Today John’s leg cast is coming off on Peter’s coffee table. And so will his stitches. And so will his super invalid post-surgery status. The first attempt -- with Peter’s chainsaw — produces a desired effect and terrifies the patient sufficiently to abandon all hope.
Other stages follow, with one layer of gauzy wrappers after another expertly cut and allowed to fall apart until the leg itself is revealed in all its mangled glory.
But the promised “stitches” turn out to be crude metal staples. So Peter gallops to his hospital next door. It is a quiet Saturday, with no one around, and he hopes to sneak in and grab a staple-removing gizmo from the surgery. Grab he does, returns, and employs it.
I expect to see the following item in our local paper tomorrow morning. On its front page.
"An unauthorized local physician sneaked into the surgery department of S.Joseph Regional Hospital on Saturday and absconded with a staple removing tool worth $29,99 Canadian. The purpose of the theft was not immediately established but the physician, whose name has been withheld pending future investigation of the incident, has been apprehended and brought to a local post of Royal Canadian Mounted Police. His small black dog, a nondescript mutt named Joey, seemed genuinely chagrined and may even plead guilty in order to protect his owner."
Never mind: such deeds, performed to aid a human in need, are always legal.
And here is John's leg, clearly liberated. Now just 6 more weeks on crutches with no weight bearing, and we may see him walking.
Not well. Not for long. Not pain free. But — walking.
©Yva Momatiuk
©Yva Momatiuk
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