For the first time I understood that the girls did not need me to pretend my leg was unchanged.

They needed me to create a home that worked with the body and the resources I actually had.

PART 5

My mother eventually told me something I had missed during those first frantic days.

Brenda had asked whether my military benefits would continue after my injury.

She had also asked about the insurance paperwork, the family’s savings, and whether the house could be sold quickly.