Chapter 12 – out on the town
I got a reprieve the next week, only 3 days of PT, since there was the thanksgiving holiday that week. On Wednesday the therapist and mom decided I needed out of the house, and to try to do stuff on my own. So mom stocked up a duffle bag with things I would need, one of them being diapers. First order of business was McDonalds breakfast. The therapist followed us in her car, while mom drove the van.
I learned quickly that people sometimes will think that since I am in a chair that I cannot think for myself, order for myself or speak for myself. At McDonald’s mom ordered for herself, and then the cashier asked mom what I wanted. “I have no clue, his appetite has changed so much, why don’t you ask him, he is 19 and can talk”
I ordered the big breakfast with hotcakes, and yes it was soooooo goooood!
Next stop hair salon. A family friend works in a hair salon, so mom had made an appointment for me. They really wanted to wash my hair, and I let them…. We just moved the normal chair out of the way and I reclined back…. Oooh it feels good to have your hair washed like that. I got a nice short haircut, just like I like it.
Next stop library, got to get some books. Also got some magazines about adaptive living.
The next stop was a drive. We ended up at a nursing home. Just what I thought, only been back home a week and now they are shipping me off to a home, not really. The nursing home has an indoor pool that has a lift so I can get in and do some water therapy. This trip was just an orientation, just to see how things worked. Seems that there is a group of paralyzed people who do group water therapy on Wednesday mid-days. I got something to look forward to now.
It was about noon, and I usually get worn out around noon from all the work Nancy my therapist puts me through, but not today. We said our good-byes to Nancy as we left the nursing home, and drove around the country side for a bit, and that fixed my energy problem… fell right asleep.
I woke up and mom is still driving, ugh I hate to be back seat… I like to know where I’m going. “Where are we at?”
“You’ll know soon enough”
I noticed the red barns in the distance and a putt putt range, she is taking me to Young’s Dairy. We got lunch and ice cream, then back in the van.
“now where” mom said
“I don’t know where, but I am probably needing a change” I said, sticking my hands down the front of my sweats. “all that juice, milkshake, and I think breakfast has gone through me”
“I thought I smelled something funky, but thought it was the farm. We will go over to the state park and change you there.
Mom pulled into a parking stall on the far end of the lot and came into the back. This was only the second time since coming home that I have been changed in the van, and the first time I was messy when we were out and about. The nice thing about track pants is that they come off easily, seeing that hey have snaps on the outside of the legs.
It took mom a bit to get me changed, but with time she should get better; heck maybe someday I could learn how to do it myself.
Our day out running errands was over, now down to business – shopping. After the change we headed back home to do the grocery shopping at wal-mart. Since mom was holding the thanksgiving dinner at our house, she needed to cook the dinner. I also had work to do, per the therapist, shop for myself with very little help.
While rolling around wal-mart, I got a few stares from people who I knew from school and my jobs. Ran into some friends, many seemed distant towards me, like I was a different person. I talked with a track team mate, and I found out why. “hey matt, what’s up” I said
“hey Jay, heard about your accident” Matt said
“Yeah, life certainly deals some wild hands sometimes. I saw lots of people from our class, but they all seem to be distant”
“well there are lots of rumors going around, somebody started one that you two were drunk and drag racing, another one that you caused the wreck and killed Sam. I know that neither were true. You don’t drink and you drive safely too” Matt said
“yeah, I heard about them, really hurts that people believe that stuff. To be honest, I did not even know what happened during the crash or what it looked like till last week. My parents refused to let me know the details. When I got home last Friday we sat down and went thru the scrapbook.”
“You want some help shopping” Matt asked
“sure, I never turn down help. Can you grab the shopping list in the large part of my backpack”
What I failed to realize is that my backpack has more than just the shopping list in it, it is loaded with diapers and changing supplies; and it was unzipped. “umm dude do you want me to zip up the rest of your bag, your ummm, umm, ummm, these white things with the yellow lines are showing” Matt stumbled to say
“OH SHIT, you mean my bag is unzipped and my (whispering) diapers are showing” Embarrassingly I said
“uh yeah” he said “that might have been why people were looking at you strange.” Matt said as he zipped the bag up “OK, I got you all zipped up and I got the list”
“thanks, that is kind of embarrassing having them things visible like that. Here is the list I was given I think all of it should be easy for me to get. Mom is trying to see if I do my own shopping for things” I said as I tried to push a regular cart which was not that easy
Finally Matt asked me, “so you have to wear those diapers?”
“yeah, I have no control over my bladder or bowels cause I cannot feel anything below my ribcage. It is definitely embarrassing sometimes, cause my mom and dad have to help with a lot of things.
The rest of the shopping trip was done with more small talk. Matt and I parted ways “thanks for the help man, give me a call sometime, you might be able to stop over.”
“what is your schedule like usually? I mean you just got out of the hospital and probably not in school. What do you do during the day?” Matt asked
Yeah people would not expect me to do much, I mean what could I possibly have to do, stay home and watch TV. “Well most days I am working out from 9 to noon, then eat lunch, rest a bit and then more therapy. Right now, I am usually free about 4 PM, if I don’t have a doctor’s appointment or anything. Just give me a call tonight, and I will check with my mom, she knows what is going on more than I do”
I then motored on down towards the pharmacy to find mom. While I was shopping in the food section, she was shopping in the rest of the store. I found here just sitting on the benches in the Pharmacy, no shopping cart, no bags, nothing.
“See Jay, you can shop for yourself” she said
“yeah, but Matt helped me a little with the things on shelves out of my reach. The shopping carts are not the easiest to maneuver alongside the chair. Or in front of it either, I need like baskets on the side of the chair. Maybe tie it to the back of the chair and I just toss things back over my head into the basket”
“Hey mom, next time we go somewhere, can you make sure the backpack is zipped up fully, my supplies were showing”
“Oh my, I’m so sorry Jay.” She walked around behind me and made sure it was zipped up.
“Matt saw it was open and zipped it up. So now he knows I wear them”
“Sorry Jay, he would have found out sooner or later. We have a few more things and then we can head home”
“Did you even shop, where’s your cart?”
“I already shopped, bought, bagged, and put them in the car. Even got you a surprise waiting in there for when you go to bed.”
Now she’s got my interest peaked. We shopped a bit more, mainly diapering supplies, wipes, powder, ointments. She bought a wipe warmer, not that I could tell the difference between a warm one and a cold one; I think it was more for her benefit. She also drug me by the clothing section to get some more sleep pants and track pants that were now on clearance… since that is about all I wear these days.