Finale
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Chapter 14
With the kids working the summer session, Tor, Andrea, and I have the boys to contend with. A pleasure for us when we're not at the office, but with Andrea taking the brunt of it, we encourage the boys to spend their time with us when we're home.
I'm not surprised when Stephan calls and asks if we will take Sergei for his checkup with the prosthetist. Tor motions for me to get on the cordless phone and calls Deke's dad, asking him if he's reached a decision. Apparently the man has a busy practice because he tells Tor he hasn't had time, though Deke is getting restless. That's when Tor asks if he or Deke's mother can drive him over so we can take Deke when we take Sergei. Jim seems pleased until Tor tells him to have Deke bring enough clothes for a week.
"It's no trouble at all, and Deke can stay with Andy, if you want."
"But why does he need to stay?"
"When you fit dentures, is it an immediate process?"
"Not at all."
"It's the same with prosthetics. They'll make a mold of Deke's stump then fabricate the arm. He'll need to be seen several times over a short period of time."
"Why?"
"The hospital also has a prosthetics department. If they're not busy, they can fit Deke in two or three days, then check the fit after a day or so of use."
"Tor and I can take him in when we go to our offices. They're in easy walking distance of the hospital, and I have a much lighter schedule than Tor, so I can bring Deke back here when he's through," I tell him.
"It's very generous of you to offer, but I don't know."
"Why not let Deke decide? With Sergei for company he'll be far more relaxed about what will be a strange process to him."
"I hadn't thought of that. I don't want his mother to bring him alone because she's still emotional about it."
"All the more reason for you to let Deke stay with Sergei and Andy."
"After the way he's talked about the weekend he spent with them, I'm certain he will benefit from being with them again."
"Good. Sergei's appointment is for Friday, so bring him over then."
"I'll have to bring Deke Thursday afternoon. I have only one early appointment."
"That will be fine. Andrea will be home with the boys."
The reunion is noisy to say the least. Deke's father looks happy for his son as he hands us Deke's bag and thanks us again before leaving. The argument breaks out when Tommy tells Sergei and Deke to go get baths and go to bed, because we'll be leaving early.
"I'm going, too," Andy says.
"Sorry, but it's just Sergei and Deke this time, babe," Tor tells him.
"Why? You let me go see Sergei in the hospital."
"Because the prosthetist will be spending his time with them and you would be in his way. Drew'll bring them home as soon as they're through."
"But I …"
"Andrew Torrence." Andrea says firmly.
Andy knows he's pushed the limit when any of us call him Andrew, so he says no more.
"I'll need you to help me at the supermarket, Andy. You remember what you promised me?"
"Yes, mom."
"Good. Now you boys go to bed."
"You're gonna like Rocky," Sergei says to Deke on our way in. "He's way cool."
"Does it hurt?" Deke asks.
"Naa. Rocky's gonna smear some kind of goop all over your stump, then cover it in plaster. The hard part's trying not to move while the plaster stuff is drying. It don't take long."
"Can you stay with me?" Deke sounds a little anxious to me, so I turn around. "I'm sure he can if you ask Rocky. Sergei has a good time when he sees Rocky, that's why I asked him special to see you."
Deke manages a smile.
We're hardly in the prosthetics department when Rocky comes out and high-fives Sergei. "Hi, dude. Good to see you. How's that leg doing?"
"Awesome. Tor took us out on the institute's boat and I didn't slip once when it started to roll, but Andy and Deke did."
"Told you I'd get you a good one. Who's your buddy?"
"Deke. He came so you could fix him a hook like Tor's."
Rocky grins at Deke. "A friend of Sergei's gets special attention. How you doin', dude?"
He high-fives Deke who impulsively raises his stump. Rocky slaps it. "You guys wanna come in together?"
"Yeah, dude," Sergei says.
Rocky looks at us. "You planning on waiting for the guys? You know I'm going to be two hours or so with them."
Tor looks at me, then back at Rocky. "We do need to be with Deke when you show him the options, so we can give his father the information."
"No problem. I can call you at your office, if you've work to do."
"Good. We do need to check on a few things. That okay with you, Deke?"
He nods.
"Good enough. You remember our numbers, don't you, Sergei?"
"Yeah. We're cool."
We finish our work and check over our mail before Sergei calls. When we get back to the hospital, Deke holds out his stump and laughs. "Look what Rocky did." He's drawn a 'smiley face' on the end of Deke's stump with a yellow marking pen.
"Why did he do that?"
"Cause he said my arm was happy to get a prosthesis. Rocky's cool like Sergei said."
We look up to see Rocky. "'Kay, guys, let's go see what Deke's stump wants on the end."
When Deke sees the display of terminal devices, his mouth drops open. He looks at Rocky. "I thought I was gonna get a hook."
"There's all types, dude." He holds up a standard split hook. "This is what Tor has." He puts it down and hands Deke one that has a curve in the prongs before they meet at the end. "This one's great for holding a beer." He winks at Deke. "You’re a little young for that, but it holds a Coke can, too." He holds out a plastic coated hand. "This one's okay, but it's mostly for looks."
"Gee, I dunno. I thought a hook was a hook. I never saw one before Tor's."
"They're all useful depending on what you're doing, that's why there are so many choices. These are made for guys your age. If you want, I can make them interchangeable. You could use this one like Tor's, and, " he holds up the plastic hand, "and this one when you dress up."
"Does it work?"
"Sure. Watch." Rocky attaches the hand to a socket on the work bench and pulls the cable. The thumb swings out and the all the fingers move back.
Deke grins. "My mom would like that." He holds his hand beside it. "Don't look much like this."
"I can make it look real if you want, but it's going to cost a lot."
Deke looks at Tor and me. "What you think?"
"Why not let Rocky go ahead with the 99X hook, but put a changeable wrist unit on so you can add the soft hand, or another type hook later if you want?"
"Yeah!"
"Rocky, can you give Deke pictures with descriptions and prices for his father?"
"Sure thing. Want me to include the price for a hand that looks like yours, dude?"
"Yeah."
"Got it, buddy. You come back Tuesday and I'll have your hook all ready for you to try."
"Cool."
That night Tor and I call his father. "You may want to drive over and take a look at the pictures and prices of the alternatives Deke has to choose from," Tor tells him.
"I thought he had decided on a hook like yours."
"That's what Rocky's making up for him, but there's a hand that can be made to match his for dress purposes. It's interchangeable with the hook and Deke said his mother would like it. The reason I called is that it's rather expensive, so you should be in on that decision."
"I don't wish to involve Nancy at this point. Would it be convenient if I drove over Tuesday evening? I'll tell her I have a meeting to attend."
"That will be fine. Will you have dinner with us?" I ask.
"It's gracious of you to ask, but it's far too much trouble. You're doing too much for Deke as it is."
"No trouble at all. Come to our house and we'll have Deke here without the others so you can talk to him."
"Thank you. About six-thiry, then?"
"Perfect."
To our surprise, Deke won't let Sergei and Andy come with him Tuesday. "No way. I'm gonna surprise you dudes," he says.
I stay with him while Tor goes to his office to check the mail. Rocky takes us back to the examination room and brings in Deke's arm. "Here you go, dude. Let's try it on."
"It's all shiny."
"You think I'd give you a dirty old hook? Where you been, man?" Rocky helps Deke slip his stump into the socket, then fastens the cuff holding the control cable around his upper arm. "Okay, guy, now comes the fun part." He runs the straps across Deke's back, finally fastening the chest strap. "How's it feel?"
"Tight."
Rocky checks with his finger. "Feels about right, buddy. You'll get used to it. See if you can lift the hook."
Deke has less of a problem than he had with Tor's for obvious reasons. He holds it up above his head.
"Good going, dude. Can you open the hook?" He looks amazed when Deke shrugs his left shoulder forward and the hook opens. "How'd you learn that?"
Deke grins. "Tor let me try his."
"He's a good teacher. Let our therapist show you a few tricks, then you can go home and practice. Ask Tor to show you how he does things. If you find any places on your stump getting red or raw, I want you to come back immediately, otherwise I'll see you Friday." Rocky looks at me. "Is he staying with you?"
"For a few days."
"Good. Get Tor to examine his stump each night. He knows what to look for."
"Will do. Ready to go, Deke?"
"Yeah, man. I wanna show Andy and Sergei." He holds out the hook.
When we're back home, I remind him. "Tor and I want you at our house at five, because your father's coming over to talk to you about the hand."
"Cool. I wanna show him my hook. Sergei and Andy coming?"
"No. You need to talk to your father without them around."
"Aw, I guess it's okay."
Jim seems happy with Deke's exhuberant use of the hook at dinner though he's still clumsy. After, he sits next to Deke and looks at the pictures Rocky gave him. His eyebrows raise when he sees the price of the custom made hand.
"Well, son, are you happy with the hook?"
"Yeah. Tor's gonna help me learn to use it good, but I like the hand, too."
"It does look better than the hook and it would please your mother. Sure you wouldn't rather have just that?"
Deke shakes his head. "Rocky said it would get messed up if I played when I’m using it." He looks at his father. "I know mom will like it, and it'll keep those old ladies at church from making such a fuss."
Jim nods. "I suppose you are rather tired of hearing them." He looks at me. "Is Deke due for another session with the prosthetist any time soon?"
"Friday."
"Fine. Tell him to make up a hand to match Deke's real one."
"Super!" Deke hugs his father.
"One more thing. Deke's not giving you any trouble is he?"
"Lord, no. The boys are outside practically all day. That keeps Andy and Sergei out of our hair." Tor says.
"Good." He stands. "You don't know how much I appreciate what you're doing, because Deke's happier than I've ever seen him."
Of course both Andy and Sergei are unhappy when we tell them they can't go with Deke on Friday. Tor and I need to check on things at the office and Rocky has told us he's set aside a two-hour block of time for all that he'll have to spend matching Deke's skin color and size to make the hand, probably more. Deke is perfectly happy to go with Rocky without us, and Rocky assures me he'll call my office when they're finished.
It's nearly one when he calls. Tor and I have finished up everything we had waiting for us and gotten some other work done as well. Deke is in therapy when we get there.
"Deke learns fast," the physical therapist tell us. "It's mostly up to him now."
"Yeah, Drew. I learned how to button my shirt and brush my teeth, and a lot of things."
"Good for you. Let's go get something to eat. What would you like?"
"Lasagna."
"Okay."
He has learned, because he holds the fork in his hook the entire meal, using his hand only to hold his glass of tea. When we're finished eating, he grins. "See? I told ya."
Tor slaps him on the back. "Ya done good, dude. Better than I did when I got mine."
"Really?" Deke's proud as punch.
"Yeah. Your dad's going to be real proud of you."
I look at Tor and mouth 'beach'. He mouths back 'next weekend'.
"Deke, would you like to go back to the beach next weekend with Andy and Sergei?" I ask, knowing it's a stupid question.
"Rad!"
The moment we're home Andy and Sergei come running over. "We're going to the beach next weekend!" Deke yells.
"Wow!"
When his father comes to pick him up, Deke tells him about the trip.
"You can't possibly."
Deke's face falls. "Why, dad?"
"You've practically moved in with Dr. Torrence. He must be tired of you by now."
"Not at all. He was so good about his visits to Rocky and the therapist he deserves a reward. That's why Tor and I want him to go with the boys next weekend."
"But his mother and I have imposed on you too much already."
I look at the expectant boys, then back. "No imposition, and there'll be a riot if you don't let him go."
"Please, dad. We have so much fun."
"Well, I suppose."
"Great!" All three boys yell at once.
"God, I hope Deke gets that kind of acceptance from his friends at home."
"They're going to be curious, but Deke's accepted his hook, so he'll be proud to show them what he can do with it. I think you and Nancy will be amazed when you watch him eat dinner tonight."
To be continued...
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Posted: 01/18/08