The week went by much faster than I thought. It was probably due to my anticipation of being able to leave my room. My room had no windows due to it being more of a repurposed closet than a bedroom, so that made me even more eager to be able to leave my room and look out the window. I knew it was midwinter right now and I wanted to be able to watch the snowfall. I had realized that I probably wouldn't be able to go outside even after the timeframe my brother had gave me, due to the snow.
Once one week after my brother had showed me the wheelchair had come around. I was in much better shape. This was largely due to my newfound motivation for getting better. I no longer was content with just laying around and talking to my brothers. I wanted to get out of this room and watch the snow. I was also hoping we could play a game of cards at the dining table together.
I had just finished lunch when all three of my brothers came in my room. Ray pushing the wheelchair he had showed me a week ago. "Are you ready to try this out?" Mike asked. "I'm beyond ready. I'm so happy to finally get out of this room!" I said excitedly.
"I bet you are, but you still have to be careful." said Ben with an error of apprehension about him, "You're still not in very good health. You may be worlds apart from when you first woke up, but that does not mean you are healthy." "I know I'll be careful I promise, besides it's not like I'm leaving the house." "Yes but you still need to make sure you don't get too close to the windows. The rooms outside of your bedroom are also much larger which means they are more prone to being chilled, so you need to make sure you stay warm." "Don't think you're being a little too serious," said Mikey, "she's just leaving her bedroom. It's not like she's going to climb to the top of the mountain!"
"He's right Ben , besides, she doesn't even know how to use the wheelchair on her own yet so she physically can't go anywhere without her help," chimed in Ray. We'll see how long that lasts," I murmured mischievously. "You're not helping your case Sue," scolded Ray. I smiled at that. I knew very well that I wasn't, but I was enjoying pestering him more than a little bit. It's not like they could really do anything about it. All four of them, including mother, had agreed to let me use the wheelchair today, so there was no backing out of it no matter how much I made them worry about it.
Mikey walked over to me and messed up my hair a little saying it, "It only took you being unconscious for over a year to get you to act your age for once!" he then pinched my nose. "Hey stop it that hurt!" "I'll stop pinching your nose when you stop acting like me." I smiled at that and said, "Okay, okay I'll stop. I don't want to steal your job as the trouble maker away from you anyways." He snorted at me then let go of my nose.
"You better behave or we won't let you use the wheelchair pass today. It'll be easier to keep an eye on you if you're in your bed." said Ben. "No please don't do that. I'm so bored in here. I want to go outside this room and watch the snow!" "Then behave yourself," interjected Ray. "If you cause too much trouble, that's exactly what we have to do." "Since when have I ever been one to cause trouble?" "Since the day you passed out apparently," Mikey added then seemed to immediately regretted after seeing the look on my face.
"Did I really cause you guys much trouble? I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to get sick that day." Ray and Ben both smacked Mike upside the head. "Ow, guys! Wait, no Sue, you didn't cause us trouble. It wasn't your fault!" "But you guys had to take care of me for over a year and if I hadn't gone out all day and not had anything to eat and drink, I wouldn't have passed out and then you wouldn't have been responsible for me or felt guilty! It's all my fault." Tears started going down my cheeks, and I was left wondering how we went from me using the wheelchair for the first time to me crying.
"No Sue none of this is your fault," Ray shouted, "It's our fault we turn the family on its head without warning and then we didn't even think to make sure you were okay. You probably stayed up that entire night worrying about what happened too, then we made even worse! We didn't even notice that you were gone until dusk! Mother was frantically looking for you all on her own!" Ray is right Sue, it's our fault not yours. We were stupid! You didn't cause us any trouble when you were sick! If anything taking care of you the least we could do after putting you in that state." Mike solemnly stated.
Ben walked over closer to me and wiped away my tears, " Sue what Ray said is mostly right. What happened to you seems to have been our fault at first. We don't know what happened later. You started screaming bloody murder. About five months after you've been unconscious but before that happened, your condition was our fault. We are really sorry and very thankful that when you woke up, you forgive us, you shouldn't blame yourself either. How about you stop crying we get you in this wheelchair so you can go watch snow? We can even play a game of cards later if you feel up to it. How does that sound?" His words made me smile, and I nodded my head in agreement.
Mikey let out a sigh of relief, and Ray smiled at me happy that this had been resolved. I slowly set up and Ray pushed the wheelchair to my bedside. Mike and Ben stood at either side of me and grabbed an arm. They helped lift me up and then slowly lower me into the wheelchair.
The wheelchair was made out of wood with steel rimmed wheels. It had a blue plad cushion on the seat, the back, and the head rest. I recognized the fabric is coming from one of my old dresses that used to be my favorite. I couldn't wear it anymore because I had outgrown it, but I hadn't wanted to get rid of it because it had been my favorite, so I had saved it in my dresser. It seems they had found it and decided to repurpose the fabric for the wheelchair. This made me incredibly happy because I would get to look at the fabric every day for quite some time! They arm rests, had white fabric wrapped around them to make them softer and there was a rest for my feet.
"Which one of you made this chair? I love it!" Ray smiled at me. "We all helped make it. I made the base made the wheels and the more technical components and Mike made the cushions and wrapped up the armrests." "Thank you so much. I'll make sure to take really good care of it!" "That's good, it needs to be handled with care because none of us are expert wheelchair artisans, so I can not vouch for its durability." After then, said this, Mikey elbowed him in the gut and said, "It doesn't matter if it ends up falling apart, we're just happy you like it and that it will help you get around for the time being." " that is true Mike but it's still is a good thing that she will take care of it because we needed the hold up for as long as she needs to use it!" Shouted Ben. "Oh I guess you're right there," Mikey said, scratching his head and looking down at his feet.
Ray rolled his eyes at the other two and then said to me, "Ignore them. Why don't we just get you out into the living room?" Before I could respond, he started wheeling me out of my bedroom.