Reach for Tomorrow by Lurlene McDaniel

usually the one in the bed everyone comes to visit.”
    “I remember when I was a patient,” Katie said. “It felt weird to be stuck in bed. But my heart was so far gone, I didn’t have much energy.”
    “I know what you mean. Before the bone marrow transplant, they had to wipe out my immune system. I was so exhausted, I couldn’t move. Plus, I was in isolation and no one could come in or out without going through this whole sterilization procedure. My friends would send me presents and my mom would have to hold them up to the window that looked into my room and unwrap them for me because I couldn’t come in contact with any germs.”
    “Yeah, it was the same way for me after my transplant—no germs.”
    Sarah chuckled. “What do you think regular girls talk about? I mean, listen to us. It’s surgery, isolation, hospitals, bacteria-free environment … that doesn’t sound like normal teenage conversation, does it?”
    Katie smiled wearily. “You’re right. It doesn’t. I guess what we’ve lived through isn’t very normal, though, is it?” She paused. “The truth is, everything that happened to me happened years ago. I hardlyever think about it anymore. All I know is that Josh has been with me every step of the way.”
    “You’re lucky. I’ve spent so much time in and out of hospitals and going through one procedure or another … well, I can’t forget it. For years it defined me. I hated it, but I couldn’t get rid of it. Not even with the bone marrow transplant. I’ve wondered what it would be like to have a real life. To have a boyfriend.”
    Sarah sounded so wistful that it tugged at Katie’s heart.
    “I guess that’s not the way things will go for me,” Sarah added. “Guys aren’t interested in girls with health problems.”
    “Guys eventually grow up and act mature,” Katie said. “Someday you’ll meet someone who will appreciate you just the way you are.”
    Sarah shook her head. “Maybe that happens in romance books. But not in real life. No, Katie, you’re very lucky to have a guy like Josh. Hang on to him.”
    Long after Sarah was gone, Katie thought about her and the things she’d said. Poor Sarah! Would she ever feel normal? Katie hoped so.
    When Josh returned to his room, he was so tired he didn’t even want to eat his lunch, though Katie offered to feed it to him.
    “I hate feeling so helpless,” he said. “I can’t even move my hands.” He looked up at Katie with soulful, pleading eyes. “And, Katie, I didn’t want to say anything this morning when you first came, but I can’t feel my legs. They’re numb. I can’t feel them at all.”

SEVENTEEN

    “W hen Josh said that, I almost lost it in front of him.” Katie was telling her closest friends about her visit to the hospital that morning. She’d returned to the camp only long enough to check on her responsibilities and to give Josh a chance to recuperate from his CAT scan. At camp things were running smoothly, although everyone asked her about Josh and when he might return.
    “He still doesn’t know anything about the seriousness of his fall?” Chelsea asked.
    “He doesn’t know the full potential of his injury yet,” Katie said. “But he’s catching on that it’s nothing that’s going to go away after a little bed rest.”
    “Have
you
talked to his neurosurgeon?” Lacey asked.
    “No. I’d like to, but I don’t know if he’d tell me anything or not.”
    “If he won’t talk to you, I’m sure he’s talking to Mr. Holloway,” Meg said knowingly. “After all, he’s the person in charge of Josh.”
    It irked Katie that she wasn’t eligible to receive information firsthand about Josh, but she didn’t let on. She did say, “I’ve gone to the hospital library and done some reading about spinal cord injury. Most times it’s kids and teens who get injured—in car and motorcycle accidents, or in diving accidents, or playing sports. According to most articles, a lot of the accidents are