He got it that my life had gone awry in every way and grimaced, but continued to refrain from comment. “Where are your crutches?”
“I threw them away.”
“Why in the name of fucking God would you do something that stupid?”
“Because I’ve been alone and need at least one hand to use.” I held up my cane. “This suffices.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
I wanted to say something caustic, but I didn’t. I was just cranky, as usual these days, and he was trying to be a good doctor.
“We have two options,” he said. “We can increase your dosages of Oxapam and Norflex—the tranquilizers and muscle relaxants—and start you on Temgesic, a stronger painkiller.”
“So then I’m basically a drug-addicted zombie who still has a wasted knee.”
“It’s not quite as bad as you describe it, but, yeah, it’s a lot of drugs. Option two. I shoot your knee and jaw full of cortisone. It will deaden the pain for a few weeks. I’ve spoken to your doctors. It’s not likely, but possible, that another prosthesis might work in your knee. It would give you a greater range of motion eventually, after a long bout of physical therapy, during which your body might reject the prosthesis and leave you back where you are now. I’m hesitant to treat your knee with cortisone, since you refuse to take care of it properly.”
“I’m a nurse,” Mirjami reminded him. “I can wrap it tightly enough so he can’t move it much but won’t cut off his circulation, then put a knee brace over top so he’s not able to damage himself further without working really hard at it.”
Jari nodded assent. “Are you going to be around for a while to do that?”
She looked at me, inquiring. I didn’t let my expression answer her.
“If I’m needed and Kari wants me here,” she said.
Obviously, Jari was curious about my relationship with her, but he’s good at keeping his thoughts to himself.
“About your jaw,” he said. “I think a surgeon needs to get in there and repair as much damage as possible. It might leave you with partial paralysis of the right side of your face and mouth.”
“Every word I utter hurts like hell. I don’t think I have much choice. Shoot me up.”
“We need ample bandages and the brace.”
Mirjami got her purse. “There’s a pharmacy just a few minutes’ walk from here. I’ll be right back.” She walked out.
“Things clearly suck for you in a multitude of ways,” Jari said. “Anything you want to talk about while we have privacy?”
I shook my head. “Thanks, but no.”
“Then let’s take off your pants,” Jari said. He knelt in front of me and helped me wriggle out of them, so I didn’t have to move too much. “This is going to hurt,” he said.
It already hurt. “Proceed.”
He jammed a needle like a railroad spike into my left knee. I gritted my teeth. He wasn’t exaggerating about the pain. He pulled it out, stuck it in again. Repeated the process a couple more times. Then took out a smaller needle. After finding out how much it hurt, I had a hard time not anticipating, wincing and keeping my head still. He injected more cortisone in my face, then told me to open wide, pushed the syringe deep into my mouth and jabbed the thing into my gum.
“There,” he said, “that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Let me stick you with the goddamned needles and you tell me.”
He laughed. “I always say that. It’s a little doctor’s joke. I know it hurt like screaming hell. I could have given you an anesthetic first, but I figured you’re a big boy. Also, about what you can expect: Your injuries will hurt worse for a couple days, then improve. This isn’t a miracle drug, especially not for your knee. The cortisone will help some aspects of your wounds, others it won’t. You’ll still be in pain, but hopefully less of it.”
I noticed the fucking noises from the bedroom had stopped.
“Don’t stop taking the drugs,” Jari said. “Cut down slowly if you don’t need them as badly, but don’t stop cold turkey or you’ll have vicious withdrawal that will make those needles I stuck in you feel like a vacation.”
Mirjami returned. He watched her wrap and brace my knee to make sure she did it to his satisfaction.
“Nice job,” he said.
She smiled. “I practice.”
Jari finished off his beer, took his bag and went to the