Chapter Twenty - Pool's Closed

Part 20 (April 10th, 2007)
[This Nurse-kun uses the tripcode "**Nurse-kun** !!hPl7vWPKR+W" for identification purposes. Remember kids, real [Tripcode](/Tripcode) aren't bold, only the Username portion.]

 24182049 

Hey, /b/. Another week, another explosion of shit, a veritable shitsunami, if you will. But this isn't really about me, as I well know, so I'll get to what you're actually interested in, those of you that aren't about to call me a fag.

When it comes to my girl, much of the aforementioned shit wasn't so bad, but there wasn't really anything xyber huge that happened, either. Still, stuff did happen, as it always does in life, so I'll try and relay some of the interesting bits.

 24183426 

First thing that springs to mind is another incident at rehab. This one happened in the pool, however, rather than her more-commonly utilized walking area. Pool therapy hasn't been as central to her rehab as it is in paralysis cases, since her (remaining) legs and lower body still have the strength and control they had before the accident (maybe more now, actually), so 'water-walking' isn't really that helpful to her. Still, swimming is an excellent form of exercise, so she still winds up getting wet at least once every couple weeks or so.

The problem is, however, that she doesn't like being there very much. Unlike her walking rehab, where she gives it everything she has and more or less looks forward to doing so, she doesn't like the pool...largely because it means wearing a swimsuit and feeling more 'exposed' than she does on land. She has a set of 'swimming limbs', which are comprised of a set of hollow legs with holes to let water in, to reduce buoyancy, and with a special ankle that locks in an extended position, and a similar arm. They're simple, really, but work well enough.

 24184494 

She was offered a more specialized swimming arm with a folding flexible 'paddle', but refused it, at least for the time being. She already stands out enough, I suppose, without making it 'worse', in her mind...which is at the root of why she's uncomfortable there. While there are a few other kids with missing limbs there as well, it doesn't seem to help much with her feeling like she 'fits in', particularly since none of them have her level of loss, with the only other triple-amputee currently in the facilitee being an ex-army reservist in his forties. And the simple fact that while she's doing her 'land training', she wears long sleeves over her arm, and long shorts, generally, at the least, that cover her thighs, whereas at the pool, all of that is exposed.

Anyway...there she was, doing the swim-thing, her aquatic rehab nurse right alongside her in the water as she made her way back and forth...she was a pretty good swimmer before the accident, so she doesn't have to deal with basic skills, at least, though she still has trouble with diving and surfacing, as opposed to simply staying on the surface and moving along it. There weren't many problems with the actual planned swimming part.

 24185342 

The problem came when her nurse called a break, and helped her (the legs aren't really made for walking, particularly with her level of amputation) to a bench to sit and rest for a bit, then headed over to talk with a friend of hers at a station about half the pool-length away. Things went uneventfully for five minutes or so, with her sitting there, sipping a sports drink (since she sweats a good deal more than fully-limbed kid her size, she also needs to replensih a good deal more) and looking generally uncomfortable, probably; then trouble surfaced when another girl took a seat a few feet away from her. From what I've heard, this one, a couple years older than her, lost her arms in an unspecified accident, and had been an avid swimmer beforehand, so was working hard at that part of rehab, much like our girl was with her walking.

So they'd have a fair amount in common, bond, and be BFF, right? You'd hope so...but things rarely go so well in reality.

 24185890 

Now, I don't have the details on what went down, as she was somewhat recalcitrant in providing all the details, though she did discuss other aspects of the incident with me. And since the two of them were the only ones around at that point, I guess those details are only going to be known to them until they decide otherwise.

But something did go down. As she put it, the other girl, who's apparently white, pretty, from a reasonably well-off family, and still pretty new to her disability, even moreso than our girl, actually, after they'd exchanged a few normal words, said something 'mean'. She then admitted that she said something 'mean' in return, and things went back and forth, with her getting agitated and more aggressive, and the other girl behaving similarly...considering what happened to her, she may have PSTD too, really, support from family and friends and such or not.

 24187079 

Things got more heated, though it seems that it was a slow burn, since nobody that was supposed to be in a position of authority seemed to have noticed. The other girl stood up and moved to loom over her as they continued exchanging words...and a few moments later, she splashed the older girl in the face with her drink, giving her a blue moneyshot. Well, that's when the gloves, so to speak, came off, and the older girl, who'd switched her swimming arms for her usual ones, slapped the bottle out of our girl's hand with one of them, and gave her a nasty smack in the cheek with her steel hooks with the other.

By this time both of them had raised their voices and were attracting some attention, and the older girl had gotten a grip on her hair with one of her hooks, was pinching her side with the other; she'd managed to grab one of the other girl's arms with her left hand, meanwhile, and pulled herself up to a standing position, while shoving her plastic right hand and forearm into the other girl's face, squishing her nose a bit.

 24187676 

Well, 'raised voices' wouldn't really cut it at this point, with the older girl pulling our girl's hair and giving her as hard a pinching as she could manage, while she got a chlorine-scented plastic hand shoved in her face, and a real one starting to dig a thumb into the soft bits between her collarbone and her neck. People were running (well, as best as you can on a wet pool deck) to try and break it up, but before they could reach the two of them, our girl gave the older one a pretty vicious (from onlooker's descriptions) shove to the solar plexus with her good hand, which sent her stumbling and slipping backward...and right into the pool at the edge. Unfortunately, she was still hanging onto her hair (which she tore a hookfull of out), and as it turned out, her swimsuit, so she got pulled in right along with her.

 24188312 

Well, that tossed some cold water on the fight, to use a terrible metaphor, with both their nurses diving in to pull them out; the older girl was struggling but managing to keep her head above water, but ours was having more trouble, having the aforementioned trouble with doing the same. Fortunately, she got helped up to the surface before she was in any real danger, though she did cough up some water she'd sucked in before she got her bearings.

The older girl was helped out first, standing up a bit dizzily...only to fall again, this time face-first onto the deck, when our girl grabbed one of her ankles and pulled. Well, at that point, they were quickly seperated, with the older girl crying and having bit her lip when she fell the second time, in addition to having scraped her knees, and a sullen claim of 'she started it' being the only excuse offered by ours.

 24188768 

This being the second fight in as many months, she got more flack this time than the first, even if the other girl did start it (I believe her, even if I'm hardly the most impartial person), particularly for that last move, when the fight was already 'over'. She didn't see it that way, of course, as she pointed out to her rehab nurse, social worker, in-house shrink, and new specialist shrink, when they all grilled her on it, and tried to make it clear that it wasn't acceptable. They didn't make much headway; even if she said she knew it was 'wrong', she didn't say she felt bad about it, bruises or otherwise.

Unlike the first incident, her social worker suggested that I have a talk with her about it and try to make the party line clear to her. I suppose it's a good thing, in a way, that I'm being included, whether it's just because of our relationship, or because I'm being viewed as being a definite part of her life in some way...well, it feels like a good thing, anyway.

 24189215 

I'd heard most of the story from the resident shrinkette and my friend at the rehab center; the story from the other girl and onlookers, anyway. When I came into work that night, I heard her side, which I've already more or less relayed in previous posts. She was pretty tight-lipped about what set it all off, sticking to her 'mean' summation of what was said. Whether it was intentional cruelty, or the kinds of things kids say to each other, even if they're on the low end of the totem pole as well, I can't really say...I suppose it doesn't matter too much. I told her that she already knew it wasn't a good thing for her to get into fights, as we'd already talked about at least twice so far...and I know she knows it, even if she looked away rather than admitting it herself. I told her that I didn't want her to get into trouble, because she didn't deserve that...and it more or less wrapped up with a hug and a diversion into playing a game to try and forget about it for now.

 24189520 

The thing I feel worst about in this whole incident is that she wound up fighting with another kid going through some of the same things she is, rather than them hitting it off...I mean, at this point, I'm more or less her only friend, and I'm quite aware that isn't a particularly healthy state of affairs for a child. Maybe a fight was deserved, maybe it wasn't, I don't know...still, I can't help but regret the outcome, you know? Life and human irrationality sucks sometimes, particularly when the people that need something the most can't help themselves from driving it away...ah, well...

First story that sprang to mind, I'll try and think of another that might be interesting, but for now, I suppose I can switch to question/answer/random mode for now.

 24189646 

Nurse-kun, ever thought of typing this all out in notepad first and then copy it to /b/? Also, this is the best thing that's happened to /b/ since snacks.

I have...but I find that I seem to tell a story better when I'm doing it off the top of my head in the moment than writing it all out in one go elsewhere...hard to explain, guess I'm just weird, sorry. Besides, this seems to help it pop up onto the frontpage at a more 'sustained' rate than just one big splurt at once, then letting it drift into obscurity?

 24189721 

Dear retards (Not even /b/tards) This isn't nurse-kun, it's just copypasta. GTFO.

Well, I'd like to think otherwise, but I suppose you can't ever convince everyone of something, no matter what. I mean, faked moon landing theorist you may not be, and I'm not likely to 'Buzz you one', but hey.

 24190103 

man, shes a tough girl

Too tough, I worry, at times. Still, I suppose she has to be, whether she wants to or not, at this point, lest she crumble...

 24190330 

Your girl sounds to me like she's got a bit of Detta Walker in her. That nigress is tough as nails. (So much so that Chuck Norris wets his pants at the mention of her name.)

Her rehab nurse suggested the possibility of some Aikido lessons, to help her practice her falling, and as a general 'thing to do'. It sounds like a good idea, really, since I know I'm inadequate to the task of giving her everything she needs outside of her bed, no matter how hard I try...I'm just not sure the world of Fools is ready for her to be able to flip people all over the place with her one good hand, you know? (And less jovially, even as peaceable as aikido seems, considering her aggressive tendencies, getting her involved in any fighting seems unwise somehow...)

 24190555 

Take care of her, man. I found myself wincing when she got hurt in the story... I'm really suprised you didn't do any fan service, like, "This most certainly closed the pool for the day." But it would cheapen the material, i think. You're an inspiration. She's got balls of steel, though...Or atleast joints of plastic.

I considered it, but it didn't work out so well the last time I tried it. Though, as it turns out, it more or less DID close the pool for the day. Of course, they were in the last rehab slot of the day in the late afternoon, but that's immaterial to this discussion.

Pool(wa)'s closed, bitches. Due to VIO-LEN-CE.

 24191038 

That seems like it would be a good idea, Aikido is more about falls, and not getting hurt then it is about hurting others.

Really? I don't know (or pretend to know) much about martial arts, took a karate class for, like, two months back when I was in junior high, but that's about it. Would aikido be a good idea? I did some quick web-searches for local schools after the suggestion, though I suppose I don't really know enough to have made sense of what I found. Lots of them focused on being very kid-friendly, and non-fighting centered and such, which seemed nice, but most martial arts schools I've seen said stuff like that, really. And considering some of the dumbasses I've seen on the internets when martial arts come up, most of the ones that actually do it probably going to schools that also say the same thing, I had to wonder...

 24191566 

How is she doing on EBA? I've been playing Ouendan, so it is on my mind.

Knew I missed one. She's still improving, up to Hard (Sweatin'), though she's still just scraping her way through with Bs to Cs. In her save file on Ouendan pre-accident, she was gettings As and a couple Ss on the hardest (Insane) setting... Still pretty amazing, I mean, try playing with your off-hand some time.

 24191688 

You're a scholar and a /b/tard, Nurse-kun. Thanks for the Fan service. Was that really you with the "We went to the animal park" Story? it doesn't seem like it at all, Your usually a better speller.

Yes, that was me, as I explained last week.

 24191741 

It's been awhile since your last post, Nurse-chan! Have you two been able to go on an unsupervised outing yet? Just curious. Thanks for posting these ^^

We've been going out unchaperoned for a while now, and it's gone pretty well, I'm happy to say.

 24191999 

What the hell does Amputee-chan do all day? I don't think rehab takes all day so what does she do? Nothing? That would make even me crazy (and i consider myself physically an adult) but think of a child...

When we're not going to an outing or at rehab...?

...yes, she more or less sits in her bed. Reads a book, or plays a game, perhaps. Occasionally gets wheeled around the home for one reason or another, though she doesn't like that much.

This is why I tried to push for the outings...and it still drives me crazy, thinking about what she's doing when I can't be there, even if that sounds egotistical.

 24192324 

You know, I just had a thought. You said before that she only uses one hand to play her DS right? What would she think about a Wii? I know that you couldn't just give her one, that's a bit too much, but maybe the hospital could invest in some for all of the residents? It might help her socialize a bit more if she could play games with some of the other kids her age, you know, doing something she enjoys.

I've considered suggesting it, but I don't think it'd work out. I mean, she's not in a hospital...she's surrounded by elderly people, the youngest of whom is...58, I think? Early onset dementia in her case. I just don't think it'd go over that well, and she'd need to hang around with them, which she's not that comfortable with in the best of days, to use it...

 24192457 

Before this wonderful girl showed up, did anything remotely interesting happen to you that could even compare to this?

No, my life was pretty normal, I have to say, until it [The Fresh Prince of Bel Air](/The_Fresh_Prince_of_Bel_Air)...just kidding. But seriously, no, I was a pretty normal guy, with a normal life, more or less, night shift aside.

 24193183 

[WAH! WAH! WAH!] /b/tards are supposed to be the worst of the worst and proud of it. You make me sick with your talk of, "hope," and well-wishing. go fucking die in a fire, faggot. [WAH! WAH!]

I've found that people that try so hard to be the 'worst of the worst' tend to be the most pathetic of the pathetic. Just in my experience.

 24193305 

If you and Ampu-tan are going out that often, aren't you worried that some random /b/tard might spot you? Last I checked, the US seems to be pretty densly populated with 4channers- but not so populated with triple amputee, distinctly half-asian children.

A bit, but that's life, you know? I mean, it'd be pretty counterproductive to keep her locked away in a cage for fear that I be exposed for wanting to help her get out of her cage...

 24193565 

I lost half of my sympathy to You when you became a tripfag. Please, remove this faggotry and identify as you once were. Else, more threads will be infested with sage like this one. Anonymous nurse-kun is better then a faggery-dagery-doo from a tripfag.

Look, if it'll cut half the jr. detective faggotry of people claiming 'NO NO, IT'S NOT REALLY HIM', it'll be worth the retards making a stink about tripfaggotry. And I hardly think using a tripcode in one type of thread and nowhere else (I do post elsewhere), where it's on-topic, makes me into a tripfag. But to each their own, I guess. Not much I can do if someone wants to act like an idiot.

 24193959 

[Random Guro/Gore Spam for the first half of the thread]

Wow, guro thumbnails. That sure will get me, what with my totally not having worked in an ER and all.

 24194320 

have you thought about your future if she moves in with you? i know you said you'd have to give up your job, but have you looked into ways of making money (to supplement the stipend or whatever) that don't require leaving the house for long periods?

I'm considering possibilities, but I'm a bit busy at the moment, so I haven't had the opportunity to give it the attention it may deserve. Of course, I could say the same of a number of other aspects of my life, so hey.

 24194545 

i noticed in your last post that you mentioned you'd moved to adopt her. how long does that sort of thing take to decide? will you have to appear in court or something? is your supervisor aware of your plans?

Quite a while. Yes. Yes.

 24194690 

Maby she could pick up creative writing? She reads enough and it would help her vent some of her emotions. Plus- being a young knowledge-sponge, could teach you how to keep your sentences in manageable portions.

Har har. I bought her a notebook and pens and pencils and such some time ago, but they've just sat collecting dust in her desk...guess she isn't ready yet.

 24195224 

How goes the adoption process?

Going about as well as can be hoped for, thus far...I have another appointment with someone in family services next week, but so far, according to her social worker, so good.

And to the guy that asked about my father (sorry, didn't respond to your post at the time), he's...more or less unchanged. He was having a pretty good day yesterday, pain at low levels, able to eat something without it getting worse, and thus lower pain meds with lower side effects as well...it was a good day, with everyone getting together and managing to actually have a pretty good day, rather than the general depression since, well.

 24195709 

Hey Nurse-kun! You mentioned that she was trapped in the car with her parents corpses for a while before she was rescued. Any idea how long she had to stay there, whether their deaths were instant (I have no idea what would be worst for a kid, seeing your dead parents or watching them die) or if she was even conscious for it? Morbid I know, but curiosity is an evil thing some days.

Well...I try not to think about it too much, but I've pieced a fair amount of it together, between what she's told me, and a few other source of information...I suppose I've told you guys enough that this wouldn't be much worse.

Her father was driving, and, as far as can be told, was killed instantly in the collision, being crushed and nearly decapitated. Her mother was in the passenger's seat and reacted a bit faster than her father, moving to try and cover her...and got crushed from the waist down, in addition to serious trauma to her torso from the rear (being turned to face/cover her in the crash)...and wound up more or less 'on top' of her after the crash...and still alive. It seems she died a few minutes after our girl regained conciousness post head-wound, but, yes, she was alive for a while there, if...mm.

It would've been better if she could've just been unconcious...I wish she had been...

 24195990 

so nurse-kun have you installed a cage in your basement yet?

Not yet.

 24196111 

Any plans on turning her into the ultimate weapon for military purposes?

I'm not much of a military type. It'd have to be private contracting, at best.

 24196320 

How is your life going, aside from cute mecha lolis and your father's illness? Is the family holding together well? Times must really suck.

Well, we aren't fracturing, which is good enough for now...as I mentioned in a previous post, we got together yesterday for a meal on Easter Monday, and it went better than it had since the initial incident...gave me some hope, while I kept my mind on the moment, anyway.

 24197226 

i have a pilonital cyst. (responding to gore spam involving extra err... "holes")

Sorry to hear it, man. Shit sux. I'd really suggest you go to a doctor/hospital and get it treated, because it'll only get worse with time, assuming you haven't already. Man, maybe I'll tell you about this one story a doctor told me about an infected stoma on a hooker in his ER...seems she'd been letting (at least one?) client pay to fuck it.

I'll just let you all google 'stoma' now, if you didn't already know...yeah, all this guro sure will get to me, I sure didn't laugh the laugh of the already damned at that story when I heard it.

 24197462 

Heyhey NK! What do you look like anyway? Just a rough description will do.

Nothing special, really...white, brown hair, upper end of 5 feet, relatively decent shape due to a physical job and a not completely horrible lifestyle...I'm pretty anonymous, even in real life.

 24197855 

I'm getting surgery soon. i keep having to bleach my fucking boxers, cuz it always bleeds. the operation isnt supposed to be too painful, so i'm not worried. its not like getting three of your limbs amputated and your parents killed, at any rate.

Recovery isn't much fun, but at least you'll get a (hopefully cute, female) nurse getting a look at and pulling packing strips out of your new hole for a while before it heals. Heck, maybe you'll get a date out of it. (Assuming anonymous doesn't already have a girl/boyfriend, no offense)

 24198714 

NK. In the distant future if you do become her guardian: what are you going to do when she misbehaves? PTSD or not, she'll need disipline. And are you really sure you could come down hard on her if you needed to?

Well, I'll have to figure something out, I'm sure...though I'm hardly the physical type. I like to think my own parents raised me pretty well, and I can expect some help from my mom...and my dad's example. She's a good kid, just in a bad place, I don't forsee her needing a lot of discipline...

 24199177 

I did a check of Aikido on wikipedia, here's what I found. Aikido is a modern Japanese martial art (gendai bud?) developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Ueshiba's goal was to create a martial art through which a practitioner could achieve the ability to defend himself without injuring his attacker. Aikido emphasizes joining with an attack and redirecting the attacker's energy, as opposed to meeting force with force, and consists primarily of body throws and joint-locking techniques. In addition to physical fitness and techniques, mental training, controlled relaxation, and development of "spirit" (ki) are emphasized in aikido training. I don't think she'd be able to effectively attack or anything, but surely defend.

Well, if she did start it, it'd hardly be to learn how to fight...which I'd rather she didn't. But of the choices in the field, it seems like it'd be the most appropriate. I'm considering whether to suggest it to her social worker or not, at this point, and seeking out more information.

 24199391 

oh christ he's on zippocat now. i'm enjoying the spammer more than the other posts. (spammer ran out of gore, and started reposting zippocat ad nauseum)

I do have to admire his efficiency, if nothing else. He's really got it down to a science at this point, getting them out there that fast, in order.

Or, you know, a script or something, I guess. Ah, well.