Hidden desires surface...
The couch was easy to reach, once Liz rolled her wheelchair up the ramp to the raised living room in Sue's house. She loved the room because sitting on the couch; one was two steps above the kitchen and the pool deck outside. From any place in the room, one looked down into rather than along either the kitchen or the pool. To accommodate a wheelchair or the wider stance she needed when Liz used her crutches and braces, Sue re-arranged the furniture to make sure that Liz had the space to maneuver.
Sue was in the kitchen making a snack for both of them. It was one of those lazy afternoons in the fall where the weather wasn't really yucky, but wasn't nice either and the two of them decided to stay at home. Liz locked the brakes on her wheelchair right next to the couch so it was an easy transfer.
She didn't like to use a transfer board placed between the wheelchair and the couch. Yes, she would readily admit, it was easier - just put it in place and slide across. Liz preferred to expend the energy and lift her useless lower half with her arms and swing from the chair to the new location.
This time, she positioned herself so she was facing the couch and like she had many times before, put her arms on the couch and lifted her butt off the chair so she could swing it onto the couch, confident her paralyzed legs would follow. She'd been doing this for the better part of twenty-five years and this was just another transfer in the life of Liz, the paraplegic.
When she started to swing her butt across the short gap between the chair and the couch, Liz noticed that something wasn't right. While she couldn't feel her bottom or legs, she knew, it wasn't fully on the couch. Her legs were of no use because they were totally paralyzed and atrophied.
Liz started to try to shift back onto the chair and didn't make it. She fell in a disorganized heap on the floor and her head banged off the frame of the wheel chair.
Sue heard the thump and came running from the kitchen to find Liz crumpled on the floor and dazed with her flaccid legs tangled beneath her. Sue helped Liz into a sitting position and looked in her eyes. She could see the red spot where a lump was beginning to form.
"I'm O.K... I just fell down. It isn't the first time and it won't be the last time."
Sue could see the side of Liz's head that was already starting to swell. "Stay there and let me get you an ice pack."
Using crushed ice from the refrigerator stuffed into a zip lock bag, Sue handed Liz a dishtowel and the ice pack and she dutifully put it in place. While she was sitting there, Sue untangled Liz's legs so she could lean against the couch. Then, she sat next to her on the floor.
"What happened?"
"My left foot got tangled up in one of the stirrups and I got caught in no man's land. I couldn't get onto the couch and when I tried to get back in the chair, I didn't make it. Damn useless legs."
Sue didn't know what to say so she put her arm around her lover. "Let's sit here for a few minutes. Are you dizzy?"
"No. I don't think I have a concussion but I am beginning to get a headache."
Sue got up and brought a glass of water and two Tylenol that Liz immediately took. After handing the glass back to Sue, she sat back down on the floor. "When you are ready, I'll lift you back up onto either the couch or the chair."
"You don't have too. I can do it myself."
"I know that, but humor me, I'll help. It's to make sure you make it."
Liz nodded and straightened her legs so they were next to each other. Her toes were pointed away from her body and parallel to her legs. "Sue, one of the things I have been thinking about is having my legs removed. There are doctors who will do it if they are convinced that it will improve my quality of life."
"Are you serious?"
"As a heart attack. I know several paraplegics who had it done."
Sue loved the feel of Liz's legs. Her feet and their soft texture turned her on. If they were gone, would she like what was left? She ran her hand down the closest leg and cradled the foot. "How much would you have amputated?"
"Good question. I've been thinking about it off and on over the years. One of the woman had it done just above the knees, another mid-thigh and the third I met, had them removed at just below her hips."
"So, again, why would you do it?"
"To prevent what just happened. It would make transfers a lot easier."
"And, you would never stand again. You would be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life."
"I know. That's the one thing that is holding me back. You know, hard as it is to crutch along with braces, I like wearing them and I know it turns you on."
Sue picked up Liz's leg that was closest to her and draped it over her thighs. "That it does, but you don't have to do much to turn me on. All I have to do is caress one of your legs and I start to get wet."
Now that she had Liz's legs partially spread, ran her hand over Liz's mound. Liz could see, but not feel what Sue did. "I know."
Sue kissed Liz deeply. "Liz, I love you."
Liz put the ice pack down on the glass-topped coffee table so they could hug and kiss. "Sue, you are the love of my life. I love being with you."
After sitting on the floor for about twenty minutes or so, Sue slid her hands under Liz's armpits and lifted her on the couch. She watched while her lover rearranged her legs so they were crossed in front her.