Page 147 of Payoff Pitch
Cheetah stands. “I’ll call them. Ripley and Quincy were here all night. They needed to get home to Kaya but asked that I call when you’re awake. I’m gonna step out. I’m happy to see you awake, Bails.”
He looks exhausted, but I know my sister probably needed him. I can only imagine how she was behaving. “Thanks for being here.”
He nods, knowing exactly what I mean by that.
I look back at the doctor. “Tell me everything.”
“You sustained an abdominal injury. That was your first surgery. It was determined that your right ovary was beyond repair, and it had to be removed.”
Tears immediately fill my eyes. Kam squeezes my hand. “They think you’ll still be able to have kids. As a precaution, I had them harvest every available egg in the ovary before they removed it. Don’t stress. I’ll have the fucking kid for you if you have any problems. I promise you’ll be a mother one day.”
I nod, unable to form words. I notice tears streaming down from underneath Tanner’s sunglasses.
Dr. Cooper nods his head. “She’s right. Many women still get pregnant with one ovary. Though that’s not my specialty. I can have someone come talk to you more about that. As for your spine, you suffered a thoracolumbar junction L1 unstable burst fracture. It’s in your mid-back just below your ribs. You’ve got a drain in there now that we’ll remove in a few days. You had what we call a spinal decompression laminectomy with stabilization using pedicle screws at T11 and L3. In layman’s terms, we fixed what was broken. From my perspective, the surgery was a success. I’m going to check a few things. Don’t freak out if you still don’t have feeling in your lower body. The anesthesia hasn’t completely worn off yet, and some residual swelling could still be pressing on your nerves.”
He lifts my blankets and runs a device over my feet and legs.Fortunately, I’m able to feel all of it. I can’t move my legs much, but I feel everything he’s doing, and Dr. Cooper seems thrilled with that.
He smiles. “That’s great, Bailey. Already ahead of the class. Either later today or tomorrow morning we’ll get you going on PT and OT. You’re going to stay with us for a bit. About two weeks. And then we’ll find you an appropriate in-patient rehab facility where I’m guessing you’ll spend three or four months before you’ll be able to switch to outpatient.”
Tanner interrupts. “I’ve made other arrangements for her.”
I turn to him in question. He nods. “We’ll talk about it in a minute.”
Dr. Cooper continues, “Spinal injuries aren’t full of certainties. I can’t make you promises, but I have no reason to think you won’t make a full recovery. The harder you work, the quicker your recovery will be. I wholeheartedly believe that you’ll be able to live a normal life doing normal things.”
“And softball?”
His face falls just a drop. “With these injuries, there’s always the risk of something being a little off. A finger that doesn’t work properly. A toe. Or worse. Being a professional athlete is so much more than being able to function in daily activities. If you work hard, I think it’s possible.” He briefly pauses. “What I should say is that it’s not impossible.”
Kam scoffs. “You don’t know my sister. She’s the strongest person I know. She’ll be wearing a gold medal around her neck in three years. I can promise you that.”
He nods and gives a small smile. “I look forward to watching it happen. I need to go make my rounds. I’ll check on you a little later.”
“Thanks, Dr. Cooper.”
“You’re very welcome. You have an amazing support system. There are a lot of people who care about you. Don’t be afraid to lean on them. You’re going to need them for the next few months.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
As soon as he leaves, the tears break free. Kam grabs my face so we’re eye to eye. “Don’t cry. I meant every word. You’re the strongest person I know. We’ll get through this. I’ll be with you every second of every day.”
I let out a laugh through my tears. “I’ll physically recover and then be institutionalized from spending too much time with you.”
She smiles through her own tears. “Every damn day until you’re back to your perfect self. You jump, I jump.”
I attempt to nod but have never felt more terrified in my life.
Kam notices and takes my hand. “It could be worse.”
“Does it really get worse than this?”
She gives me her special smile. “You could have dementia and diarrhea. Imagine starting to run to the bathroom and then forgetting where you’re going.”
How could I possibly not laugh at that? I lost an ovary, I don’t know if I can have kids, I broke my back, I don’t know if I’ll ever walk properly again, but my sister just managed to make me laugh. I love her so much.
She kisses my cheek and whispers, “Unbreakable Harts. We’ve got this, big sis.”
I nod before I turn to Tanner. “You mentioned arrangements. Did you find a hospital that allows crazy sisters to stay too?”