AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She shrugged. “Not that it’snotan option, but…I want to make sure we exhaust every other option first. I know I’ve rested; I’ve done P/T, I’ve done the over-the-counter pain relievers…” She paused. “What about the shot? We haven’t done the cortisone shot yet.”
“We haven’t,” Dr. Mathis agreed. “But it’s not a cure, Lily. I need you to understand that. Cortisone shots can provide relief for anywhere from two weeks to six months, but that’s it.”
“And will I be able to dance during that time?” She had already lost valuable prep time for the cheer squad and didn’t have anything else lined up. Fortunately, there were normally auditions open year-round all over the world for all kinds of shows if she wasn’t too picky.
The look Dr. Mathis gave her wasn’t optimistic. “I think you can try, but you’ll end up aggravating the injury more.” Pausing, she got up and walked across her office and pulled a brochure off one of her bookshelves. “This is some literature about the surgery. The recovery time is lengthy—three to six months—but I truly believe it’s the best option for you.”
She begrudgingly accepted the brochure. Surgery was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. Call her stubborn, but she truly believed she would heal on her own.
The thought made her laugh. How many times had she heard the stories about her father and his stubbornness regarding surgery for an injury he received while playing pro football?
Like father, like daughter.
Still…maybe she could talk to him about this and get his input. So far, she’d downplayed her injury to her family and had even turned down multiple invitations to go home for a visit because she didn’t want anyone fussing over her. The last time they did that was after the ski lift accident three years ago. Her father and two of her cousins got injured as well, but it felt like everyone hovered over her during her recovery until she thought she’d go mad.
Unfortunately, it didn’t look like she had much of a choice. Her short-term rental lease was almost up and it just made sense to go home to North Carolina and regroup.
“Okay, I promise to think about it,” she told Dr. Mathis.
Nodding, she sat back down behind her desk. “I hope you don’t just think about it,” she said carefully. “I think you should go for another opinion. Maybe two. Talking to more professionals may help you understand a bit more what an injury like this can look like in the long term, whether or not you do the surgery.”
She hadn’t thought of seeing another doctor, mainly because Dr. Mathis was the top in her field in this part of the country. But perhaps it was something she could also ask her father about, since he had to make a similar decision regarding his own surgery.
“I’ll do that,” she finally said. “I’m planning on heading back home to North Carolina and I’ll look up some doctors there.”
Smiling, Dr. Mathis asked, “Where in North Carolina?”
“Charlotte. That’s where I’m from and my family is all still there.”
“I actually have several colleagues that I can highly recommend in the area, plus several at Duke. I know that’s a few hours from where you live, but…”
“I appreciate any recommendations. My dad played in the NFL back in the day and had to have multiple surgeries after an injury. I’m sure he’ll have some names as well.” Then she paused. “Although most of those doctors may have retired by now.” Laughing softly, she shook her head. “That would be my luck.”
“I know this isn’t the news you were hoping for, but this isn’t the end of your career. It’s a small detour. You’re young and healthy and you’re obviously willing to do the work to get better.”
She nodded. “Thanks. It’s all just…it’s a lot. This is the second injury in the last few years and…well…it’s scary. Dance is all I know,” she admitted quietly.
That’s when she saw the sympathy on the doctor’s face and it nearly made her cry. But rather than give in to that feeling, she forced herself to sit up straighter and forced herself to smile.
“But I’d really like the shot just to get me through until I decide. Is that okay?”
“Absolutely.” Standing, Dr. Mathis walked around her desk and came to stand beside her. Giving Lily’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze, she said, “Give me a minute and I’ll get a nurse to set you up in one of the exam rooms.”
“Thanks, Dr. Mathis.”
An hour later, she was walking into her apartment with mild discomfort. The damn shot hurt almost as much as the injury. Tossing her purse on the sofa, she gently collapsed next to it with a groan. The smart thing to do was call her mother and let her know she was coming home, but…it could be fun to surprise her again. No one made her feel more loved or missed like her mom. Tears stung her eyes as she slowly nodded because…yeah. It was time to go home.
Glancing around the apartment, she knew there wasn’t really a whole lot she needed to do. The place came furnished—including all the pots, pans, and dishes—so realistically, she could have all her personal stuff packed within the next day or two. Some things she’d ship home, but the rest she could toss in the car with her.
“I could realistically be home by Friday and get the whole weekend with everyone,” she murmured. And just the thought of sitting down to dinner with all of them and then going to see her grandparents over the weekend was enough to spur her into action.
It was barely lunchtime, and she opted to throw a quick salad together before she began packing. But once she got started, she dove into it like she did everything else, with every ounce of energy and a determination to get it done.
First, she made a bag of clothes to donate. Next, she went through her pantry and filled a box with unopened food to take to the local food pantry. Then she packed up all her non-essential things that she could ship first. Fortunately, she kept all the boxes she had moved in with, so it was just a matter of putting them back together and taping them for packing. Once she knew how many she was going to ship, she called her neighbor Robin to see if she could borrow her pickup truck so she could get them all to the UPS store. By four in the afternoon, she had called the leasing office to let them know she was moving out early, made arrangements to get the keys to them, and was loading everything into Robin’s truck—with Robin’s help—before driving all around town dropping them off.
After stopping to buy more tape, she was back home by dinnertime and made herself another salad before tackling laundry and more packing. The next thing she knew, it was midnight and, although she was exhausted, she was also done.
“I don’t know if I’m pathetic for not having a lot of stuff or proud that I’m super-efficient,” she said with a laugh. There were a handful of framed pictures on her dresser that were the last things she needed to pack. Looking at them always cheered her up when she was feeling down, and it was only natural that they’d be the final things she put away. She was carefully wrapping them to place in one of her suitcases when she picked up the one from Christmas three years ago. It was a silly picture, really. A group shot where no one was really posing, but they all knew the picture was being taken. With a smile, Lily gently ran her finger over the glass. She was standing with her cousins, Willow, Harry, and Tanner.
