The Waltons 3 - The Easter Story by Robert Weverka Read Free Book Online Page B

she had made the decision, nothing short of tying her down to the bed was going to stop her.
    “Mrs. Walton, if you hope to prevent your leg muscles from being distorted, that’s exactly what you must do—lie there all day doing nothing.”
    “But Dr. Vance, you say that I won’t ever walk again anyway. So what difference does it make if my leg muscles are distorted? In the meantime, I can’t see any reason not to strengthen the muscles I can use.”
    Her logic was too much for him. He stared silently at her for a minute and finally nodded. “Well—you may have a point. But I’ll warn you, it’s not going to be as easy as you think.”
    Olivia smiled. “Now, the next question is, after I can sit up, how do I go about gettin’ the feelin’ back in my legs?”
    “Mrs. Walton, you should understand that with polio the nerves are destroyed. Now, skin or muscle, and even to some extent, bone tissue can regenerate itself. This is not the case with nerve tissue.”
    “What if they haven’t been destroyed?”
    “Well, that—yes, it’s true that in some cases the nerves are only partially affected. However, that is rare.”
    “But let’s assume I’m one of the rare cases. Then what should I do?”
    Again Dr. Vance looked at John as if for help.
    “Is there some kind of medicine?” John asked, “Somethin’ that would help?”
    Dr. Vance shook his head. “Not that I know of.” He sighed and got his bag. “I don’t think either of you should get your hopes up too much. The recovery rate from polio is extremely low.” He looked at Olivia and smiled grimly. “But I do admire your determination, Mrs. Walton. If those splints give you any discomfort let me know and I’ll make some adjustments.”
    John walked him out to his car. “At least try to stop her from overdoing it, Mr. Walton. I’ve never heard of a patient behaving this way. Usually they’re so exhausted from the ordeal it takes weeks before they can even lift their heads.”
    “Well, Olivia’s kind of an unusual person.”
    Dr. Vance tossed his bag in the car. “I just hope she doesn’t regret it later.” He got in the car and John closed the door for him.
    “Doc, I reckon we’re runnin’ up quite a bill for your services. But I guess I’m in about the same spot as everybody else in Walton’s Mountain. If I can pay a little bit each month, I’d sure appreciate it.”
    The doctor gave him a thin smile. “That’ll be fine, Mr. Walton. However, considering your wife’s behavior, I wonder if I’m not just wasting my time coming out here.”
    “Oh, she appreciates it, Doc. It’s just that Olivia’s not used to lying in bed much.”
    The doctor gave him a weary nod. “Well, I’ll be back in a day or two.”
    John watched him drive off and then looked up at the bedroom window. According to what Dr. Vance said, even if he had a million dollars there was nothing more he could do for Olivia. That was the frustrating part of the whole thing. And as it was, he didn’t even have enough to pay Dr. Vance to come out and check Olivia’s pulse.
    John shoved his hands in his back pockets and wandered over to the truck. For several minutes he gazed ruefully at the two front tires. It was hard to believe they were still holding air. Two layers of fabric were visible on the left one, and there was a distinct bulge at one spot. The tire on the right side didn’t look much better.
    The truck was loaded with firewood. In the past two days John had made a complete circuit of the valley, offering the two cords of wood at the price he usually charged for one. But no one had been even remotely interested. Most people had no cash at all, and were too deeply in debt to think about buying anything more on credit. Others had taken to cutting wood themselves to save what little money they had.
    John looked over at his saw, and the big log he had dragged into place to cut into a timber for Halverson, the contractor. He wondered. If anyone in Jefferson