New story!! "It's a Wrap!"

I'm happy to introduce another guest author; Maddie.  I love the premise of her story and I'm very excited to see where she'll take this. I feel it's very unique.

Christian Ramsay is a successful actor.  He's the star of the TV-series 'Dean & Dad' that has just been renewed for a fifth season. He's happily married to Meagan and dad to Jayden (11) and Jacklyn (8).  He has also just broken his back in a mountain biking accident and is facing a future in a wheelchair, as a T-10/11 paraplegic.  Will he be able to return to work? How will his fans react? And how will the Ramsay family deal with it all?

Chapter 1

It feels surreal. Almost like an out of the body experience. Doctor Williams holds up a chart of the spinal column and points to a vertebra that looks like it’s little below the waist.  I’m barely paying attention; I know the news I’m about to receive will most likely change my life forever. I’m pretty sure I know what he’s about to say, but I don’t want him to say it out loud. That will make it real.

“You’ve fractured your T-10 and T-11 vertebra and as far as we can tell your spinal cord has been completely severed. The surgery we fixed the fractures and stabilized your spine. It looks the fractures will heal without complications.” 

“So, I’ll recover?” I ask lamely, grasping the last straw of hope. It’s ridiculous. I know what a severed spinal cord means.

The doctor shakes his head. “No. I’m sorry, Chris. The fractures will heal, but the nerves in your spinal cord are a different story. The paralysis you’re experiencing at the moment is permanent. You’ll never walk again.”

“Right…” I rake a hand through my hair. Fuck! This can’t be happening! I can’t be paralyzed. I’m Christian Ramsey. I’m the star of the hit TV-series ‘Dean & Dad’ that has just been renewed for a fifth season. I’ve got fans all over the US, and quite a few abroad too. I just passed 100.000 Twitter followers a couple of weeks ago. I’ve also got a beautiful wife, a (mostly) happy marriage and two kids I love to death. I don’t see how all of that is going to mix with spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I feel Meg’s hand on my arm, stroking it. I can smell her perfume. The Chanel fragrance that has been her signature scent since we met in an acting class at UCLA fifteen years ago. I can’t bring myself to look at her. I’ll probably break down if I do.

“It’ll be okay, Chris. You’ll be okay,” she assures me.

I don’t answer her.  I close my eyes and sigh heavily.  I just can’t see how it’ll be okay. I can’t see myself continuing the life I live now, my career, in a wheelchair. The TV industry isn’t exactly ADA compliant. In my mind things won’t be okay. Not by a long shot.

“I’m sorry I didn’t have better news for you, Chris. I really am,” doctor Williams says.

“So what’s next?” Meg asks. I’m grateful she does. I want to know, but right now I just can’t bring myself to ask. Asking makes it real.

“As soon as Chris is well enough we’ll transfer him to a rehab facility, probably sometime next week. The sooner he gets moving again the better. For now he needs to rest and let his spine and the surgery wounds heal. You’re on bed rest for the next few days, bud,” the doctor says to me.

Meg nods in response. I’m not sure she’s convinced. I know I was not. As far as I’m concerned my life is over. 

“I’ll let you get some rest and I’ll be back to check on you a little later,” the doctor says, then he leaves the room.  Meg hurried after him and closed the privacy curtains around the bed.

“Shit, Megs,” is all I manage to say before I break down. Tears start flowing from my eyes and sobs wrack my body for God knows how long. Meagan sits down in the chair next to my bed and strokes my hair while she mutters comforting words to me. After a while the sobs subside and fatigue and the painkillers in my system win and I drift off to sleep.

…

Two days later I’ve been moved from the ICU to a private room. I still can’t wrap my head around that I’ll be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I’ve always been physically active, an athlete. I run three miles every morning. I go to the gym at least three days a week. The doctor says that’s a good thing that I’m in good shape. It will make my recovery easier. The doctor also tries to make me feel better by telling me I won’t have any trouble using a manual wheelchair. Yay! I feel like they’re missing the point; I don’t want to use any kind of wheelchair. I want to walk. Fuck my life!

Before I can let my mind wander further down the path of self-pity my Meg walks into my room. She looks tired, she has done a pretty good job of disguising the dark circles under her eyes, but the look in her eyes betrays her. It’s clear that she’s exhausted; the past few days have taken their toll on her.

“Hey, Babe,” she greets me. She’s carrying a duffle bag and I wonder what’s in it. Before I can think more about it Meg drops it on the floor and walks up to the bed. She leans down and kisses me; I wrap an arm around her neck and pull her close. I’m still on bed rest, stuck flat on my back. I can’t wait to get the back brace I was casted for earlier today; when I get that I’ll be allowed to sit up. It feels a bit absurd to be excited about getting a back brace. I suppose excited is taking it a bit too far, but it’s a good thing. I’m sick of staring at the rather uninteresting ceiling tiles in my room.

“What’s in the bag?” I ask when she stands back up.

“I brought some sweats, pajama pants and t-shirts for you. The nurses mentioned it yesterday and I figured it would be more comfortable than the hospital gown, especially when you can get out of bed.”

“Thanks,” I say, trying to sound enthusiastic. I fail miserably.

“I also brought your iPad and your phone. Figured you might want to get connected with the outside world again. Frank is eager to get in touch with you.”

I sigh heavily. Frank is the executive producer of ‘Dan & Dad’ and my boss. A thought suddenly hits me; I wonder if word is out about my accident.

“What’s the word in the gossip press? About my accident I mean.”

“Just that you had an accident while mountain biking and you’re in the hospital. Gavin wants us to make a statement to the press before they start speculating too much.”

“Right… I guess I should call Frank first. What have you told him?”

“The truth. That you’re paralyzed from the waist down and that it’s permanent.”

Hearing Meg say I’m paralyzed out loud makes it real. It feels like a punch in the gut. She’s handling this much better than I am. After taking a couple of deep breaths I ask her for my phone. It’s time to call Frank. I turn the phone on and as soon as I’ve entered my pin it beeps with several incoming text messages, voice mails, Twitter mentions and I have numerous missed calls.  I ignore it all and pull up Frank in my favorites list. My thumb hovers over the call button on the screen for a moment before I push it and bring the phone to my ear.

Frank picks up after two rings. He sounds equally relived and worried. “Chris! Finally! How are you holding up, buddy?”

“Meg is doing better than I am. I’m struggling to wrap my head around this. That I’m…” I choke on the word ‘paralyzed’. I can’t bring myself to say it.

“I know,” Frank says empathically. “I can’t even imagine. But you’re made of strong stuff. You’ll get through this.”

“I sure hope you’re right… I’m sorry for all the problems I’m causing for the show by the way.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll figure things out. You just focus on your recovery and getting better. I’ll be in LA next week, to work with the writers, so I’ll drop by and see you then, okay?”

“Sure. Looking forward to it. The doctor mentioned something about transferring me to rehab next week. I’ll let you know where you can find me.”

“Sounds good. I’ve gotta go, Chris. I was already late for a meeting when you called. Stay strong and I’ll talk to you soon.” With that Frank ends the call. I put the phone down and sigh heavily. Meg, who’s sitting in the chair next to my bed, puts a hand on my arm.

“What did Frank say, babe?”

“Not much. He’s coming to LA next week; he’s going to spend some time in the writers’ room. I guess they’re going to try to have to figure out how to write me out or something…”

“Or they’ll try to figure out how to keep you on in a wheelchair.”

“Right. I don’t think that’s likely.”

“Don’t give up just yet, please. Can you do that for me? For the kids? I know it’s not easy, but just try.” I turn my head and see the pleading I can hear in her voice is evident in her eyes. I lay my head back against the pillow and exhale slowly.

“Sorry, babe. I forget this is hard for you too. I’ll try. I promise.”

“That’s my man. I’ve got to go pick Lynnie up from school, but I figured I’d bring the kids here tonight. They both want to see their dad. Is that okay?”

I smile genuinely for the first time in days. I miss the kids. “Seeing the kids sounds great.”

“See you later then,” she says as she stands up. We kiss and she heads out. She pauses in the doorway. “Call Gavin, okay?”

I nod. “That is on my very short to-do list.” Calling Gavin IS my to do list. Well, that and feeling sorry for myself. As I say it’s a short list.

“Love you, Chris.”

“Love you too.”

After Meg leaves I spend some time checking the messages on my phone. I also try to catch up on my Twitter mentions. I soon realize it’s not going to happen. There are just too many of them. There are so many ‘hope you’re ok’ and ‘get well soon’ tweets there’s no way I’ll be able to read them all.  I’m touched that so many people are concerned about my wellbeing. I feel I should tweet a response, but I’m not sure what to say. Time to call Gavin.

“Hey Chris!” Gavin greets me. “How are you? Megan told me. I’m so sorry man.”

“I’m not sure... Still trying to wrap my head around everything. I’m on bed rest, flat on my back, ‘til I get a back brace. And they’re talking about rehab… it’s just so much…” I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. “And I guess we have to deal with the press too. I checked my Twitter mentions before I called you. I have many worried fans.”

“I can’t even fathom what you’re going through at the moment, bud,” Gavin says emphatically. “I have an idea about dealing with the press and your fans; complete honesty. Share your recovery and rehab with them. Ups and downs. I’m not saying include every gory detail, but share the big picture.”

“What?” I exclaim. I surely didn’t expect this and I’m not sure how I feel about that idea...

To be continued...