The Rehab Plan

The cardiac rehabilitation clinic was on the third floor of the hospital, at the end of a long corridor with photos of mountains on the walls. The intake room was small, with a round table, four chairs, a box of tissues, and a poster that said YOUR HEART IS A MUSCLE. TRAIN IT.

Frank sat in one chair with his arms folded, looking at the poster as if it had made a grammar mistake. Margaret sat next to him with a folder full of papers. Lina sat on the other side. Frank had asked her to come.

"You speak the language," he had said on the phone. "Not English. Hospital."

The nurse came in at ten o'clock exactly. She was about forty, with red-framed glasses and a lanyard full of pins. KELLY, RN, said her badge.

"Mr. Doucette! You're the famous teacher. My aunt saw the goat video."

"That wasn't me," said Frank. "That was my student. I only teach the grammar. The goats teach themselves."

Kelly laughed and sat down. "Okay. Let's work out a plan for the next twelve weeks. Usually, at the first appointment, we find two or three problems that make recovery harder at home. Then we solve them together. Is that all right?"

"Can I take notes?" said Lina.

"Please do," said Kelly.