Story #41: Plain White Walls

Plain White Walls

     I sat there for a long time, running the paper-thin sheets of the hospital bed between

my fingers. My mom sat in a stiff chair next to my bed, her foot twitching uncontrollably.

She was just as nervous as I was. We were anxiously awaiting x-ray results of my

swollen and bruised ankle. The ticking clock hanging from the wall read 11:30. Earlier

that night, we would have never known that we would end up here, surrounded by

these four plain white walls.

~ ~ ~

     This is it, I thought to myself. My team and I walked across the gleaming wooden

floor of the Riverdale High School gymnasium. This was one of the biggest Three

River’s Conference match-ups of the whole season, and we were about to play the

deciding match.

     We had to work for every point that we received. Volleys seemed to go on for hours

at a time. Every time that I thought we were going to pull out in front and run away with

the win, the Rams battled right back. The game stretched on forever, and about

halfway through, something happened. Something terrible happened...

     My sister Courtney was serving at the time, and I was in the front row, smack dab in

the middle. The ball flew over the net, into the Rams’ court. I watched the ball travel

from the arms of the passer into the hands of the setter as if it were moving in slow

motion. With a flick of her wrists, the setter push the ball backwards to her right-side

hitter. I stepped over and lined myself up right next to Savannah, our outside blocker.

We both launched ourselves off the ground and reached above the net in attempt to

block the ball from coming back to our side of the court. As gravity brought me back to

the ground, my shoe brushed the back of the Riverdale player leg under the net. This

small contact was enough to turn my foot outward, and as I landed my foot turned

completely under. My leg gave out from under me, and I came crashing to the ground.

     I sprawled there on the court like a wounded animal, screaming and crying out for

help. The audience, who had been rowdy all night, fell silent. For the first few seconds,

I think everyone expected me to pop right back up off the ground, but they soon

realized that I was really hurt. My coach, my assistant coach, the Riverdale athletic

director, and my parents all rushed over and crowded around me.

     “What happened, what happened, what happened?!” my mom asked hysterically.

     “She went under-- the net, and I-- came down on-- her foot,” I said through the pain.

They all tried to calm me down, but tears still continued to stream down my face. My

dad took my foot in his hands and began feeling around on my ankle.

     “It’s already swollen,” he told my coach, pushing down gently with his thumbs

around my ankle.

     “Let’s get her off the floor,” she said. My assistant coach Jessie and my dad

scooped me up off the court and carried me to the sidelines

     “I don’t wanna stop, Dad. I wanna play,” I blubbered as he set me down in a folding

chair behind my team’s bench.

     “Well, can you stand up?” he asked me.

     “No.”

     “Can you walk?”

     “No.”

     “Well you can’t really play then, can you?”

     “No,” I grumbled, more tears forming in my eyes. Jessie brought over another chair,

propped my foot up on it, and then laid an ice pack on my ankle. Even though I was

numb to the pain by this point, tears still rolled down my cheeks, for they were tears of

fear and anger. The only thing I wanted to do right now was get back up and finish the

game, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

     “Rachel!” yelled a voice. I looked up to see my team standing there on the court, all

looking at me.

     “This one’s for you!” Savannah yelled, a huge smile on her face. “This one’s for you.”

They stayed true to their word. They came through for me, and we won the game. I

can only wish that I could’ve been out there with them.

     After the game, they transferred me into a wheelchair. I could see Jessie looking at

my foot with worry in her eyes.

     “Just give it to me straight, Jess.” I didn’t want her sugar-coating the situation just to

make me feel better.

     She took a deep breath and said, “I think it might be broken.” My stomach dropped.

     “Should we go get x-rays?” my mom asked.

     Jessie nodded her head. “I would, just to be safe.”

     After everyone said their goodbyes and gave me best wishes, my sister wheeled me

out to the car. My mind was still reeling as we pulled away from the school.

~ ~ ~

     The door swung open and a man in a white jacket came in. He held a clipboard, and

I knew that on the clipboard were the results to my x-rays. I sat there eagerly, as did

my mom. The doctor looked from his clipboard, to my softball-sized ankle, to my mom,

and then finally, to me.

     “Well,” he said with a smile, “there’s no fracture.”

     “Yay!” I celebrated, looking toward my mom. She breathed a sign of relief.

     “So, just a sprain?” she questioned the doctor.

     “Yes, a severe sprain,” he explained. “She should be back on the court in one to two

weeks.”

     I leaned my head back and smiled to myself, my heart filled with new hope. The

plain white walls smiled with me, for they were much more friendly now then they were

before.

     “You’re free to go whenever you would like,” the doctor told my mom as he made his

way out the door.

     “Okay. Thank you very much.” She helped me maneuver myself off the bed, into the

hallway, and down into a wheelchair. We made our way down the hallway and out the

hospital doors, where our car was waiting for us. My dad and sister got out of the

vehicle and carefully helped me into the back seat. They all loaded up, and soon we

were cruising out of the parking lot. I laid back, cautiously propping my foot up on my

sisters lap, and closed my eyes. I fell asleep with peace of mind, knowing that even

though the road to recovery was going to have some twists and turns, I was going to

be okay in the end.