"I need both of you there. Don't leave. Let her legs on for now. Get Kathy's clothes off. Get her into a gown, up on the examining table with her legs in trays. Wrap her stumps and unhook the upper knee joints. Also turn off the computers. The team and I will be down to explain."
About ten minutes later Kathy was on her back on the table and ready for the procedure. She and Joyce really weren't sure what the procedure was to be. Apparently whatever the doctor wanted was urgent. When the computers were turned off her legs went strangely numb. It was a scary feeling. They were barely finished when the doctor came in followed by several other people pushing carts. They had machines that were plugged in and clustered around her. Dr. Western and two other people were gowned and gloved as if to perform surgery. Kathy was stunned. Had something gone wrong?"
"What's up Doc?" Kathy asked trying to be cheerful.
"We have another accident victim. She's in surgery right now. Her right leg was ripped off at the hip. She's lost a lot of blood and they don't believe she can tolerate the surgery needed to reattach it. In addition we don't have the hip joint ready to insert and she can't wait long enough for us to get it ready. Her hip was totally destroyed. We need the infusion device for her leg. We need her leg on infusion or we will loose it forever. We don't have another machine so we have to attach yours or George's leg to free a machine. I guess it's yours. I'll be in surgery for the rest of the day with her. I'm putting your legs on but don't try to walk on these until I get a chance to see them. Only use them to get to and from the chair and use crutches for support to do that. We can't have an accident. When we're done here you two need to get with George and you can do that sitting down. Be honest with him on what happened." With that he proceeded to work on her stumps. The nurse sprayed them with antiseptic solution. He clamped the tubes that exchanged blood and severed them. Then his assistant clamped and severed the tubes to her legs and passed them to the doctor. He used a machine to seal them and clear the air bubbles. Then he released the clamps and the blood started to flow. With little fanfare, he went to the other leg and performed the same function. As soon as he was done he left the room with an assistant pushing the infusion device. One of the other gowned doctors stayed with her and monitored the blood flow and her blood pressure.
After about a half hour he nodded to Joyce. "Can you put them back on?"
"Sure."
"Let her stumps bandaged so she can't use them until doc sees them. I'll have the nurse check her blood pressure regularly."
"OK," Joyce remarked as she started to bolt on the legs. "What do I do with this?" She asked as she pointed to the tubes. They were about two feet longer than they had to be to traverse the distance over Kathy's knees.
"I'll show you."
The doctor proceeded to coil them and place the coil in a hole in the knee. "That'll hold it for now." With that he left. Two nurses came in to help Joyce dress Kathy and get her into the wheel chair. They put the leg supports up to cradle her legs and plugged in the computers. The feeling returned. It was great. She had her legs back only she wasn't allowed to use them. But now, they were hers. Her body was feeding them for the first time in almost two months.
Joyce called the nurse's station on the fourth floor and asked that George be brought down to therapy just after lunch. With that she and Kathy went to the cafeteria to eat. The cafeteria was buzzing with rumors that were confirmed when she wheeled in. They ate amid stares. This was the girl who had lived for nearly two months without her legs and now had them back. They finished lunch and went back to the lab. George was in a wheel chair outside the door when they got there and was surprised to see her in a wheel chair.
"I'm here. Is something wrong? What happened to you?"
"Come on in. I have something to show you." Her long skirt covered enough of the legs to prevent him from seeing what had been done. Inside the room she wheeled over to a table and motioned him to follow.
