Laura then said "ok, we won't be able to save your sock" while taking a pair of shears from her pocket. She cut carefully down the top of Kelly's no show athletic sock. Kelly still had her head back and eyes closed. As Laura reached and cut through the toe of her sock and it popped off, Kelly moaned "Oh God"
I could only imagine that she was trying to cope with the pain as best as possible.
"Then she was silent again eyes still closed. Kelly's foot was pale and slightly moist from perspiration. As expected, her toenails were painted the same, soft pink as her fingernails. Her toes were shaped perfectly. A nice length; not to short, not too long; perfect thickness. The 2nd toe was almost even in length to the big toe. And they looked to be very well cared for. Of course, the swelling had started to set in a little. There was a horrible lump around her ankle. But even then, her foot was gorgeous.
"Ok we're off to x-rays. "I'm sorry that hurt so much." Laura said.
"That's ok. I've dished out enough pain in my career; I guess it is my turn to receive it. " Kelly said.
Laura placed the running shoe and the remnants of Kelly's sock on the counter. She flipped up the wheel locks on the gurney and tightened the restraint again around Kelly's waist. Laura gave me a smile. "You wait here, Ryan. Kelly and I will be back in 20 minutes."
I looked at the clock. 3:05 PM. We had been at the hospital just 45 minutes. I realized that I had the beginnings of an erection. The thought of Kelly in a cast did excite me. I wondered how big it would be. Would she even have a cast? Maybe she would be sent home today with a splint or soft cast. Or maybe would they stick her in one of those lame boots? I then went back to the thought of the cast - hoping that she would be sent back to the hotel with her toes sticking out of a gorgeous cast. I would help her back to the hotel and then I'm sure she would want my help in arranging immediate travel back to her Midwestern hometown. I figured I would get to be around her for the next 6 or 8 hours until we could get her on a red eye back home. I was ecstatic... My erection was now in full effect.
I heard a noise in the corridor. Laura returned pushing Kelly's gurney into the examining room. Kelly looked awful. Her face was flushed and red.
"What happened?" I asked.
Laura locked the wheels of the gurney once more. She spoke. "They had to get shots of the leg from three different angles. There was a lot of moving around. But Kelly did great. If I didn't know better I would have thought she was enjoying it. But that's just her being a pro."
Kelly again smiled weakly. "It was a ball of fun the first 2 times I literally felt the bones in my ankle moving. The 3rd time was a little rough!"
Laura placed Kelly's x-rays in an overhead viewer. She did not turn on the light. She knew already, of course, that Kelly's leg was broken. I hoped my Kelly would not need surgery.
"How are you holding up?" I asked. As I instinctively reached out and took Kelly's hand in mine. It felt right. She needed someone to comfort her during this time of trauma.
"I'm fine." She replied. She gave me a smile. "I can't thank you for being here with me. You don't understand how helpful it is, even though we've known each other for about an hour!"
"Don't worry about it. I'm glad to be here. I like making new friends!" I replied.
"So, you're the professional, Kelly, do you think you will need surgery?"
"God I hope I don't need surgery. Knowing what I know about orthopedics, surgery gets you fixed quick, but all that metal in your leg is going to give you a lifetime of problems. And I'm pretty active. I love to run and play tennis. If your bones can heal naturally, and you do your rehab, you have a much better chance of returning to normal activities. Unless the doc says that I'm going to need my leg amputated, I'm not having surgery." She said.
I tried to think of a positive reply. "Don't worry, I've got your back if they try to force you into something you don't want" I said.
She smiled at me and squeezed my hand.
