They were on their way to a station for surgery. A new treatment has been found that, if it works, they will get use of their legs back. They were nervous about the idea of nanites in their body, but a wheelchair isn't exactly their idea of a good time, either. Fortunately, the medic with them kindly explains why this will help, and helps soothe them so they're not so spooked. -- Anon Guest
[AN: I have learned in my travels that disabled folks are greatly offended by "miracle fix" disability storylines. Besides, in my future, everything is wheelchair-accessible anyway. It's not just those who need wheels to get around who benefit from ramps.]
"It wasn't a problem until work took me to an ex-Deregger world. Everything's stairs and using elevators is a sign of laziness, you know? There's only so fast they can move on establishing Standard Access Systems. Even after the redistribution." Human Rain piloted hir wheelchair through to the treatment room. "It's a pain in the ass that I have to do this. I feel like such a traitor."
"You're not betraying anyone with your choices regarding your body," insisted Medik Skaa. "It's a matter of personal convenience. Or in this case, inconvenience."
"Can't make Dereggers retroactively rearrange their architecture just for me," Rain sighed. "And other than piloting an able avatar or an exo-suit around... this is what we've got. How bad is it?"
"Well it isn't a beach party," there were educational vids playing in the treatment room, showing how the nanites would rebuild, repair, or sometimes replace the damaged nerves. "You'll be able to walk and climb stairs. Slowly. You might be able to manage something like a trot with extended therapy. The bad news is that it's very much Little Mermaid terms of walking on land."
"It's going to hurt like flakk, huh?"
"Not exactly likened to walking on knives, but there's a lot of detrimental haptic feedback. Engineers are working on it, but the leading theory is that the disrupted nerves are working on the backlog since the initial trauma."
"Fun," said Rain sarcastically. "Please tell me it fades?"
"Varyingly. They're still studying the long-term benefits and detriments to the treatment."
Rain laughed in spite of the fate facing hir. "I knew it. I told them when I was going in. I can do it, and I will do it, but I will be complaining the entire way. Too bad for them that a walker exosuit is way more expensive than this stuff."
"The Medtech Conglomerate thanks you for being a willing volunteer for this experimental treatment. You will of course be paid for your time and your reports regarding your experiences with it."
"Huzzah, huzzah, give the future generations my regards," deadpanned Rain. Ze wrestled hirself onto the treatment bed, knowing that it was going to suck for a minimum of a Standard month. The physiotherapy was going to suck even worse.
"We're doing everything we can to make this easier," said Skaa as he readied the first of many needles. That one was the anaesthetic before the nanites went in.
Even with the best available technology, repairing nerve damage was a lengthy trial.
[Image by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash]
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