When Walking Is a Challenge, but Thinking Is Not

By J. A. Wall

Fourteen-year-old Lynn Patton is a brilliant teenager who has every reason to believe she is defective. Born a quadriplegic after the nerves in her arms and legs failed to properly form in the womb, Lynn has already been abandoned by her father because of her disabilities. Thankfully, her mother has made it her lifes mission to help Lynn develop the nerves in her limbs and ultimately enjoy a more normal life.

After spending years trying to get the world to accept her as an ordinary human being, Lynn begins to gain more use of her arms and legs and soon realizes that she and boys are discovering each other. Along with this revelation come the usual adolescent emotions, especially after a boy asks Lynn to the eighth grade dance. But when the school year ends and Lynn and her mother travel to the Maine coast to continue her rehabilitation for the summer, Lynn meets a boy who accepts her for who she is, her mother falls in love with a wealthy businessman, and Lynns father makes a sudden reappearance.

In this tale for teens, a brilliant young girl determined to overcome all her obstacles embarks on an inspirational journey to achieve her dreams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491751381

J. A. Wall

J. A. Wall is a retired engineer and teacher who lives in southeast Pennsylvania with his wife of fifty years. He has two daughters, four granddaughters, and one great-grandson.

Book preview

Chapter One

L ynn Patton turned off the water and carefully stepped out of the open European style shower using the bar at the side of the catch basin. She caught sight of this action in the full-length mirror on the bathroom door. She stared at herself. She seemed fairly well proportioned, just under five feet tall, budding, slender, adolescent body; but with quite thin legs and arms. The movements, however, were stiff and very controlled. She stood there momentarily considering her unclothed body. She then dried off, put on her robe, and, using her cane, walked into her bedroom to dress for school.

At breakfast, Lynn stopped in mid bite, Mom, my father left because of me, didn’t he?

Lynn, darling, what brought that on?

I’m almost fifteen now and I still can’t get my limbs to do quite what I want them to do. I know that I have been a defective child from the beginning. My father left because he couldn’t face having produced a defective child, didn’t he?

Oh, honey, when have I ever said that?

Mom, I do venture outside this house, you know. I have on occasion met ordinary, normal, shall we say, non-handicapped kids in my school career and I have met their parents. Do you want me to pretend I don’t know?

"Okay, since you are being so direct, let me be direct as well. You were never ‘defective’; and I don’t ever want to hear you say that again. Do you hear? Do you have any idea how much you have improved recently? Do you have any idea the strides you have made in therapy? Do you think you are bad now? I’m so glad that while you were going through the worst of it, you were too young to understand what it all meant. Your doctors have told me that if you continue your strides, you can be a fully functional woman well before you leave your teens. Yes, you were born with weak muscles and underdeveloped nerve responses; but they have been, and they are, slowly generating. With your exercises and therapy you can become, and I use the word cautiously, normal. Lynn, my beloved child, I know you can do it. When you do, your adulthood will be as normal as any other woman on earth."

Will it bring my father back?

To you, perhaps, but not to me.

Then, to hell with him! You are as important as, oh, I’m sorry, please forgive me; you are more important than I am!

Please don’t sell yourself short. I know that I am an important person in your young life, but please don’t think I am any more important than you are. Can’t we work our way through this together?

Yes, Mom, I can’t think of any other way to do it. I love you without bounds! Do you understand that?

Yes, dear; your father doesn’t know what he’s missing. He’s the big loser in all this, you know.

They finished breakfast and Gloria Patton drove her daughter to school. She kissed her goodbye and watched her walk deliberately in very controlled steps to the building entrance. Instead of driving directly to her home office, she stopped in a parking lot nearby and silently wept. The past fourteen years had been very rough on her. Lynn was right. Her husband had left almost as soon as it became apparent that she wasn’t physically normal. Gloria had been left with years of hospitalizations, therapy and exercises. Although he had paid child support for a short time, what he hadn’t stayed long enough to find out was that the little girl was as sharp as a tack mentally and had excelled in academic pursuits. She was a sensitive and sociable young girl that was liked by everyone.

She had chosen to transfer to ‘regular’ school from the school for the handicapped as soon as she was able to walk with crutches. It hadn’t always been easy. There had been certain students who teased Lynn because of her stilted walk and deliberate hand and arm motions, but she had insisted on staying and coping with it. She had managed to win over her staunchest tormentors, even Jeremy who had teased her unmercifully until he was hit by a car and developed a slight limp. She had persistently encouraged him to go to therapy until he relented and agreed to go. To his joy, the therapy strengthened his muscles and he lost the limp. He became Lynn’s closest male friend.

Gloria finally composed herself and drove home. She was glad she made so much money working from home so that she could always be there when Lynn was there. She was a financial consultant to wealthy individuals and had been successful enough to keep her client meetings during school hours. Her income had been strong enough to pay for all of Lynn’s treatments and still leave enough for a very comfortable life.

Shortly after she arrived at her office, the phone rang, Patton Consulting.

Mrs. Patton?

Yes, how can I help you?

Mrs. Patton, this is Urma Simpson, the guidance counselor at Phillips Middle School. I was wondering if you could stop in a little before the end of the school day someday soon. I’d like to have a word with you.

Is anything wrong with Lynn?

No, no, I’d like to have, shall we say, a consultation.

I’ll stop this afternoon.

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Gloria was full of trepidation on entering the guidance counselor’s office.

Thank you for stopping in, Mrs. Patton. I’ll get right to the point. There are two things I’d like to discuss. First, Lynn has expressed an interest in participating in gym class. I know she has been exempt because of her outside therapy, but she has asked me if there is some way she could participate.

I’ll have to discuss this with her doctors. I understand what she wants. She is stretching to be ‘normal’. Gloria took a deep breath, I’d like to do whatever I can to help her do what she wants. What’s the second thing?

Lynn is worried about you, Mrs. Patton. She has told me that she knows she has been a burden on you. She thinks you work too hard, and you may be getting tired. She’s trying to figure out how she can relieve some of the pressure on you. She loves you very much, you know.

Oh, no!

Mrs. Patton, let me be blunt. You have obviously been a remarkably good mother to Lynn. She has literally blossomed under your loving care, but you don’t do anything but work. If it is not a financial problem, I think it would do both of you a world of good for you to go on a vacation with Lynn. Take her someplace where you can relax and where she can get some ‘fun’ exercise. I grew up on the Maine coast. If you go to the Maine coast the two of you could walk on the beach, have lunch on the rocks, and so on. I don’t recommend letting her in the surf since the undertow can overtake a strong man at times; but letting the cold sea water wash over her bare feet would be wonderful, and the salt air would do the both of you a lot of good. I hope you don’t think I’m being too forward.

"No, Ms. Simpson, I didn’t think I was showing anything to poor Lynn. She’s never been a burden!"

Please don’t say ‘poor Lynn’, Mrs. Patton. I have many ‘normal’ students in this school who are nowhere near as pretty, smart, happy, confidant, and loved as Lynn. We all have times in our lives when we have to get away and clean out the cobwebs. I think that is all you two need right now. Think about it. Summer will be here before you know it.

Thank you, Ms. Simpson.

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Dr. Morgan? This is Gloria Patton.

Yes, Gloria, what can I do for you?

I’d like to discuss two things, Doctor. First, Lynn wants to participate in her gym class at school. I’d like to try to find some way to help her. What do you think?

Well, she’s not ready to go head to head with her peers in anything that requires rapid controlled movements just yet, but she’s getting there. I’d hate to have her injure herself at this critical junction. Just let me think about that for a while, okay?

Yes, thank you. Secondly, I’d like to take Lynn to the Maine coast for a real vacation this summer. Is there any reason she shouldn’t walk on the beach, wade in the shallow water, or climb on the rocks? Is there anything she shouldn’t be doing?

I think that would be a great idea for both your sakes. If the sand is hot she will have to wear footwear to cross it, since she can’t run. She can take them off when she reaches the wet sand. No wading too deep in the surf, but other than that she should do what she feels capable of doing. Remember, her ankles, knees, hips, and elbows are what we are trying to strengthen and stabilize right now. Her wrists and hands are just about there. Any activity that makes her bend her knees or elbows would be great. Get her a good pair of well-fitted sneakers for climbing and make sure someone is with her when she walks on the shore in case she needs stabilizing. A big plus is that it wouldn’t seem like therapy; but it sure would be therapy. Stay as long as you can. It will be good for both of you.

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Gloria walked into Lynn’s bedroom just about bedtime. She was lying on her bed reading a book with her legs and feet in the air. Gloria sat next to her daughter on the bed.

Lynn, honey, how would you feel about us going to the Maine coast for a vacation this summer, just the two of us?

The thought surprised and thrilled Lynn, Oh, Mom, I’d love to go. Could we, please?

Well, I’ll talk to my clients and see just how much time I can take. I do most of my work on the computer and on the phone so I could still do work from there. Let me see what I can work out.

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Farnsworth.

Hello, Henry, Gloria Patton.

Hello, Gloria, what do you have for me? Good news or bad?

Neither, I hope. I’d like to take Lynn to the Maine coast on vacation this summer. Would you have any objection to my working from there for a short time?

I think that would be wonderful. When was the last time you took a vacation?

It’s been a while.

Years, Gloria?

Yes, I guess it has.

Do you have a place to stay yet?

No, but I’m going to look as soon as I determine how long I can be gone.

Look, as you know, I have a home on the Maine coast in Winter Harbor. It’s up by Arcadia National Park. I am not using it this summer, why don’t you use it for the whole summer if you want?

Oh, Henry, I could never afford that, but thanks for offering.

Who said anything about money? You’ve been advising me for almost twelve years. I’ve made a lot of money listening to you. It would be a way for me to thank you at a minimal cost to me. Look, there is a fully equipped office up there with computer equipment set up for automatic downloading of financial information, fax machine, copy machine, multiple phone lines, and so on. There’s nothing on that machine but my financial data, and you know all that anyway. Gloria, take Lynn to my house for the summer. She’ll love it there and so will you.

I’m overwhelmed.

Then it’s settled. Let me know when you plan to arrive, and I’ll have the caretaker open the house for you. Thanks again, Gloria. Have a good summer and give that pretty little girl of yours a hug for me.

Thanks, Henry. You’re a lifesaver.

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As Lynn was eating a snack in the family room after school, her mother stuck her head in the doorway, Honey, Henry Farnsworth is letting us use his house in Winter Harbor, Maine for as long as we want this summer. It’s right on the coast.

Lynn stood up and walked over to her mother and wrapped her arms around her, Oh, Mom! That’s wonderful! I’m so happy!

Lynn? Honey? You just walked very smoothly and without your cane!

I did? Wow! I guess I did. I can do it, Mom!

Gloria hugged her daughter with tears in her eyes. Lynn’s enthusiasm had generated a burst of energy in her young joints. Both women knew it was just a small victory, but it was definitely a victory.

"I would like to get a new bathing suit, a two-piece suit. May I?"

A two-piece, Lynn? Well, I guess you are growing up right in front of my eyes. You’ll not be getting a string bikini but let’s see what we can find. After all, there just might be boys there, right?

Her daughter smiled, I love you, Mom. Don’t ever change, okay?

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The ‘small victory’ encouraged Lynn to push herself a little more. Whenever possible, she would carry her cane and not use it. At least once or twice a week, she used the stairs instead of the elevator at school. She would always arrive somewhat winded at the top, but she made it nonetheless. Once when she tried to walk faster to see if she could, she suddenly felt her knees wobble and, since she had her cane on her arm with her purse, she reached out for something to stabilize herself. A strong arm slipped under hers and held her steady.

Oh, hi, Jeremy, she said with a big smile, Thanks, I needed that.

You’re pushing yourself, Lynn. Be careful, okay.

I have to push myself, but thanks for caring.

Well, if you want to keep this up, why don’t I just walk along with you?

You’re a pal. I’d love to have you walk with me. By the way, Mom and I are going to Maine this summer.

That’s very nice. I’m going to miss you.

That’s sweet, Jeremy, I’ll miss you too.

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As the end of the school year approached, an eighth-grade dance was planned. Lynn felt sure that particular activity couldn’t include her, but she dreamed. She was at her locker one morning when Jeremy stopped.

Hi, Lynn.

Lynn smiled, Hi, Jeremy, come to give aid to the handicapped?

Jeremy’s face fell, Haven’t you known me long enough to know how sorry I am for my misguided teasing? Haven’t you forgiven me yet?

Yes, you’re right, I’m sorry. How are you?

Lynn, ah…, I don’t, ah…, maybe, ah…

Yes?

Well, Lynn, would you like to go to the eighth-grade dance with me?

Lynn reacted with a mixture of shock and anger, Jeremy! Are you trying to insult me? How cruel of you! I can’t…

Lynn! Lynn! Please listen to me. I don’t expect you to do any fast dances; but from what I can see recently, you can sure do some pretty good slow dances, can’t you? I’m not concerned with fast or slow. I just want to be with you. Can you understand that? Please?

Are you serious or are you just returning to your old ways?

Look, I couldn’t be sorrier about my original attitude toward you. I wouldn’t blame you if you never talked to me again. But, I have to confess, I have become very, well, let’s say, fond of you. No, actually, I really like you a lot! I haven’t felt like this with any other girl! Please, Lynn, forgive me and be my date. Please?

Jeremy, I’ll have to talk to my mother, but I’ll tell you this, if I go with anyone, I will go with you. I’ll let you know, okay?

I won’t breathe until you do.

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Mom, Jeremy asked me to go to the eighth-grade dance with him. He says he knows I can’t dance the fast dances. He says he would be content just being with me and dancing some slow dances. Please be honest, what do you think? Do I dare risk humiliation?

Gloria considered the situation for a moment, "Lynn, darling, I’ve watched Jeremy change from a tormentor to a true friend. Just maybe, he wants to position himself near a beautiful young woman and feel her sensuality. I have some small reservations, but they are in the preparation area. While I can’t tell you what to do, I suggest you accept the young man’s invitation. I will give you some slow dance lessons to prepare you for that event.

You would be taking a small risk, but I encourage you to do it. I don’t believe it can hurt you. I do believe it just might be a glorious evening for you. As you know, you can call me on your cell phone at any time. I will come get you. Seriously, Lynn, I don’t see that happening.

I’ve worked so long getting the other kids to accept me as I am. What if they laugh at me?

Honey, your muscle tone is so good these days, if you concentrate and don’t try to move too fast, I don’t think it will be a problem. Again, it is a risk, but one I think you should take.

After taking the evening to seriously consider both Jeremy’s request and her mother’s thoughts, she decided that she would take the chance and go with him to the dance.

In the hall at school Lynn stopped Jeremy, Yes.

Lynn?

Yes, I would like to go to the eighth-grade dance with you, as long as you don’t expect too much.

He smiled broadly, The prospect of spending an entire evening with you is enough to make me very happy! Any dancing we do will be a bonus. Thank you.

Gloria took Lynn to the mall to search for a dress. Whether her body was completely functional was irrelevant to the style and beauty of the dress. Lynn thoroughly enjoyed her first search for a somewhat formal dress. She and her mother visited several stores. She tried on several dresses evaluating colors, styles, and lengths.

They finally selected a pale blue, mini-sleeved dress with a somewhat scooped neckline and a hem that came to just above her knees. They then bought a pretty pair of flats to match her dress. Lynn and her mother practiced slow dancing, over and over. In her quiet moments, Lynn had a nagging doubt about going to the dance. As the day approached, she decide that she would just have to swallow her fear, and be prepared to call her mother if anything went wrong.

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Jeremy’s father stayed in the car while Jeremy came to the front door.

Good evening, Mrs. Patton, is Lynn ready?

Good evening, Jeremy. She’s almost ready, please come in.

His was stunned when Lynn walked slowly but smoothly out of the hall to the entry, Lynn, you look beautiful!

Thank you!

Are you ready to go, dear?

Yes, Mom, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.

She handed her mother the cane.

Jeremy, plan on holding my hand a lot tonight. I’m not taking my cane, so I will need to hold on to you, okay?

It will be my pleasure. Good evening, Mrs. Patton.

Good evening to both of you, have a good time.

She kissed her daughter and watched her walk to the car holding Jeremy’s arm.

On arrival, they walked up the ramp to the gymnasium.

Once inside, they were met by Ms. Simpson, Lynn, we have a couple of discreetly reserved seats for you and Jeremy. We’ll make sure they are always available if you need to sit down. Have a wonderful time!

Thank you, Ms. Simpson.

Lynn knew many, if not most, of the young people in the gymnasium. It struck her that the moment of truth had arrived. The idea that all of her fellow classmates could watch her take this leap of faith made Lynn a little nervous, but she soon got over it. She and Jeremy walked around with her holding his arm, talking to various friends. Soon the first slow number was played.

Well, Lynn, said Jeremy, Can I have this dance?

Lynn took a deep breath, Okay, but please don’t expect too much.

On the dance floor, she draped her arms around his neck and he put his around her waist. She was surprised at just how carefully he danced, deliberately locking in his steps to hers. His concentration was evident from the intent look on his face.

Lynn laughed, You look like you’re working harder than I am.

I just want you to have the best time of your life tonight. You look great, you smell great, you feel great, and I don’t see anything wrong with your dancing. I really like you, Lynn Patton. Thank you for coming with me.

Well, I like you too, Jeremy. I wouldn’t have taken this chance with anyone else but you. Thank you for asking me.

The dance ended and they walked to their seats. They danced about every other slow dance, had some soda, and talked to the many friends who came over. Lynn noticed some of her girlfriends talking in a small group and occasionally looking in her direction. Her spirits sank a little because she recognized they were talking about her.

After a while, Lynn said to Jeremy, Well, I have a real treat for you now. You may walk me to the girl’s room.

He laughed, Any excuse I have to hold you or your hand is alright with me.

He took her to the door and she stepped inside. As the door closed she put her hand on the wall to stabilize herself.

Can I help, Lynn?

Oh, hi Patti, yes, thanks. She took Patti’s arm and they walked to the stall. When she finished, Patti was waiting. By the way, Patti, I saw you girls talking. Just how bad do I look out there?

"I’m sorry, Lynn, we shouldn’t have talked behind your back. But, Lynn, we were saying how awesome you look tonight! We think you are amazing, and we admire you so much. Don’t think we don’t know the challenges you face every day! Your drive, determination, courage, and willingness to take risks to reach your goals makes the rest of us girls look like wimps. You look beautiful tonight, and you dance great. We’re all a little envious of you tonight."

Thanks, Patti. That isn’t what I expected to hear, but it’s a real boost to the ego. I better get back to Jeremy.

What took so long? I was getting worried.

Sorry, Jeremy, I was talking to Patti for a moment.

What was she saying?

Well, let’s just say she was telling me the world is a very strange place. Come on, let’s dance.

Feeling like a great weight was lifted from her, Lynn dance with more ease. She had reached out farther than she had ever reached; and this time, she had grasped her goal on the first try. She felt elated.

Toward the end of the evening, Jeremy pulled her a little closer as they danced.

Are you getting tired?

Yes, unfortunately I am. We better sit the rest out or I’m not going to be quite as stable as I have been.

They walked back to their seats. Lynn had to hold his arm tighter than earlier.

Feeling this, Jeremy smiled, Look, it’s late enough. Shall I call my dad?

Well, if you don’t mind, Jeremy, I am feeling like I’m running out of steam.

No problem. You’ve done remarkably tonight. I want you to walk out of here feeling as good as you look. I want you to say ‘yes’ the next time I ask you to a dance.

Mr. Owens picked them up and drove them to her house. Her mother let them in and looked at Lynn with one raised eyebrow. Lynn smiled broadly and winked at her.

Her mother smiled back, I’ll be in the kitchen.

When she was gone, Lynn hugged Jeremy, "Thank you for a wonderful evening, Jeremy, I loved