CHAPTER 8

HEALING

Monday was Suzy’s first day of practice without the wrist brace. Standing by the balance beam, Suzy stretched her arms, shoulders, and neck. She slowly flexed her wrist. It felt stiff, but there was no pain.

Take it easy, she remembered Dr. Wong saying. Obviously Dr. Wong knew nothing about gymnastics, because there was no taking it easy.

Suzy knew she should be practicing her floor routine instead, but she missed the challenge of practicing other events. What if she had forgotten how to perform on the beam?

She mounted the beam and straddled it. Swinging her legs back, she crouched onto the beam, then stood up. Following with a split leap, she propelled forward from one foot, her body shaking. After she landed, she paused and prepared for a back walkover. She shook her left wrist side to side to get the blood flowing. Standing tall, she pulled her arms back and out. She raised her right leg, toes pointed. Then she leaned back into a back bend, keeping her eyes on the beam.

Suzy pushed off with her left leg and kicked all the way over into standing position. She felt a tug in her wrist, but moved through it.

“What are you doing, Suzy?” yelled Coach as she marched across the gym floor.

Suzy felt a knot in her stomach.

“You’re supposed to be focusing on your floor routine,” Coach said as she drew closer.

“Sorry, Coach. I forgot,” Suzy lied, feeling a twinge of guilt.

“Stay tight. Head in the game,” said Coach Pat as she walked away.

“Stick to your floor routine,” whispered Suzy to herself. She took a sip from her water bottle and turned, her gaze moving to Rebecca on the uneven bars. Rebecca was performing a giant, rotating 360 degrees in a full extended position.

Coach Pat was now standing at Rebecca’s side, arms crossed. “Remember to straighten your legs,” Coach said.

Suzy felt a pang of jealousy. She wanted Coach Pat to give her advice too. It seemed like all Coach did was yell at her.

Rebecca continued to rotate around the bar three times. She finished with a double backflip off the bar. Suzy watched Rebecca’s feet hit the mat. She struck her finishing pose, arms up and out.

Of course she nailed the landing, Suzy thought.

Suzy headed toward the mat. She needed to focus, but her mind raced with thoughts. The meet was creeping closer—just a week away. At least she no longer had the wrist brace. She should be happy. But what if her wrist injury had caused her to lose strength or skill?

Suzy did a few dance moves, leaping in the air and pivoting on her toes. She swayed her hips side to side, one hand in the air. Suzy took a moment and tried to clear her head, preparing for a tumbling pass. It would be the first one since her injury.

Charging on the mat, she did a roundoff, landing with both feet on the ground. She meant to follow up with a front handspring, but the thought of putting more pressure on her left wrist stopped her. She took a breath, beads of sweat dribbling down her temples.

What a wimp, she thought. Show them you can do this. She gave it another try, pushing through her shoulders and twisting her hips. She landed, then bounced off the mat with her toes, moving to a front handspring. She felt off-balance and awkward, but she rotated 360 degrees from her feet to hands until she fell hard onto the mat.

Suzy got up and walked away. She took a long drink from her water bottle. Chill, she told herself. Act like nothing happened.

Just then Katie pranced by, her blue leotard shimmering. “Coming back from an injury isn’t easy,” she said. “It’ll get better. Hang in there.”

Suzy nodded and looked away. She could feel the tears rising. The walls of the gym turned wavy like water. Across the gym, Rebecca was trying a new move off the vault. Suzy watched Rebecca push off the vault with her hands, her body twisting in the air.

Something in Suzy snapped. A new trick! That’s what you need to do, she thought, wiping away a tear. She charged down the mat and went straight into a roundoff. Her feet sprung off the mat, and instead of a half twist, she decided to do a full twist. She spun in the air, but something felt off. She felt her legs split apart, and she barely landed on her feet and stumbled backward.

Suzy shook her head in frustration. She wiggled her wrist.

“Suzy!” Coach Pat hollered.

Great. Coach doesn’t sound too happy, thought Suzy. She turned around and saw Coach Pat wave her over to the side of the gym.

As Suzy approached, she saw Coach Pat frown. “Remember to push through your shoulders,” Coach said. She paused. “And what’s with the full twist? You doing that for the meet?”

“I was thinking about it,” said Suzy.

“Not a good idea,” replied Coach Pat. “Stick to your routine. No new tricks. Got it?”

“Got it,” said Suzy. Coach was probably right. It was a risky move coming off an injury, and Suzy knew it. But part of the thrill of gymnastics was trying new tricks. She took a drink from her water bottle, tempted by the idea.

* * *

The rest of the week, Suzy practiced harder and harder. Slowly, she gained more confidence on her tumbling passes. She performed a front handspring, followed by a back handspring, letting go of the tension in her wrist. Pretty soon, her body felt lighter and she tried to forget she had injured her wrist in the first place.

On the night before the big meet, Suzy’s mind kept replaying each move of her floor routine. Tricks raced in her head. She was performing a full twist off the mat, her body spiraling through the air. As she landed, she felt a sharp pain shoot through her left wrist and up her arm. She lost her balance and the mat cracked open into a bottomless pit, her body falling into a dark void.

Suzy screamed and sat upright. Her heart fluttered. “It was just a dream,” she told herself. “An awful dream.”