"Carl Curtis McMahon is a very stubborn guy. He's one of those people who will never ever listen."
"You can spend hours, days, weeks, even months talking to men like him, and you'll have wasted your time. No matter how hard you try to get through to them, you'll find out they're just impossible to reach."
"And when I say I've tried everything, I mean I've really really tried everthing. I've been with him at his favourite places, I've sit with him in his favourite pubs, I've listened to the same music he listened to, I've read all the books he lent me, and I've also chosen the words he uses most of the time when he speaks."
"The reason behind my failure is, Carl Curtis McMahon is in denial."
"He's been limping for years. He's in pain, and although he hardly ever admits it, his leg is giving him heck."
"Sometimes he just can't walk at all without groaning. He's been taking painkillers for years. No analgesic can give him some lasting relief these days. He should be walking with a cane, but he's too proud to use one."
"Carl Curtis McMahon should have an amputation. It will release him from all the wretchedness he's beeing living in. The pain he might have in the future will be nothing compared to the pain he's suffering now. His leg is dead right now, he can't even feel it!"
"It will be a sort of minor amputation, below the knee, and only his foot, his tibia, his fibula, and part of his calf will be removed. He will be able to wear a prosthetic limb. He will find it so easy to handle! With the right help, training and equipment, he'll be able to ride a bike, to run, to play sports, to rollerskate, to do everything he wants - a new world will open up to him! He'll be able to do a thousand things he can't do now, because his leg has been preventing him from doing them for a long, long time. His lifestyle would change for the better. His life quality would improve tremendously."
"If only he wasn't in denial, and agreed to have the surgery..."
"But Bran..."
"Yes?"
"He wouldn't feel he's a whole man, then. And I bet he wants to be a man."
"Well, that's a why of seeing it."
"And Bran..."
"Yes?"
"I'd have felt exactly the same if I'd let them insert a plaque and a dozen nails in my leg."
"But now you wouldn't be in pain."
"Bran..."
"Yes?"
"I prefer my own pain to the pain of having something that's not mine in my body."
"But why?"
"Because I wouldn't feel like a whole woman, you see?"
"I see."
"I really understand how Carl is feeling. It must be difficult to accept you aren't going to be a whole man again."
"But all the McMahons will be with him every step of the way, all of us will help him get on his feet again, all of us will be there for him."
"Bran..."
"Tell me."
"Leave him alone, will you? He's already heard you. Whenever his mind is ready to accept the facts, he'll let you know. And whenever he needs all the McMahons to help him undergo the amputation, I'm sure he'll pick up the phone and then you, people, will get the cal you've been expecting for sooo long."
I think it was the first time I gave Brandall some advice. I'm sure he didn't take it, as I've heard that his brother Carl has refused to talk to him again.
The morals of the story? Well - you can figure it out by yourselves, can't you?
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