Chapter 14: Discharged

Sam reached the end of his time in skilled nursing. The strong opiates had been tapered down, and he was fighting through the remaining pain with just tramadol and naproxen. The withdrawal was difficult, as it severely depressed his appetite.

His back and pelvis were healing fairly well, but his left leg remained greatly impaired owing to the nerve damage he had sustained.

Vern had come through splendidly. The house at 753 Walnut Street was all his, after a grueling closing conference requiring at least 50 signatures. Following the closing, Paula and Connie worked together to box up and remove the personal items from Lila’s house (for Sam to go through later) and then “stage” that house for a quick sale.

As the selling agent, Vern earned another commission because Lila’s house sold very quickly for over the asking price. Connie and Vern decided together to designate $800 from his commissions to help Shari with her moving expenses.

Paula buzzed through the process of designing and furnishing Sam’s new house. She asked Shari to help in selecting furniture that he (and she) would find most comfortable.

One bedroom was set up as an office, with a cantilevered work surface ready for two computers with large monitors.

Shari had one week left on her apartment lease, which she spent packing up her belongings. Sam therefore was sleeping alone in the new house (which is where this story started).

Now that he was home and more mentally sharp, he met with the Dean at Stilten College. “I would like to resume my teaching load when the new semester starts. The only issue might be that some of Stilten’s classrooms are not accessible.”

“It’s not a problem,” said the Dean. “Our classroom scheduling software has prerequisites for each course, like needing an overhead video, or lab equipment, or accessibility.

“Already, your faculty office has been validated for being accessible. You’re going to get some new furniture in there to be more comfortable while using your chair.

“We will cheerfully re-activate you for on-campus teaching in the coming semester. Any problems, just shoot me an email. And welcome back, Sam!”

Shari’s work had picked up, so she was busier. As Sam was flush with cash, he gave her another check (to help with the moving expenses, he said). Shari arranged for complete professional cleaning of her apartment before her lease ended.

Sam took delivery of a new Toyota Sienna van equipped with an automatic ramp. It was very expensive ($78,000) but well-equipped. The new van gave him a great feeling of independence.

Considering the proceeds from selling Lila’s house, the life insurance payment, his salary from Stilten, and the key person insurance payment, he was actually feeling kind of wealthy.

And yet to come was a settlement or verdict from ZKI for causing the accident. Sam had already rejected a $1.5 million offer burdened with many unacceptable attached “strings.” According to Bud, their lawyer called ZKI’s first offer “laughable.”

Sam’s lawyer was an elegant Japanese-American woman in her fifties named Emi (pronounced “Amy”) Tanaka. Meeting in her prestigious office suite, Sam was impressed as always by the formal ambience inside Tanaka, Kurosawa, and Associates.

“Ms. Tanaka, I wanted to come meet with you face-to-face and discuss this first offer from ZKI. What is your legal opinion of their offer?”

Emi Tanaka offered a warm smile to Sam, picked up the ZKI offer letter between her thumb and index finger, and spat on it.