have?"

"Good for you! I've gotten most of my bachelors degree done. My goal is to get my Master's of Science in Nursing and join the Nurse Corps as an Officer."

"From Petty Officer to Ma'am, I love it... Ma'am."

She had a big grin. "Enough of that for now. I'll go get a resistance band for you to take back with you and we'll get your next appointment scheduled. If you're ready, go change and meet me back up by the front desk."

I had made it back up there when I saw her talking with one of the department doctors. They called me up and asked me about the plate in my left leg and suggested that I get an x-ray, so that they could confirm that it was healing as expected so that they could progress my therapy to start on some strength and stability training.

I agreed and Petty Officer Gonzalez asked me if I had gotten X-rays at Balboa before, I shook my head, "not here... yet." Both her and the Doctor got a laugh out of that and he suggested that she escort me to the X-ray lab.

I had thrown my crutches down as soon as I could bear some weight on my leg and while I hated the cane, I hated the crutches even more. I always felt really self conscious using either one, especially in uniform.

I could see her looking at me occasionally, I felt it was probably her duty to make sure I was able to make it and not hurt myself. She also noticed when I loaded my left leg a bit too much and winced from the pain.

"Are you doing okay?"

"Yep, just put a bit too much weight on it. Still getting used to the cane."

"You're doing good. Of course, I can get you a wheelchair..."

"Didn't you have to take a Hippocratic oath or something, being mean to me can't be part of that.."

"For your information, that oath is for doctors... but we do have an oath of sorts that we take. Plus, I wasn't being too mean, just suggesting an alternative if you wanted it."

I smiled, "It all makes sense now. You're trying to get rid of me... I understand. I'm taking too long to get to the X-ray department..."

She looked at me. "My oath prevents me from smacking you right now, but let's just say that's what crossed my mind."

"If that keeps me coming back to see you, then I'm good with the beating."

I was almost giggling and it made her start as well. "Jack, I've requested that your next appointment is with me, and before you get any ideas, it's mostly related to continuity of care..."

I loved hearing her call me Jack. "Mostly... I'm guessing being a repeat customer has some bonuses, am I right?"

"Calm down Devil Dog. No bonuses for you!"

We were both laughing when we got to the X-ray department. "Corporal Smith, when you finish, please stop by Phys Therapy before you leave." She checked me in and explained that they should have a request pending for my X-rays.

They brought me back and asked if I had any shorts or needed a gown. I said I had shorts under my cammies and said I could change pretty quickly when they were ready. They gave me a few minutes to change and then came back in.

The X-ray tech was a young guy and he was looking at my leg and asked several questions. I explained that a piece of shrapnel had hit the tibia and took a wedge shaped chunk and that had caused a compound fracture and they decided to plate it to stabilize it when I was in Germany.

He said it seemed a bit premature to be in physical therapy until my leg healed. I pulled my shorts up a bit and showed him the scars across both legs. "Due to an infection, they removed some muscle and that left both quads and probably some other muscles a bit shorter. Phys Therapy has been helping me to stretch them back out and once I am able, I can start building muscle and strength."

I think he felt bad about how he had said that. When I got up on the table he asked about my right calf and the huge scar on it. "I got shot the first time I was in Iraq. Luckily, the bullet missed bone, but pretty much blew the calf off my leg. Just about the only thing that held it on was my Achilles tendon. That was a painful recovery compared to this one so far."

He surprised himself when he said in almost disbelief, "Damn." He started to apologize.

"You're good. I still feel that way when I see it as well. I think that my skin tone and the fact that there's some keloid scar tissue make it look a bit more gruesome than it actually is. The good news is that once I recovered, I was able to run a perfect PFT. I'll be able to do the same once I recover from this one as well. I'm just hoping that I don't need to get shot or blown up a third time, my luck is running out as the the injuries keep moving up my body."

We both laughed a little and he got my X-rays finished and said that they'd be sent to the requesting doctor. I shook his hand and thanked him and hobbled back to the Phys Therapy Dept.

Once I got there Petty Officer Gonzalez was at the front desk and she smiled when she saw me and asked me to have a seat. I sat there and watched her talking with the Doctor and the Lead Nurse. She then opened the door and pushed a wheelchair out. "Corporal Smith, since you were having some pain with your cane, we can use this to get you to your car for now. Okay?"

I stood and started to protest when she winked at me. "Okay, I'll take the wheelchair this time. Thank you."

She held it while I got seated and then put the foot rests down for me and pushed me over to the front desk. She reached over and grabbed the resistance band, and some documentation and handed them to me. She was pushing me down the hall and told me to look at the documentation. "It covers the stretches. Do them as much as you're comfortable with. Don't push it too hard, too soon. You don't want to tear those muscles or anything else, that would only set you back." I nodded as she continued. "You'll also see appointment cards with your next two appointments on them. Please be sure to give them to your chain of command to ensure that they give you the time needed."

I could tell that she's done this probably hundreds of times before. We got in the elevator and when we got in, she pushed the button for the lobby and then reached into her pocket and handed me another appointment card. This one read Desiree Gonzalez and had a number on it. "Jack, that's my personal number. I'm sure you understand that we can't really let anyone here know this, but I'd like to see you sometime and not in a therapist - patient way."

I turned to look up at her. "I'd love that as well, and I completely understand the need for discretion." I smiled, "So, I'm guessing this is why I'm getting wheeled around?"

She smiled at me and put her hand on my shoulder. "You're a bad person Jack Smith." The elevator door opened and she quickly removed her hand and pushed me out in the lobby and then we went through the lobby and then out the front doors. I told her generally where my car was located and once we got there she helped me up and shook my hand, but held it and squeezed it a bit and then turned to get the wheelchair. "Don't forget to call me."

"I'll make sure that I call you. Thanks again for helping me today."

I quickly sent her a text and thanked her again. I left and went back to Camp Pendleton and started back on the daily grind of recovery. I couldn't help but think about Desiree. She was a gorgeous lady. Dark skin and beautiful eyes. It was hard to gauge her shape in her work uniform, but I'm certain that I'd love to see it regardless.

I had been doing all of the stretches and was starting to feel my quads loosen up a small bit. It left me aching for several days, but I kept at it. As sick as it may sound, the pain was refreshing. I controlled it for the most part and that helped me better know where actual pain from injury was separated from the pain of recovery. I would still go to the gym and do my best to keep my upper body strong and in shape. I hated seeing my lower body because of the atrophy that's happened in my legs.

I got more classes and counseling on the possibility of a Med Board discharge but my goal was to reenlist and lat move. That drove me pretty hard towards making a solid recovery.

I got a call one afternoon and Desiree asked me to meet her out in Oceanside at a small bar at around 7pm. I replied that I'd be there and promptly got cleaned up and ready. As I got there I sent her a text and she came out to meet me and to my surprise, she gave me a warm embrace and then kissed me.

I probably returned her kiss a bit too eagerly and had to restrain myself. When I broke the kiss I stepped back, and just stared at her. "You are beyond gorgeous. Sure you want to be seen with a guy with one of these?" as I held up my cane.

She smiled. "More than happy to be seen with you, Jack. Plus, it's my job to make sure you don't need to use that too much longer. Let's head inside and grab a drink and bite to eat."

I leaned over and kissed her lightly. "I'm pretty sure you are all I need to eat and be happy."

She clearly blushed. "You just might get the chance... let's head inside."

We sat there and had several drinks and got some sides from the bar menu and had lots of conversations about what brought us to the point in our lives where we met. It was a great date.

"I have a sensitive question Jack, your name is pretty white, but you're fairly dark skinned. If it's okay, can I ask..."

I started to laugh. "My father was adopted by a family in Iowa. I don't know too many details on his side of the family, other than that his adopted family look pretty much as the name implies. My mom is white as well and looks the part of Mrs. Smith. I think dad said that he felt that he may have some Hispanic heritage, but to my knowledge, he's never really done a DNA test that shows ancestry."

She smiled. "That makes more sense. I'm guessing you got some of your dad's looks. You are quite handsome by the way. I love you hazel eyes, especially with your skin tone. Why didn't you stay in college and graduate? I know you wanted to find new challenges, but from what you've said it seemed like it was going well."

"Thank you, I'm certain I've never had such an awesome compliment from such a gorgeous woman. As for college, It was going too well. I was the starting full back on the football team and my classes were pretty easy. I think if I had to nail it down, it was all a little too easy and that gave me too much time to find other distractions."

"So chasing the young ladies?"

I started to laugh, "Yeah, that's one reason. My life didn't seem to have purpose at that time. Playing football and chasing girls didn't certainly didn't give me a sense of purpose, so that's why I joined the Marine Corps. I felt that both the ladies I had met and myself as well, we were too young to potentially have a kid. I want to have kids with my wife, the lady I love."

She smiled. "I love that you feel that way. Fun question. How many kids would you want?"

"The easy answer is whatever my wife and I decide on. Of course I'd love to have at least a boy and girl, but I'd be happy regardless. I have two sisters and a brother and think that it's great to have brother's and sister's."

She squeezed my hand. "I had four brothers and two sisters. So I completely agree on how it's great to have siblings. I'm not sure I'm ready to have seven kids though." We both laughed quite hard at that.

We had finished our drinks and food quite a bit earlier in the evening and both of us had been drinking water while we talked about all sorts of things. We both sort of agreed that it was time to leave and as we were standing near my car, we were intertwined in a very passionate kiss. As we broke apart and caught our breaths, we both sort of chuckled.

"Desiree, I'd love nothing more than to go somewhere and spend an evening worshipping you, and while I want to do that, I'd also love to take this a bit slower. I'd really love to see where this leads and I'm hopeful you might feel that way as well."

She leaned in and kissed me. "I love everything you just said. Everything." She leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Waiting makes the fire burn hotter."

I was leaning against my car while we stood in an embrace. I think we mutually decided that we needed to get going. I'm sure she felt my erection. I know I felt the warmth of her body against mine. We broke our kiss and she was quick to remind me of my next appointment and quickly added that she expected to see me before then.

The next few months went really quickly. She had coordinated an appointment with a nutritionist that helped me create a plan that might speed up some aspects of my recovery. The initial goal was my left leg, I needed the bone to grow back under the plate and then I could start loading it more.

I had several more x-rays and it confirmed that the bone was starting to fill in under the plate and I was able to walk without my cane. Walk may be an overstatement, more like hobbled, but still I didn't have to use the cane. That single fact alone almost brought tears to my eyes. One barrier down. The next thing I didn't really expect was how self conscious I was about how small my legs had gotten. They looked like toothpicks to me.

I had been a solid 190-195 pounds and at five foot eleven, I thought I looked good. It also explained why I had been a full back in college. I was just built that way. Pretty sure all those summers helping my grandfather bail and stack hay was part of it. As he used to joke, "First a strong back, then a strong mind." I also spent a lot of time in church. I went, but things never clicked for me there. I saw too much hypocrisy and dishonesty and it started with the preacher and went down. I think my parents and grandparents saw it, but ignored it. I couldn't and that shaped my view of religion as a whole. Some aspects stuck with me as it seemed to relate to being a good person and that was my goal, at least to what I thought a good person should be.