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Show Nettie, Page 60 summoned all his faith and consulted with the doctor. The news was not good. "It's spinal meningitis. This swelling almost always means severe paralysis. You will have to see about getting her a wheelchair. She will most certainly never walk again." Papa nodded as tears sprang to his eyes. A kaleidoscope of images of Nettie at her usual lively activities flashed unbidden through Papa's mind as he fought the picture of Nettie confined to a wheelchair. Nettie called weakly to him. "Papa, what did the doctor say?" Papa swallowed hard and took his daughter's swollen hand gently in his great gnarled one. "It was about a wheelchair, dear. The doctor seems to think you'll be needing one for a while," Papa managed to croak. He could not bring himself to say "never walk again." For a moment a flash of the old lively spirit appeared in Nettie's eyes. "Don't waste your money, Papa. I'll never use it. I won't!" The weakness in her voice could not hide the fierceness of her warning. Papa nodded as he could not trust his voice. He believed in the long life the elders had promised Nettie, but he also believed the doctor was right--that long life would be spent in a wheelchair. The swelling continued. Now Nettie's buttocks swelled also until there was hardly a position in which the tormented girl could find relief or comfort. Mama stopped brushing the blond hair. Great chunks of it were falling out and Mama thought it merciful that Nettie seemed unaware of it. |