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Show Nettie, Page 70 The word "loosened" caught Nettie's ear and she recognized a clue to her problem. Tight muscles -tight cords--tens ion--loose the tension-rub the tightened area. Why couldn't it work for her legs? The doctor could probably have given several reasons why it wouldn't work, but to Nettie's untrained and uneducated mind it seemed logical and intuitively she felt it was right. Her hands moved almost involuntarily to her tensed legs. Tentatively at first and then with a growing excitement and confidence she began to rub. Her fingers alone seemed not enough and she clenched (hem into fists and worked them persistently into the backs of her knees where the tension felt the greatest. It became a ritual with her. There were days when she rubbed at her legs for hours at a time and occasions too when the flesh from her knuckles and the backs of her knees peeled away, leaving both hands and legs raw. The more she rubbed the more she felt it was right and would yield results if she were patient enough. The weather warmed and Nettie began pulling herself up to her feet with the help of the-back of a chair. She could not straighten up but at least she was on her feet. She exulted in the meager victory. She was far from walking, but she was standing and that meant something. It meant progress-slow, but definite progress. When the weather had moderated sufficiently, Nettie asked Papa to take her out to the barbed wire fence which circled their property. She stood, bent and wobbly and grasped the wire with both hands. With the greatest of concentration she willed herself to move one foot and then the other forward. Beads of perspiration gathered on Nettie's forehead |
