"Amputation IS sex, the stump is just the afterglow," Julie told her roommate and dear friend of nearly a year. She sat next to Sara, the left leg over the right, swinging idly back and forth without a foot.
Sara was honest with herself. She enjoyed neither hand and a touch of her forearm on tender parts thrilled her greatly. She knew the right hand would be the first to go; she was left-handed after all. She knew the other was destined to be gone as well.
-
Wearing a hospital gown with cool air from the vent above blowing down the split in the back, Sara sat on the exam table in the emergency room, her bare feet dangling below. She smiled at the female doctor and as she held her hand out, muttered, "It's toast." Sara was a lovely woman in her mid-twenties with a willowy body and shoulder length brown hair.
Dr. Janet Bolger looked grimly at Sara's right hand then at her. She cleared her throat and glanced at the nurse that had just finished starting an IV. "Let me speak to her alone." The nurse shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the exam room, closing the door behind her.
Sara guessed the doctor might have been in her late-forties, but was nice to look at. Her heart pounded hard in her chest. She kept looking at the doctor, undressing her in her mind, trying to say something. She failed for a long moment.
"Is there an expedient approach? I know it can't be saved." Sara said.
"We usually need to see where the freeze damage stops ... that can take several days." She looked at Sara's face and moved hers closer. She whispered, "I suppose you know how much you want left."
She nodded and pointed midway along the forearm. "It was in it to my wrist for about fifteen minutes." She was referring to the cryogenic solution, the same as the one she had read about in the journal of a woman that had lost both hands at one time.
Janet tapped her latex glove covered finger from the wrist to where Sara pointed. "Yup. That's about where it needs to come off. Maybe a little higher."
"That's okay. I want it high enough to leave clean tissue without any skin graphs. Will you be doing the surgery?"
"I think that would be best. I'll leave you with a good stump."
"Pretty?"
"Yeah-h," she drawled and patted Sara's shoulder. She leaned close again. "Sara, next time just call me." She snickered then stood back with her arms crossed over her chest. "Quite gutsy." She walked out the door and told someone to schedule an operating room as soon as possible. She returned with a form and Sara scribbled her signature after reading only the description of the procedure - 'Amputation of right forearm'.
Ten minutes later, an orderly moved her onto a gurney and rolled her down the hallway with ceiling lights passing overhead. The room was marked OR-3. They moved her onto a strangely shaped table, made some adjustments, and covered her with a warm blanket. Everyone wore masks. A woman touched her shoulder and said, "Relax. You'll be fine." It was the Janet's voice. Janet looked at another doctor, nodded, and then said, "Let's get started."
Sara awoke as a nurse lightly shook her shoulder and repeatedly said, "Wake up now." Her eyelids fluttered and she tried to remember where she was. There was a mild burning sensation in her right arm. "Would you like something for pain?" Sara nodded and the warmth of the narcotic flowed though her soul. "You did just fine," the nurse told her, and then lifted the sheet to look at the bandages.
"Is it gone?"
The nurse laughed and held the sheet up for Sara to see. Together, they looked at the heavy bandages starting at the elbow and ending before where her hand used to be. "She does a good job." She let the sheet down and Sara drifted off to sleep.
-
The morning had become afternoon and a tray of food was on a table parked next to Sara's bed when she woke the next time. She worked herself into a sitting position and pulled the table across the bed then moved the bandaged arm so it rested on it. She rubbed her fingers over the end and studied how it stopped below the elbow.
"Well?" the doctor asked as she walked towards the bed. "There's about five inches."
"Perfect. Thanks for being understanding. I 'was' worried about how people here would react."
"Usually in situations like yours, we call in a shrink for an assessment. I had a feeling that wasn't necessary." She smiled. "Was I right?"
"How long until I can go home?"
"How's the pain?"
"Not bad."
"You're healthy. I don't think you need to spend the night. I can write a prescription for some oral pain meds. Is there someone that can give you a ride home? I don't want you being alone or driving for a few days." Sara nodded as the doctor continued. "You'll need to see me daily for several days to have the bandages changed. Will you be a good patient?" She grinned. "I'll be back about four. I'll change the dressing and make sure nothing is leaking. We'll see if you are ready to leave then."
"Thanks."
She walked a few steps then looked back. "You did well. You'll be happy with it." She continued out the door.
-
Sara woke again hours later as Julie crutched into the room and stood by the bed. She wore jeans cuffed high enough to expose the last few inches of the long leg stump. A black blouse graced her upper body and the long black hair spiraled over one shoulder. The footless leg swung casually between the crutches.
"Hey Sara, how is it?" She leaned down and pecked her on the lips.
"Julie!" She held her bandaged arm up and waved it around. "It's really gone. The doctor said I could go home today towards the end of the afternoon. Maybe she will come back soon."
"Great. Have you seen it without the bandages?"
"Not yet. She said there was about five inches left."
"Cool."
Sara pulled on Julie's arm and she leaned close. "She actually told me to call her next time." She laughed.
"Ah, maybe I should talk to her about my next time ... more of this one, or start the other." Julie snickered. "Regardless, I can't wait. I'm so jealous."
Janet walked in and closed the door. "Time to check your stump." She placed a tray of instruments and bandages on the bed. "Will you be taking her home?"
"Ah, this is Julie. We live together."
"You have quite a brave friend." Janet glanced towards the floor. "The same thing?"
She whispered, "Maybe, but a different way." Julie chuckled.
"I told Sara this morning to call me next time."
"Yes, she told me and yes, I will." Julie laughed.
Janet unwrapped the bandages and dropped them in the red trashcan. "It's going to look a little rough for a few days. I'll take the sutures out after a week or ten days, and then things will start to look much better. How's the length?"
