Rosie sat next to the Christmas tree in the living room of their house. She had overheard her mum and Declan talking a while back about the possibility of them moving to a smaller house—somewhere easier for her to move around in her wheelchair—but then nothing came of it.
Declan had told her mum that she shouldn’t be too hasty and to try to take one day at a time.
Rosie thought he was right. Of course, it had helped a lot when Declan moved in with them just after Halloween. He was lovely—she really liked him and he seemed to really love her mum. And Rosie was happy when she saw her mum happy, too.
Which was a lot these days.
Of course, Rosie knew that she and her mum had gone through some terrible problems when she got sick and that she was still dealing with the effects of all that. She also knew that she wasn’t exactly the same as how she was before, but her mum and Declan were helping her get better and were always cheering her on.
So she knew everything would be OK.
Yes, there were times when she got really frustrated because she felt like her brain knew what she wanted to do but couldn’t make her body do it. And she pronounced words a little weird.
But the doctors—physical and speech therapists, her mum called them, kind ones that really helped her—said she was making great progress. Rosie didn’t even really need to use her wheelchair much anymore, which was great. She hated that thing and only used it when she was really tired. She had her walker most of the time now, and she felt herself getting stronger all the time.
Because she really, really wanted to go back to school to see her friends and learn to be a paleontologist.
“OK, Rosie, who’s next for a present?” Declan said, sitting on the other side of the tree next to her mum. He wore a huge smile—in fact, he couldn’t stop smiling—probably because her mum had said yes earlier and was now wearing a pretty diamond ring on her left hand.
“I don’t know,” said her mum, crawling closer to the tree to get a better view. “These all look like they are for Rosie from Santa. Somebody was obviously very good this year. You keep on opening them, sweetheart.” She and Declan then settled back on the couch across from the tree, enjoying watching her open her presents.
While her movements were still a bit awkward, Rosie leaned forward and moved some of the remaining presents around, checking the labels. Yes, they all had her name on them. She smiled happily at the realization, but then remembered that gift for her mum Declan had helped her with.
“Mum,” she said, pronouncing the words determinedly. “Here’s one for you.” She was proud that she had gotten so much better at talking recently and she had practiced this a lot. She scooted around to right herself as she reached over to her walker and hoisted herself to a standing position.
“Oh, don’t worry. I can come over there and get it,” said her mum with concern in her voice. Declan nudged her arm—silently encouraging her to give Rosie the space to do her own thing. He did that a lot and she appreciated it. She wanted to do things on her own more than anything else.
“It’s OK,” she said, moving the walker across the wooden floor ever so slowly.
Something dawned on her as she started to move, her steps heavy and stomping, and the notion that she must look a bit like a T. rex made Rosie giggle.
But she felt good. And, most important, her legs felt good, too. Slowly, as she gained confidence, she pushed the walker to one side.
And much to the astonishment of her mum, who cried out with amazement and tears, Rosie walked toward her mother all on her own.
Just like she and Declan had planned.
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