After a few days on the walkers they were given to the women to use in their rooms. As time went on they were permitted to go to the bathroom with them but not to the shower. Barb was able to support all of her weight on the repaired leg but still lacked strength and it tired quickly. She was now ahead in the leg measurement. It was easier for her because of the one good leg. She got her crutches a few days later. She was still restricted to the floor and no showers but she could see improvement. By the middle of February all three were using crutches and Barb was making an occasional step without help. She tried to put on her brace one day and found it wouldn’t even fit. Her leg was too fat. It was only slightly smaller than the other and filling out daily. Kathy got the long awaited word. She could use her legs. The stumps had finally healed. For a few weeks she would use the chair for long trips.

They all realized they would have to keep a wheelchair handy for life. This was driven home emphatically when Gwen’s computer cable was damaged. She was in her chair and there was no problem but she lost all feeling and use of her legs. Kathy didn’t have a spare. She called Ken on the phone.

“Can you meet me at the maintenance building?” he asked when she explained the problem. “Bring Gwen along.”

“Sure.”

They arrived a few minutes later to find Ken waiting for them. “I was getting worried. I thought something may have happened to you. Is something wrong, you’re in your chair?” He had seen Kathy walking several days before.

“I could get here faster in the chair and I’ve been on my feet a lot today. I have to watch it for a while. That burn really did some damage.”

“Now, let’s look at the cable.” She handed it to him and he looked at it carefully. “This can be fixed easy if it doesn’t matter if I make it about five inches shorter.”

“Should be fine. I really don’t need all of the length.”

It took only a few minutes for Ken to remove the bad spot and re-install the connector. “There it is. Can you test it to be sure?”

“We have to plug it in to Gwen and her computer.”