Page 61 of Revive Me

I blink.He…what?

When he sees my expression, Roman huffs a laugh that has no humor. “I told you, your therapy style was working.”

Holy shit.

That means he never really got on his feet. He may have regained some sensation through range of motion exercises and strength training, but he hasn’t done any functional training with walking motions.

No wonder he gets so nervous.

I glance at the cycle machine in the corner, chewing on my lip and second-guessing my plans for today.

But to my surprise, Roman asks, “FES is the electrode thing, right?”

My gaze jerks back to him. He’s not looking at me, though; he’s sizing up the cycle machine.

“Yes. Functional Electrical Stimulation.” I step over to one of the cabinets and pull out the electrode pads. “I’m going to put them on your leg while you pedal the bike.”

Roman’s eyes narrow at the pads in my hand. “Is this just an excuse to electrocute me, Doc?”

I bark a laugh, but shake my head. “I’m notthatmean. No, it’s like a TENS machine. I’m sure you used those when you were fighting, right?” He nods. “It’s kind of like that. It’s an electrical pulse meant to cause a muscular contraction and stimulate movement. We just want to trick your body into moving.”

I wait patiently while Roman stares at the pads before giving me a barely perceptible nod.

“Let’s give it a try,” I say, gesturing toward the bike.

He pulls in a deep breath, then slides out of his chair and transfers into the bike seat. The machine isn’t a stationary bike, it’s more like a deep seat closer to the ground that has pedals in front of it. Like a pedal boat.

Once he’s settled, I look over his leg and decide where I’m going to put the electrode pads. On any other day, I might be nervous to move his shorts out of the way, but today, the borderline-fear on his face as he stares at the pedals makes any overthinking evaporate. All I want to do is hug him and tell him everything is going to be okay.

“I’m going to stick four pads on your right leg,” I explain, making sure I talk him through every detail so that he knows what to expect. “Two on your quad, and two on different areas of your calf. We’re going to try it with one leg first.”

He nods, his eyes shooting to the first pad in my hand. He watches me like a hawk as I place the four pads, and as I strap his foot into the pedal. I settle his left foot, too, even though I want him to try with his stronger leg first.

“Before I ask you to pedal, I’m going to send a pulse to the pad on your quad so you know what it feels like. Let me know when you’re ready.”

I can see his pulse going haywire in his neck, but he still manages to give me a gruff, “Ready.”

When I trigger the pulse from the remote in my hand, we can bothseewhen it hits Roman’s thigh. The muscle twitches, and his leg jerks.

Roman gapes at his leg. “Holy shit.”

“Does it hurt?

He shakes his head. “It’s just…weird.”

“Can I try the one on your calf?”

When he nods, I send a pulse to the muscle. Once again, it twitches, and Roman’s leg jerks.

“Technology is fucking wild,” Roman mutters, staring at his leg.

Chuckling, I ask, “Can I put the pads on your left leg, too? Then we can try pedaling.”

When I get the okay, I place the pads and stand back. “Alright, same drill with your left leg. I’ll stimulate your quad first, and then your calf.”

By the time he’s ready to try the bike, I’m relieved he looks less skeptical about the training exercise. And when I ask him to start pedaling, there’s no hesitation in his movements.

His brow furrows in concentration as he pushes his right leg forward. The motion is slow, but once the leg is extended, he shifts his focus to his left leg.

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