Teacher, Gu Wanlin wants to go up to the blackboard to do the problem!
Gu Wanlin was discharged from the hospital on the last day of my New Year holiday. The day before, I had already moved in and settled my things. With her consent, I made some accessibility modifications.
I also added soft padding to the edges of all the furniture to prevent her from bumping into anything that might be difficult to detect. I also did a thorough New Year's cleaning for her house, hoping for a fresh start and a new beginning.
I pushed her through the door and invited her to inspect the quality of my work.
She remarked that the house was empty when she left, but it felt completely different when she returned.
Isn't it completely different now? She used to live alone in this 160-square-meter four-bedroom, two-living-room apartment. Apart from her own bedroom and study, the other two bedrooms had been vacant for a long time. Now, Sister Zhang and I have each moved into one of them.
Jiang Yu went on vacation to a Southeast Asian island during the Spring Festival, and only had time to visit Gu Wanlin during the Lantern Festival holiday. She brought two kinds of sweet and savory glutinous rice balls, fresh meat and black sesame paste, which she had specially bought from a famous store, to celebrate the festival with us.
At the dinner table, she winked at me and said, "Oh dear, you're much more effective at talking than I am."
I called Jiang Yu on the first day of the new year to share the good news. Gu Wanlin nodded and agreed to let the caregiver move into the house and help with rehabilitation after the new year.
Jiang Yu was naturally happy and asked me how I persuaded him. I was too embarrassed to tell him that I sneaked into the hospital on New Year's Eve, which turned out to be a lucky break and gave me the opportunity to open up to Gu Wanlin. We ended up hugging and crying and talking for most of the night.
I only mentioned the key points, and also told her that I was worried about Gu Wanlin living with the caregiver and that Gu Wanlin might not adapt well, so I planned to move in with her for a while after the New Year.
Jiang Yu gave a meaningful "Oh".
She sat at the table, commenting that the taste of the glutinous rice balls at this old shop seemed to have declined compared to previous years, and suggested that we go to another shop next time. However, her eyes kept darting between the two of us.
Gu Wanlin raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me? Did you have fun during the Spring Festival?" There were only two in her bowl, just to taste them. The glutinous rice balls were hard for her to digest and could easily disrupt the bodily functions she had worked so hard to establish.
Jiang Yu said it was great, especially the climate, which was warm and pleasant. After returning from her vacation, she was almost frozen to death by the city's winter, and her mood at work was as cold as her skin exposed outside her coat.
As she spoke, she became interested again, "Gu Wanlin, I see you going to the hospital every few days, which is indeed because our winter is too damp and cold. After the New Year, work hard on your rehabilitation and get your body in good shape. Next winter, we'll go to a tropical island together."
Gu Wanlin thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "I really can't remember when the last time I went on a beach vacation was. Was it three or four years ago in Hawaii?"
I encouraged her, saying, "Let's forget about it last time, and next time we'll aim for this year."
I think Jiang Yu's suggestion to get away for a while is excellent; Gu Wanlin can't stay stuck in this place forever. However, given her current physical condition, long-distance travel isn't really feasible. Perhaps we can start with short trips this year, so we can familiarize ourselves with the preparations she needs to make for traveling now.
This year seems to be a mild winter; the cold only lasted until the eve of the Lantern Festival, after which it suddenly warmed up.
After the New Year, a large project that I had been planning for several years was finally about to enter the substantive publicity and distribution stage. After moving into Gu Wanlin's house, I actually had to go to the company more often. Every day, I only had time to say hello to her before leaving in the morning, and if I had time to buy groceries and cook dinner, I would ask her in advance what she wanted to eat and buy it to bring back.
Even though I was very busy, her first rehabilitation visit to the hospital rehabilitation center was a big day. I specially adjusted my schedule to go with her, and Sister Zhang went with us too. After we settled Gu Wanlin in the car, she shook her head and said, "Why are two people taking me to get her to rehabilitation? It's like sending a child to kindergarten for the first time. There's no need to make such a big fuss."
I teased her, "Gu Wanlin, were you nervous on your first day of kindergarten?"
She spoke very quickly. I wasn't nervous. I'm a grown man, why would I be nervous?
As I drove, I glanced at her with a smile, "Stubborn as a mule."
Gu Wanlin looked down at her curled fingers on her leg and said, "Okay, actually I'm a little nervous." Her rehabilitation had been interrupted for a long time, and she had been sick twice in between. Her condition would definitely be worse than last year when she was assessed again. Many of the movements that she had worked so hard to learn last year might not be able to be done now.
I freed one hand to squeeze her palm. "It's okay, take your time. You were able to do it before, and with some practice, you'll definitely get back into the swing of things. We can do even better in the future."
Standing in the rehabilitation center, I was surprised to find that there were quite a variety of patients. There were older patients with hemiplegia due to cerebral hemorrhage, while most of the patients with spinal cord injuries caused by trauma or sports were younger, including some as young as a few years old. Amputees were also here to adapt to and practice using prostheses. Patients and their families often chatted among themselves. It was truly a melting pot of human emotions.
I began to understand why Gu Wanlin had resisted coming to the hospital for rehabilitation before. Even here, Gu Wanlin was still too conspicuous. She was young, beautiful, and had fair skin, yet she was severely injured.
Most people have a tendency to compare their misfortunes with others; when they feel unlucky, finding out someone else is even worse off makes them feel a little better. Amputees who see her are inevitably grateful that their nerves are intact and they can still walk with a prosthesis; patients with low spinal cord injuries who see her feel fortunate that their injury is low and they can live completely independently after rehabilitation; even fellow patients and their families with cervical spinal cord injuries realize that having all four limbs to maintain balance is a kind of luck.
Gu Wanlin felt very uncomfortable being stared at.
Her therapist was a woman who looked to be in her early thirties; Gu Wanlin called her Dr. Zhao.
Dr. Zhao seemed gentle and professional. Upon seeing her, she greeted her warmly, saying it had been a long time since she'd seen her. Gu Wanlin only explained that some family matters had arisen and she had fallen ill. Dr. Zhao was quite understanding and encouraged her, saying it was great that she could come today, and that it was never too late to start over. She then instructed us to take Gu Wanlin to prepare and to come see her when she was ready.
Sister Zhang knew better than me what preparations to make. She pushed Gu Wanlin into the changing room, and I followed. To prevent her clothes from slipping off during exercise, Gu Wanlin was wearing a training uniform close to her body today, with the waist belt tied very securely. Seeing that her hair was still loose, I thought I'd tie it up for her to make it easier to exercise. I happened to have my hair tied up today, so I took off my own hair tie and asked her how she wanted her hair tied. Gu Wanlin wasn't in a good mood and said she'd just tie it simply at the back of her head in a low ponytail.
Gu Wanlin's rehabilitation program is more complex than others. Some of her activities require her to wear prosthetics for support and balance, such as standing and four-point kneeling. Other activities require her to remove her prosthetics to simulate her daily activities in order to train her self-care abilities.
Rehabilitation exercises usually start with passive leg joint movements as a warm-up, so it's good to take them off in the first half and put them back on in the second half. I was busy tying her hair, while Sister Zhang was struggling with the empty trouser leg hanging down on her right side; it wasn't very convenient to have it hanging like that.
Gu Wanlin glanced indifferently at her trouser legs and slightly bulky crotch, then looked away and said, "Then let's roll them up and tie them up." Afraid that she would be unhappy, I gestured to Sister Zhang to let me do it. I squatted down in front of her, my hands moving, when I suddenly heard her speak again, "Since I promised you I would do a good job with rehabilitation, I will take it seriously."
My eyes and heart warmed. I straightened her trousers, stood up, and patted her head.
Dr. Zhao gave her a comprehensive evaluation and found that she had indeed regressed somewhat compared to before she stopped rehabilitation last fall. She encouraged us, saying that as long as we persisted with the training from now on, we would definitely see significant changes. Then she developed a detailed training plan for Gu Wanlin. She explained to us that the current short-term goals were to restore physical strength, strengthen balance, exercise upper limb strength, and train hand function, with different arrangements for each of the five days a week.
When she heard about Gu Wanlin's fall and injury, she pointed to other patients practicing transferring from the ground to their wheelchairs and encouraged her, saying that she could first learn how to protect herself when falling from a wheelchair, and once her upper body strength improved, she thought Gu Wanlin could also give it a try.
But everything is difficult at the beginning. After warming up, she still needs to go back to the most basic balance training.
Gu Wanlin sat on the edge of the bed, barely managing to stay upright by supporting herself with her hands on either side of her body. She tried to straighten her upper body, but her back quickly slumped down, causing her to sway and almost fall. Dr. Zhao held her left knee in front of her, comforting her, "Don't rush, take it slow," and then asked me to go behind her to provide support.
Because of the loss of her right leg, it was not realistic for her to completely get rid of arm support. Dr. Zhao encouraged her to try using only one hand and doing some lifting movements with the other hand to exercise her shoulder muscles.
Once Gu Wanlin gets serious about something, she goes all out. She tried again and again, failed again and again, and always fell forward or backward, only to be caught by me and Dr. Liang. Fine beads of sweat on her forehead condensed into beads and dripped down her nose, soaking her collar. She was also breathing slightly heavily.
Seeing her struggle with rehabilitation, which is literally "a simple task," yet she had to put in so much hard work, I couldn't help but feel sad. But when she finally managed to raise her left hand over her shoulder for the first time, even if she only held it for half a second before losing her balance and falling backward, I felt incredibly proud of her.
"Don't be afraid, I'll catch you safely from behind."
During the break between groups, Sister Zhang came over with a water cup and asked if she wanted to drink some water. Because she had been sweating a lot, Gu Wanlin's lips looked a little dry. She pursed her lips and shook her head, and was immediately criticized by Dr. Zhao, "You can't not drink water. You've sweated so much from exercising, you need to replenish your fluids even more."
I knew what she was worried about, so I helped her tidy up her slightly messy hair. "It's okay, we'll check it in the bathroom next time we have a break, and change it if it gets wet."
In the next group, Gu Wanlin succeeded more and more often, and held her left hand above her shoulder for longer and longer. I felt even more proud of her, and wanted to tease her, "Hey, don't you think this looks a bit like, 'Teacher, Gu Wanlin wants to go up to the blackboard to do a problem!'"
Gu Wanlin had just finished another lift when I made him laugh. He dodged backward, his arm gave way, and he fell right onto me.
"Oops, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Does it hurt?" She blinked innocently at me in the mirror in front of her.
Is she truly innocent or feigning innocence?
It actually hurts a little. I gasped inwardly, "It doesn't hurt me, as long as you don't hurt."
In the blink of an eye, it was the second half. Dr. Zhao said that rehabilitation should not be rushed. Today, we should just do standing exercises. Standing often is very good for the heart and lungs and can also relieve orthostatic hypotension. He also recommended that Gu Wanlin buy a set of assisted standing equipment at home and stand more often when he has nothing to do.
Last year, Gu Wanlin was able to stand at a 90-degree angle for about ten minutes, but after such a long break and two serious illnesses, Dr. Zhao conservatively raised her angle slowly to 60 degrees. As I have seen many times before, Gu Wanlin needed some time to adapt to the change in position and fight off dizziness. She closed her eyes tightly and frowned, but after a while, she opened her eyes again and looked less uncomfortable.
Dr. Zhao asked her how she felt and if it could be raised a little higher. She nodded and said it should be possible. Dr. Zhao raised the temperature by only 10 degrees each time, then observed her reaction and asked about her feelings to decide whether to continue.
When the temperature rose to 80 degrees Celsius, the length of time Gu Wanlin kept her eyes tightly closed and the extent of her deathly paleness made me wonder if she had already fainted for a while, and even her breathing became rapid.
Dr. Zhao said that being able to stand at 80 degrees was already quite good, so let's try standing at that angle for a while. Gu Wanlin then asked if we could try 90 degrees, and if that didn't work, we could lower it.
Dr. Zhao comforted her, saying that she hadn't trained for a long time and this was already very good, so there was no need to rush.
Gu Wanlin said she felt confident in herself and knew what she was doing.
I wondered to myself whether she "thought" it was reliable.
When Gu Wanlin was raised to 90 degrees, her physical discomfort was much stronger than before. Even her legs, which were on the footrests, spasmed. Looking at her eyes, which hadn't opened for a long time, and her chest, which was heaving violently, I was really afraid that she had fainted. "Gu Wanlin? Gu Wanlin? Can you hear me?"
She kept her eyes closed and her brows furrowed, and said weakly, "Stop calling me. I haven't fainted."
Gu Wanlin took a long time to open his eyes. Although his brows were slightly furrowed, his gaze was as gentle as the warm winter sun outside the window.
She called to me, "Come here."
I didn't realize what she was going to do for a moment, so I walked over to her.
She was still breathing heavily, "Come closer to me..."
Gu Wanlin raised her arms and wrapped them around me. I could even feel her arms trembling against my back. Her head was close to my ear, and her hot breath tickled my ear.
"It's been so long since I... stood here... and hugged you..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com