lying in traction , it was upsetting , to say the least . Lonny was sleeping under a sedative . He had been restless ever since they had brought him back from the recovery room . She looked at the cast going from his thigh down to his foot and followed the long slender cable up to the pulley , and watched the weight swing slightly like the pendulum of a giant clock . It was a long way from here to any horse show ring .
Helen spent the night in the big chair in Lonny ’ s room . She was awakened by a nurse coming in to check on Lonny ’ s condition . Through sleepy eyes she looked at her watch . It was a quarter after six . The
ITV QUEST ou
AV BLUE by Charles Barry Sanderson
Helen was sitting in the window trying to get a little rest . She felt the warmth of the afternoon sun on her face and it was very relaxing . The smell of medicine hung in the air . She had never liked a hospital and had fleeting reminders of the ordeal she had had in this same hospital just a few months before . The past twelve hours had been almost too much for her , and she was near exhaustion .
Helen had called her mother in Evansville , Indiana , and had made arrangements for her to come and look after the children . It was especially difficult since they had a five-month-old baby girl in the house in addition to Lonny , Jr . and four-year-old Ralphy . Little Lonny was in the first grade now and wasn ’ t too much of a problem , but the other two would require someone to look after them while Helen stayed with Lonny at the hospital .
She didn ' t know how long she had been asleep , but she was startled by the sounds of activity as the door opened to the hospital room . It was Dr . Greely . Sitting up in the big chair , she brushed a tassel of hair out of her face and , rubbing her eyes , said , " Hello , Doctor . Where is Lonny ? ... Is he all right ? . . . Have they — ^ Dr . Greely put his hand on her shoulder and said , " Easy , now ! Everything ’ s all right . He ’ s in the recovery room and will be down here in about a couple of hours . You can see him then .’' Helen sank down into her chair and put her hand over her eyes . Dr . Greely patted her on the shoulder and said , " Here
I ' ve got something that will help you relax .” Helen said , " Not now ... I don ’ t want to go to sleep . I just want to wait here on Lonny .” As Dr . Greely poured her a glass of water , he said , " Helen . . . there are some complications that you should know about . Nothing serious , but you should know what to expect for the next few months .”
Darkness was settling over the city as Helen stood looking out the window of room 321 at the Baptist Hospital . She took a deep breath and tried to rationalize that they were lucky that Lonny wasn ’ t hurt more seriously . As she turned and looked at him nurse was very pleasant and spoke in a low tone as she said , " Well , good morning , Mrs . Barnes . How is our patient this morning ?” Hearing the conversation , Lonny opened his eyes and looked around him . He looked up at the nurse and then over to Helen and smiled . Helen got up , came over to the side of his bed , and said , " Welcome to the land of the living , hoss man .” Lonny rubbed his cast as the nurse handed Helen a warm washcloth and said , " I ’ ll bet he would like to have his face washed .” Lonny struggled to sit up a little more in bed , and his nurse said , " Mr . Barnes , I believe you ’ d better stay put for a while ,” and stuck a thermometer in his mouth .
By the middle of the afternoon Lonny was in fairly good spirits . Helen had gone home to check things there and had returned with a report on the condition of things at the barn . Lonny was watching a basketball game on television when the door opened and Dink Fuller walked in . He took one look at Lonny and said , " Damn ’ if you don ’ t look fit : lying there with your foot in the air , taking life easy !” Lonny laughed and said , " I ’ ll trade places with you anytime . Com ’ on in here , ol ’ man .” Dink put several horse magazines on the table beside the bed and said , " I brought you some real old magazines to read . You know . . . stuff about the old horses and some of the folks that made this breed great .”
After a few minutes of small talk Lonny got serious in his discussion with Helen and Dink . He was propped up in bed and was fairly comfortable despite the ache in his left leg and the stinging sensation in the sutured three-inch gash above his left ear . Helen pointed out that she had already talked with the representative of the insurance company who carried their accident and income protection policy , and had found him very cooperative . In discussing this with Lonny , she said , " This is one of the finest things the Breeder ’ s Association ever did for the horseman ... it looks like we will get almost full coverage while you are recuperating .” Dink added , " I know a fellow in Indiana who had a similar accident and it almost put him out
38 Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse