He fought the idea until I told him I wasn’t trying to make him into a patient.

I wanted to find out which parts of his boiler accident injury still affected his daily life and what help might make sleeping indoors easier.

His doctor, Dr.

Meera Patel, spoke straight to him.

I liked her for that right away.

All through my childhood Lucas had been talked about as a problem to manage, a man whose injuries set the limit on how much kindness he was allowed.

“Describe what a hard morning feels like,” she said.