(a) They were men from Hooper’s chemical company. After the fifth week of the accident, some men from his company came to the hospital and told Hooper to take a year off.

(b) Hooper’s company told him to take a year off. They also promised to create a desk job for him at headquarters. A man in a wheelchair with paralysed arm and leg couldn’t do the mobile job of a ‘hard- charging’ zone sales manager. Hence, a desk job was especially created for him at headquarters.