• Solo • Back to the Real World

[Tei'serin Nji'ryn]

6th Vhalar, 721


Tei'serin felt a thrill of excitement as she greeted the healer who came in to give her her morning pain medicine. Toteial was the trial that she was going to be released from her bed rest and be allowed to get on with her life. She would be able to begin the search for a way to recover from her injuries completely. Or at least she would once she had gotten the hang of getting around on her own with the use of the wheelchair and the crutch she had been given a few trials ago.

She also felt nervous at the same time. Her injuries were severe, and while she might not be crippled forever, she was now. Tei'serin was determined not to let that stop her, but she did realize that she would have to make a lot of adjustments. Even the simplest of things would need to be relearned. She would need to find ways to manage them on her own, or figure out a way to get by without them. And her first challenge would be to learn how to manage with her crutch and her wheelchair. Above all else, Tei'serin was determined to succeed.

Tei'serin thanked the healer who had brought her her pain medication and watched her leave. She gave the medication a little while to take effect, then began her first round of exercises for the trial. The first exercise she always did was the strength building one that involved using the small blue hand ball she had been given. Tei'serin started with her right hand, and did each of the three sets of reps with a short break in between each one. When that was done, she switched the ball over to her left hand and started squeezing the ball with that hand.

It still hurt to do the exercise with her left hand, but she noticed that it didn't hurt as much now as it had a few trials ago. It was a slight difference, but it was there. Tei'serin took that as a sign that she was healing. Since she was going to be released totrial, the diminished pain couldn't really be seen as anything else.

Since she was going to be released, and Tei'serin knew that she was going to need most of her strength to learn how to use her wheelchair and crutch, she decided against adding another set of reps to the exercise or increasing the number of reps in each set. With the first exercise done, she moved on to the next.

Tei'serin traded the hand ball for the weight and started lifting it with her right hand. She kept a silent count as she did her reps, and she switched hands when she had finished her sets with her good hand. By the time she was finished with her second exercise, her the muscles in her hands and arms were tired and achy so she allowed herself a short rest before continuing.

[Tei'serin Nji'ryn]

As Tei'serin continued on with her exercises, her thoughts were on her upcoming release. It felt as if she was finally being allowed to reenter the real world. The ten trials of bed rest had been necessary, of course. Without them, Tei'serin was certain to have injured herself further as she tried to do things that her body wasn't ready to handle. But all of that was over now, and once she was released, she would be able to return to her real life...such as it was.

Tei'serin heard a quiet knock on the door just as she was finishing up the last of her exercises. It was Rue, and Tei'serin watched her as she entered the room. After a brief greeting, Rue gave her an examination to see how she was progressing, and Tei'serin knew that she must have been happy with what she found because she smiled.

"Everything looks as good as we can expect it to for this stage in your healing. Do you think that you're ready to leave the outpost and get back into the swing of things?"

Tei'serin smiled as she nodded.

"Very much so." she said with a sense of relief that nothing had happened to prolong the time she needed to rest in bed.

"Well then, it's time that you learn how to use the aids that you will need to rely on in order to get around until you heal further. Which would you like to try first? The wheelchair, or the crutch?"

Tei'serin gave the matter some careful thought. She thought the crutch would be more demanding, and it would require more of her strength than using the wheelchair would. She also believed that it would hurt more to learn how to use the crutch than it would to learn how to use the wheelchair. Wanting to get the harder task done first while she was still fresh and full of energy, she decided to start with the crutch.

"I'd like to learn how to use the crutch first, please." she said after a few bits.

Rue smiled in approval.

"Then lets get started."

[Tei'serin Nji'ryn]

The healer left for a few bits and when she returned, Tei'serin saw that she was pushing what looked to be a chair on wheels. Sort of, anyway. The wheels were large and had spokes radiating out from the center. The chair part appeared to be made out of leather. Tei'serin's first impression of it was that she hoped it was a lot more comfortable than it looked.

In the seat of the chair was a long piece of polished wood. It was similar in some ways to a cane, but it had a cushioned rest that was supposed to go under the arm. Tei'serin eyed it with steely eyed determination.

Rue showed her how she was supposed to use it, then helped her stand and balance herself until she could get the crutch positioned properly. It was uncomfortable and awkward to manage, but Rue assured her that it would get easier with time. Tei'serin hoped that she was right.

As Tei'serin took her first few tentative steps using the crutch, Rue hovered close beside her to help her if she needed it. And that was a good thing because it took some doing to figure out how to use it properly. She stumbled several time at first, but Rue caught her each time before she could fall. After a while, she started to work thing out, and Rue moved a bit further away so she would have more room to maneuver. Even so, she stayed close enough to be able to help if she were needed. Tei'serin was grateful for that. She was also grateful for the tips that Rue offered from time to time.

By the time that she had been on her feet practicing with the crutch for a little more than a break, Tei'serin thought that she was getting the hang of it. Her movements were slow and hesitant, but she could get around with reasonable confidence that she wouldn't lose her balance and fall. That was the good part. The downside was that her right arm ached fiercely, and her arm pit felt bruised from trying to support herself with the crutch. It took a lot of strength to support her weight with the crutch so she could walk, and all of that weight was concentrated under her arm where the crutch was positioned. Tei'serin was pretty certain that it would leave bruises if she had to use the crutch for any real length of time. Fortunately, she didn't think that she would be going many places where she would not be able to use her wheelchair instead.

"You're doing well for your first time using the crutch." Rue said encouragingly as she helped Tei'serin to sit on the bed for a rest.

"Thank you." Tei'serin replied as she tried to ease the ache in her right arm, shoulder, and arm pit.

"It will get easier for you to manage in time, Tei'serin. But the wheelchair will probably be what you want to use most of the time. The crutch is mostly for when you need to go somewhere there isn't a path you can travel in your wheelchair. For now at least. As you continue to heal, you may find that the crutch is all you need."

Tei'serin wondered if it would hurt less to use the crutch as she got used to using it more, but she didn't ask. She didn't want to sound like a baby, complaining about her discomfort. At least she would be able to get around by herself. That was the most important thing. She wasn't going to be confined to bed for the rest of her life, and she wouldn't need help just to move about as she lived her life.

"Would you like to try using the wheelchair now?" Rue asked after Tei'serin had had a short break.

Tei'serin nodded, and Rue helped her into the chair. It was much more comfortable than it looked, much to Tei'serin's relief. Rue showed her how to wheel the chair around, then asked her to wheel herself out of the room so she could practice in an area where there was more room to move around. They started in the hall way.

Tei'serin found that she could wheel herself around with little difficulty, but she did feel the strain in her arms as she did so. Rue promised her that it would get easier to move around in the wheelchair the more she practiced. Tei'serin hoped that she was right.

Turning was more difficult than moving in a straight line, but Tei'serin continued practicing until she was able to manage it without help. Rue gave her some tips as she practiced with the wheelchair, and that helped. As Tei'serin continued to work with it, she learned that while it was much easier and more comfortable to use than the crutch was, it took some strength to wheel herself around. Not as much as the crutch required, but Tei'serin could easily understand why she had been given the strength building exercises she had been given to do. She promised herself that she would keep up with them now that she was being released.

Rue was a patient teacher, and that was a good thing. A less patient person might have gotten frustrated or impatient over how many times Tei'serin wheeled herself into a corner and couldn't manage to get herself out again. But if Rue was frustrated with her, she showed no signs of it. And after a while, Tei'serin finally managed to get the hang of it. Like with the crutch, she would need to practice a great deal more to be able to do everything she wanted to do in the wheelchair, but in the mean time she would be able to get around on her own.

When Tei'serin was ready, she stopped practicing, and went back to her room so that she could gather up her things and prepare to be discharged. After being examined one more time, she was told she could go, but that she would need regular follow up visits for quite some time. Tei'serin made an appointment for her first time before she left. When she did, one of the healers accompanied her to show her how to get to her new home.

[Pig Boy]

Hi Tei'serin.

There are a few issues with the content of this thread that will make it necessary to re-write and re-submit.

Crutches aren't designed to bruise people. They're specifically designed NOT to bruise people. Desnind is home to some of the best healers in Idalos. Their medical implements and accessories (like crutches and wheelchairs) are of very high quality. Tei wouldn't get bruised by using them.

Wheelchairs don't require that much strength. And if Tei can push the chair forward, she can certainly pull it back. See above, wheelchairs are very well made in Desnind, as they would be anywhere there's advanced medical aid. She wouldn't be getting stuck in corners, and it's hard to figure out how she's able to manage getting stuck in corners. Is her vision impaired as well? Please exclude any such difficulty with the chair from the re-write.

All that considered, if she had this much difficulty getting around and moving, they likely wouldn't have sent her home alone, but with a nurse or helper who is able to care for her until she's able to move on her own. And if she were in such great pain getting out of bed, Rue, as she has high skills in medicine and caregiving, would not then allow her to move around for an hour.

Please edit this thread to ensure that the NPCs are competent and played as such, and that the aids and adaptations are exactly that, not torture devices. When you have edited, resubmit to the review queue.