Chapter 5 Summary and Analysis

After Joni is finally able to sit up, she is given the choice of spending one day at home. She chooses Christmas day. She is so excited about going home that she is unable to sleep the night before. Her sister Jay drives to Greenoaks to pick her up. The orderlies instruct Jay on safety specific precautions when driving with a quad. A quadriplegic cannot sit up alone. If the car swerves or stops suddenly, the quad will be carried by momentum. They can hit their heads or suffer other injuries. The orderlies show Jay how to strap her sister in to avoid injury.

Joni's Dad and Jay carry Joni into the house. Since it would have been impossible for Joni to be carried up the narrow stairway up to her old room, her mom, who had gotten a hospital bed...