PART 6

Rehabilitation was harder outside the hospital than I had expected.

At the center, every hallway had a handrail and every appointment happened on schedule.

At home, the washing machine broke at the same time a diaper leaked and the pharmacy closed early.

Some mornings the socket of my prosthesis irritated the skin on my residual limb, and I had to adjust my plans around pain I hadn’t anticipated.

My physical therapist, Marcus, told me that adaptation wasn’t a one-time test of courage.