Jolena heard the dog door flap fall into place with a thwap! She looked up to see Emil, just getting on his feet by the door.
"Hey, Jolena!" Emil said. "Guess what my friend Holly is doing!"
Jolena thought she remembered what Emil had said about his friend. "Isn't your friend Holly the doll who uses a wheelchair?" she asked.
"That's right," Emil agreed, waving a couple of sheets of paper. "I just got a letter from her. Guess what she's doing!"
Jolena thought about it while Emil was climbing up onto the bench.
"Well," she said when Emil was comfortably seated, "I guess she's doing all the normal doll things," she said, "all the things we do, only using a wheelchair when she needs to get around. Is there something unusual she's doing?" Jolena thought Emil wouldn't be waving Holly's letter at her if it was something ordinary.
"She's going to be an athlete (ATH-leet)!" he exclaimed as he settled down on the bench.
"A doll in a wheelchair becoming an athlete is an accomplishment!" Jolena agreed. She knew that athletes are dolls who do sports. Jolena is an athlete. She performs fancy tricks on skis. She uses her legs a lot.
"That's what I thought, too," Emil said, "but it sounds fun, and not too hard for her. She explains it in her letter!"
Jolena put down her book. "Why don't you read it to me?" she suggested. She knew he wanted to.
Emil nodded and began to read.
Dear Emil,
I've had some excitement come into my life lately. You know how I said that Samantha, the human girl I live with, uses a wheelchair, too? Hers is much bigger than mine, of course, but it works the same way. Well, last week, she went to a wheelchair basketball class in the city where we live. I waited patiently at home for her to return.
It was a special class to teach basketball to children who need to use a wheelchair.
Sam told me all about the class when she got home. She said they will put her on a team, once she learns. She was so excited! Yesterday she let me use her dog's ball to play basketball the way she does. We used a plastic container for the basket and put it on a shelf, so it would be up high. We had a lot of fun. I made two baskets! (Do we have to call it a "plastic container" when we score? If so, I made two plastic containers! I won't tell you how many times I missed!)
I had so much fun playing basketball that I decided to see if there is a dolls' team. It would be fun to play basketball (plastic container ball?) with other dolls. Sam's mother let me use her phone to look it up.
I was very happy to learn that dolls do have a program for wheelchair basketball! I signed up, and soon I will begin practicing with other dolls in wheelchairs. If I get to be good enough, I might be chosen for a team! Sam tells me what she learns. When I practice with Sam, I pay attention to everything she says.
I learned that there are other sports for dolls who use wheelchairs, but I think I will stick with wheelchair basketball, because that's what Sam does, and we can practice it together. I study the rules while Sam is away.
I read your stories every week. I think you're lucky to get to be in them, but I think I'm lucky, too. Sam has other dolls, but I'm the only one who uses a wheelchair. I think that's why she plays with me more than the others. The other dolls are good company when Sam is at school, though, and we have great pretend adventures together. They never make me feel as if something is wrong with me. Using a wheelchair is just part of who I am.
Say hello to your sisters and your brother for me. I feel like I know them from your letter!
Your friend,
Holly
"It's a nice letter," Jolena told him. "It's interesting. "I had never heard of wheelchair basketball before. I guess it's because I mostly just know about winter sports, like skiing."
Jolena thought for a moment. "You see, there are some winter sports for dolls who can't use their legs, too," she said. "I've seen them practice. They have a special sled they can sit in to use for skiing. I don't think they can do flips in the air, but they can ski downhill very fast, and I've even watched human people do it."
"That sounds like fun," Emil said. "I would like to watch."
"Maybe you can," Jolena said. "Sometimes they show it on the Doll TV Network. There are other sports, too. Dolls who can't use their legs, like Holly, can play ice hockey. Maybe that was one of the other sports she found out about. They use a special kind of sled for that, too."
Emil knew that ice hockey was sort of like basketball, except you use a stick to make a thing called a puck slide around on the ice. They had a big frame with a net for the goal right on the ice instead of a net basket up high. Dolls and human people who can use their legs wear skates.
He tried to imagine sitting in a kind of sled to get around on the ice. He thought about that for a bit. This is what he was trying to imagine.
"You know," Emil said, "I felt sorry for Holly when they couldn't fix her legs. I know it's great she can use a wheelchair, and she has a great family, but I can't imagine what it would be like not to be able to run around."
If you couldn't dress yourself, maybe you wouldn't even get to pick out your own clothes! It was hard for a doll to imagine. Jolena tried to imagine standing on a shelf wearing a dress!
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
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Copyright © 2021 by Peggy Stuart
This was an inspiring and sensitive story. My family and I appreciate how you and dolls deal with "real" issues.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Holly will show up again from time to time. Stay tuned....
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