Best Friends 9

College football can be rough on an athlete with no serious injuries. Eddie and Mindy are finding out that ability is not the only factor to be considered at this level. When I get there the doctor is very pleasant, he has me undress down to my underwear and lay on the MRI table. He sees the scars from the bullet wounds and asks if there is any chance of shrapnel in my body. Mom tells him there could very well be so he says we can't use this we have to do a CT scan. They do the scan and I am hurting more now than I did before. When it is done he tells me to get dressed and he will be out shortly. Mom goes in with him to read the results. I would hate to be him if she doesn't agree with his diagnosis. Mindy helps me get dressed and I have to admit I feel strange having her help me put my pants on. It doesn't take very long when they both come out looking very upset, either I am hurt badly or they got in a fight. The doctor asks me how much I have eaten tonight. "I was very hungry but the pain made my stomach upset so I was only able to eat about a half a piece of pizza." They take a deep breath and tell me they want a second opinion but what it looks like is a piece of the bullet that hit me splintered off and got lodged in a disk between the third and fourth vertebrae in the lumbar portion of my back. If what they are seeing is correct it has moved and is putting pressure on the nerves coming out of that area of my back. What they are afraid of is if the lead is sharp it could cut the nerves and I will be paralyzed. They want to take me to the hospital right now and put me in traction until they can get a second opinion from a specialist. That will be first thing in the morning. If he agrees they will operate and remove the lead. Mindy is shaking her head and saying this is all a bad dream, it can't be happening again. Join Eddie, Mindy and the rest of their ever expanding group of friends as they begin their college careers and learn that as the rewards get bigger so do the risks.