T is for Trampoline
“Martha, honey, have you decided on what you want for your birthday? And before you ask, we definitely can not bring another animal onto the farm right now.” Martha sat on her floor watching her cats Fluffy and Oba. Fluffy kept jumping from the couch to the cat tree trying to keep away from Oba in what seems to be a very intense game of tag. “What about that book you’ve been wanting? The one your friend Leah was telling you about? Or we can make you a new dress for your next jingle dance?” Martha for her part wasn’t ignoring her mom, she was just considering what she actually wanted. She’s content with her animals most days so what could she possibly ask for that would actually make her happy? She looked out the window and saw the open space near the barn. Her father always said he would leave that space open for things Martha and her brother would want. The grass was plain and mostly dead from lack of care. Looking out at the open area Martha started to think about her friends and what they might enjoy doing while at her house. Thinking about things her and Toni can do together since she’s over all the time. What is something she could teach Jace when he was bigger? She thought of all the things she would see on tv until a though occurred to her.
“Can I get a trampoline? Like a big one?”
“A trampoline? Are you sure?”
Martha turned her head away from the yard to look back at her mother doing the dishes in the kitchen. “Ya it’s sounds like fun!”
“Alright honey we will see what we can do.” Martha smiled as she turned back to the cats just in time to see Fluffy get tired of Oba following her. Fluffy had turned around and smacked Oba. Oba sat down stunned as Martha started to laugh and Fluffy ran off.
At school Martha couldn’t keep this information to herself and informed her friends. “I might get a trampoline for my birthday!” Martha said as she started to hand out her birthday invites to Rachel, Dot, and Nora standing near her. Toni and Shelby, hanging out on the swing set. Leah and Fatin sitting by the tree drawing random things over Leah’s fading leg scar. “That’s so cool, I’ve always wanted one!” Rachel said as she grabbed the invite Martha was holding out for her.
“I wanted something we could all do together.” Martha said.
“You’re the greatest Marty!” Toni said as she jumped off the swing set to stand in front of Martha. Martha smiled as she watched Toni read over the invite. “Wait, why do you call me that?” Martha asked, confused.
“Call you what? Marty? I like nicknames, do you not like it?” Toni asked as her face dropped. “No,” Martha was quick to correct, “I do, you are just the only one who calls me that.”
“Oh.” Toni shrugged and ran back to where Shelby was sitting. Martha smiled as she handed out the rest of her invites.
The following weekend Toni had showed up earlier then the rest in order to get away from her foster family. She and Martha were playing with Boomerang when Nora and Rachel showed up. Over the next hour the others started to show up. They all played games, mostly uno, until Russell came in from his secret project outside. Martha lit up at the sight of her dad and ran to him. She hugged his waist as he smiled down at her.
“You ready for your surprise love?”
“Yes!”
Russell smiled at Bernice as he lead the group outside. He had his hands over Martha’s eyes until they stopped next to the barn. He removed her hands and Martha’s eye took a minute to adjust before focusing on the trampoline her father had spent the past few hours building.
Martha smiled as she looked back up at her father. He nodded at her and Martha ran to the steps next to the trampoline. She climbed onto it and started to jump in the middle before looking back at her friends. She waved to them to join her, and Toni didn’t hesitate, quickly followed by the others. They enjoyed the rest of the party, spending time on the trampoline, playing with Martha’s animals, until Bernice called them inside until for cake and presents. After blowing out the candles Martha started opening her gifts. A coloring book from Rachel and a realistic drawing of her family from Nora. A book on animals for Leah, an outfit from Fatin, and a copy of her current favorite movie Hotel for Dogs from Dot. Shelby had given her a toy horse and Toni handed Martha a homemade card. Martha looked at Toni’s sheepish face until Toni looked down at the ground. When Martha opened the card, one side wished her a happy birthday while the other had an I.O.U. on it. Toni didn’t look up until she felt Martha hug her. Toni smiled and hugged Martha back. The rest of the day was filled with laughter and Martha was beyond happy to have her friends around.
Martha would spend a lot of time on the trampoline over the course of the following weeks. It was not until the end of July that the accident happened. Martha was on the trampoline watching Bernice introduce Jace to one of their llamas, Jasper, when she got to close to the edge of the trampoline. She jumped onto one of the bars, she fell backwards and landed onto the bars before slipping over the edge. She landed on her back and stared up at the sky. She could hear her mother calling her name over the ringing in her ear. It took a minute for the pain to register in her brain and Martha started to scream. She couldn’t hear her mom approaching; all she could see was the sky until her mother appeared above her. Her screaming turned into sobs, and she watched her mom talk to her. She couldn’t make out anything Bernice was saying until she tried to help Martha stand up. When Martha tried to stand the screaming started again until she laid back down. Bernice placed Jace next to his sister before telling them she would be right back. Bernice took off inside to call an ambulance. Martha kept crying as Jace laid next to her staring at her. Martha looked at her baby brother to see him smiling at her. She tried her best to smile back but the pain was excruciating. Bernice ran outside still talking to the 911 operator.
“Yes, she’s awake and breathing…I think its her back…” Bernice knelt back down by Martha and Jace, “No moving her hurt her to much…about five minutes ago…we are in the back yard…yes I can unlock the fence.”
It would take the ambulance about fifteen minutes to arrive and load Martha onto a stretcher. Bernice put Jace into the car before following the ambulance to the hospital, she called Russell on her way. They arrived at the hospital ten minutes before Russell would show up. They rushed Martha to get x-rays as Bernice and Jace settled into the waiting room. When Russell arrived, he looked around frantically before finding Bernice and Jace. He ran to them and knelt in front of Bernice, “What happened?”
“Martha…she…she fell on the trampoline and couldn’t move…I don’t know what happened.” Bernice said as she started to cry.
Russell’s heart broke as he watched his wife hold their son even tighter, but as his son reached out to grab his cheek he froze. Russell looked at his smiling son and managed to smile back as he lowered his head. They would stay that way for an hour before Dr. Ramirez approached them. “Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn?”
Kurt quickly stood up and turned around, his wife following at a slower pace, readjusting Jace on her hip. “We did some x-rays on Martha, and it seems she had fractured her spine. We gave her some meds for the pain, but we worry that she won’t be able to walk, she would most likely need intense physical therapy. We can take you back to see her but she is currently sleeping.”
Kurt remained silent as he listened to his wife’s crying increase. Kurt reached out for his son and relived Bernice of the weight of carrying him. They walked the quiet hallway until they reached Martha’s room. Seeing her little girl laying there broke Bernice’s heart even more. They would stay in that room until Martha awoke three hours later.
It took another three weeks for Martha to be released from the hospital in a wheelchair. Her parents had arranged for her to meet with a physical therapist to help heal her back. They had met with several therapist until they agreed on one, they think will be the best fit for Martha. While Martha wasn’t thrilled, she understood. They arrived at the physical therapy center and Russell unloaded Bernice from the car. They wheeled her into the center and back to room number five. Russell knocked on the door and after a minute a man opened the door. He looked at Bernice and Russell before kneeling in front of Martha.
“Well, hello, you must be Martha, I’m Dr. Wolcheck.” He held his hand out to shake Martha’s, “But you can call me Ted.” He flashed a smile at Martha as he let the family inside the room.