Chapter Three - Full Disclosure

Part 3 (December 18th)
[Editors Note: In this chapter, all posts are from Nurse-kun, While the greentexted parts came from anons.]  17505569    Hey, /b/. Sorry to be later than usual, but there's a reason for it. I got up early, and headed into the 'office' around ten thirty, then into the staff room. The nurses usually eat lunch together around eleven, before the patients' lunchtime, since it's such an ordeal to get them all to eat, and then to clean up the mess they make. I hung out in there, chatting with various people as everyone began to filter in. I usually work the night shift, but we all swap shifts sometimes as needed, and since I'm single and young, I wind up accepting requests more often than most; thus, they all know me, even if I'm not as common a fixture as most, at this time of day. I got to the point, admitting that I'd given her the mini-bear, saying I'd left it in her room while she was asleep. I also admitted that I knew it wasn't exactly orthodox procedure, but explained that I'd felt badly for her, when I saw her during my duties, and wanted to do something nice for her. Then I asked if any of them had noticed her with it, and if so, what she seemed to think of it; I got several responses, including the nurse in charge of her during the day, a middle-aged woman that'd been here for at least ten years: apparently, she hadn't been seen *without* it since she was checked upon on sunday morning. She hadn't said anything about where she'd gotten it, in her usual tacitrun manner, but it seemed pretty clear that she liked it.  17505871     Relieved to hear this, I then asked how the rest of them felt about her, saying that it seemed wrong to just let her fade away in here, that she reminded me of my niece (she does, a little, though my niece is several years older, and perfectly all right physically and mentally and home-lifeally), and what they thought about giving her a few more little presents from 'the staff', that I'd be happy to pay for them, but would they back me on this? There was some discussion on this, of course, because as I've already mentioned, there are certain behaviours and familiarities that can be a bit taboo. I pointed out that nobody minded when we were friendly and kind to our elderly parents...that their children actually appreciated it greatly, that it was viewed as a good thing. Should we wind up treating her harmfully, particularly considering her mental and social fragility, just to avoid making waves? (I'm paraphrasing the discussions here, obviously) After further discussion, everyone finally agreed that they'd back me up, so long as I brought the issue to the head administrator and got her permission. I suppose it was the best I could've hoped for, and I'd been thinking I may have to do that anyway, so it went well, all things told.  17506206     The administrator always eats outside of the facility come lunchtime, chalking it up as 'business expenses' because she brings a few reports to page through, so I would have to wait until at least one, probably one-thirty, to see her. Since that was the case, I decided to take care of something else I'd been thinking about, first, and went to see our resident headshrinker. She's a nice, if somewhat bland, woman in her mid-thirties, and I found her in her office, eating lunch at her desk. I apologized for disturbing her, then asked if she minded my picking her brain a little. I told her about how I had been taking care of my little patient, and asked for her advice on how I should be dealing with her, what I should be careful about, and whether my being friendly toward her would do more good or harm. While I'd known that she had trouble sleeping, I learned the extent of it, and I was somewhat surprised...apparently, she's been having recurring nightmares since the accident, which is a pretty common symptom/effect of PTSD, particularly in children. She hadn't called me after any such events, so I could only imagine how she was dealing with them...it was painful to think about. Her general advice was that it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing to be friendly when I dealt with her, within common-sense limits, of course, and that offering to be 'there for her', so to speak, might actually be helpful. In any case, the meeting went pretty well, and she commended me on my concern for her, before I left.  17506518    I killed time until half-past one, when I went to the CA's office, and asked to speak with her regarding a patient. Her secretary had me wait for about ten minutes, pretty typical way staff gets treated when they try to talk with her, then I headed in. I came clean, more or less, giving the version of events I gave the other nurses to her, and offering the same proposal of an increase in 'niceness' and giftage toward the patient, being sure to include that the other nurses thought it was a good idea, and were behind me on it; in addition, I brought up our psychiatrist's thinking it might be a good idea, in her professional opinion. She frowned, and hemmed, and hawed; she's enjoys what power she has, even if she doesn't quite qualify as a 'tyrant', and clearly wasn't terribly pleased at my initiative. But, luckily for me, for whatever her precise reason, she refrained from punishment, and said that she'd consider my proposal, saying she'd need to speak to our legal counsel about it. I said that I understood, and agreed that I'd 'be careful' in the meantime. Whew. It was a pretty busy morning, but a pretty good one, I think...as good as it could've gone, anyway. I'm just glad she likes it.  17506731    Sheesh. I'm typing this all out by hand, you know, folks, I'm not copypasting it from a copy written in one chunk ahead of time. Thus, the space between posts, despite it being the singular initial report. In the meantime, a billion comments and questions inbetween. Might take me a bit to catch up with them, sorry. Be patient with me.  17506825   

Yes, I know that. I discussed that with our shrink, and she said I definitely needed to tell her that, yes, this was a special treatment meant just for her. She also said that this wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, since it would help her feel, and understand, that she's cared about individually, not just as 'another patient'. Of course, I'll probably be splitting any gift-credit with the rest of the staff, and at the same time, offering to be there if she needs me, wants to talk, etc, individually. I'm trying to do this in a somewhat transparent manner...  17506970    

This is a serious point, and I want to address it. Believe me, I know. If it does happen, she's going to require full-time care, at least for the foreseeable future. I wouldn't just be a parent, I'd be a fulltime homecare nurse. Fortunately, I'm more qualified for that burden than any non-professional parent could be, though I will admit that I've probably never faced as stressful a situation as that before. Someone in her situation, when adopted, comes with a compensation payment to help cover their medical costs...which should help somewhat. As her legal ward, I'd also be responsible for her 'assets', including the remainder of the life insurance from her parents, which would be a helpful backup fund for covering expenses. Finally, if it did happen, my family will probably help me out as well, they're good people, so...it could probably work out...financially, anyway. Hopefully.  17507114   

Damn, I tossed it...I'll keep something in mind in the future, perhaps, if I can find a store selling something I buy for her that isn't too region-obvious...maybe wal-mart or something...we'll see. Sorry?  17507210   

I'm a Nurse, not a Writer, nigger. [This is a real post - Nurse-kun]  17507759    Sigh. Fine, you want to know one of the reasons I haven't given ANY pictures yet? I don't have a camera in my cellphone, since I don't use it much, and it's over a year old. I don't have a webcam, because I'm not a fucking camwhore. I don't have a digital camera, because I rarely need, or want, to take pictures. If I do produce photographic evidence, it won't be appearing today, that much is certain. Maybe I'll look into a cheap form of one of those items, but it isn't on the agenda for the immediate future. I'm not looking for /b/points, and I don't really even care THAT much if any of you believe me, so, hey, whatever.  17508405   Ok, ok. I didn't think it was THAT bad, considering it's /b/, but I have no particular attachment to it. It was just a way to identify that it was me, from the first thread on. Starting next thread: New Picture.  17508642    Uh, yes, I said I had *sunday's shift off*. You know, when I would've been working from 10pm to 6am, like I usually do? And I didn't work last night, since, uh, I didn't have a shift scheduled. And, as I mentioned in my first post today, I went in there ON MY OWN TIME...I will be going in TO WORK, tonight, at 10 pm, as usual. Thanks for the orange, again, you're welcome to believe or not believe, read or not, as you wish. This is /b/. I'm not getting or losing anything by your doing so or not either way.  17508733   

I have a job already, and I don't know how to manage a porn star.  17509002    [Note: As per Anonymous' request, the post Nurse-Kun is replying to has been included:

When /b/ gives a relatively positive response to someones actions or intentions, people tend to act quicker than normal. (note to the OP: Congrats, but don't rush things too quickly. You probably already know this, but I doubt this little girl, who just had her life flipped upside down, would appreciate any other drastic changes.) Also, even though the OP may seem to have progressed quickly from our perspective, this isn't necessarily true. The OP is describing each minor detail to us, which has piled up to quite a bit of information over his collective posts. However, what has actually occured throughout this time is miniscule. In summary, the only thing he has done besides his job, is give a little lonely girl a small gift despite it being kinda against the hospital's rules and then chat about it with his co-workers. This seems perfectly believable to me, and even if it is fake, its not like lying on 4chan is exactly frowned upon.]

You know, this guy is right. I mean, it's not like this is proceeding at the pace of an H-game or something. I won't be poopering her OR adopting her by the end of the week.  17509044   

Well, I'm not quite that old or shadowed or opiate-addicted or high-hairlined or cripply just yet, but...  17509309   As I've already said in response to another post, if it goes through, I'd likely be at home full-time. There are financial options in place to make this doable. I've thought about how a girlfriend might work if it happened, as well...despite this being /b/, I have had them in the past, and I haven't had a tremendous amount of trouble getting/keeping them, the vaguaries of youth nothwithstanding. Still, while you might think that being such a nurturing-looking person by taking care of her, women are human beings too, and people like her are hard for human beings to deal with, even in such a peripheral and minor role of a girlfriend. I couldn't ask one to take care of her. And, um, I...well, it's complicated. All I know for sure is that I don't want to hurt her.  17509447 

Well, I kinda do both jobs, since I'm alone at night, and have to deal with a number of senile or otherwise mentally compromised and occasionally troublesome patients. It was just a layman shorthand of a general job description. I am, in fact, a registered nurse. YES, A REGISTERED MALE NURSE. PLZ DO NOT DRAW ME IN CAP WHITE'S OUTFIT W/GIANT NEEDLE.  17510719+17511021   

Your lack of knowledge cannot be disguised with bombastity alone. Clearly, while you believe you've spotted some sort of giant gaping hole (much like you are no doubt picturing at the end of her stumps) in my account, all that you've seen is an ignorant fool's picture in your own mind. The average time it takes to heal to the point of entirely closed flesh after amputation is under a month, with variations based upon age, general health, and all the other things that determine how fast one heals any other cut or incision. When this initial healing is completed, and all sutures and staples removed, the result is a thin but coherent scar tissue joining the flesh that was knit together during the surgery. While it is 'healed', it remains fragile, and can be worried open again, thus necessitating careful treatment. HOWEVER! Her legs had suffered serious burns, which was the main reason for the choice to amputate. While the point to amputate at was chosen at a site above the limit of the burns, the additional trauma caused via nerve damage by these burns has left her in considerable pain even after this 'healing' has occured. Furthermore, it is common practice in amputation cases that have been pre-scheduled with some measure of time available beforehand to have a very basic prosthetic limb ready and 'fitted' onto the stump when the patient awakens post-surgery, to help with accepting it psychologically. I find it hard to believe that any medical professional would allow such a thing to happen if even a freshly-amputated and sutured limb being 'capped' would harm the patient! Her arm was not burned, and would thus be considered 'fully' healed, as much as any amputation site could be, and she has thus apparently being doing quite well with learning to use that prosthetic limb. On the other hand, since her leg stumps still cause her frequent pain, which will hopefully fade with time, they cannot be considered, by a medical professional, to be 'fully' healed, despite the skin and muscle tissue having healed well enough to begin prosthetic rehab! Such rehab consisting largely, at this point, of her learning to balance upon her new legs, particularly without natural knees, the most crucial component in the human legs for the act of walking. She is never unassisted by a rehabilitation professional in these attempts, and would still fall over if she tried to do so on her own. Even if she is learning very quickly as compared to a 'standard' person in her situation, she is nowhere close to walking unassisted yet! You should really hire an expert to brief yourself in these matters before launching into an attack, and please keep your RP faggotry in its own threads, TYVM, and GTFO!  17511537 

I've considered it, actually...it was such an idea that first inspired me to suggest people draw such fanart, though clearly, it's a bit of a sticky subject...because if I show it to her, even if she likes it, and it makes her feel better, I'd probably need to ask her to keep it a secret. Because other people learning that I gave descriptions of her to people to draw pictures of her on the internets would self-evidently, for anyone with half a brain, be a serious no-no. Even if I tell her that people learned about her on their own and drew it on their own, it's still risky, because people learning I found it and directed it to her would likely trace it back here somehow, and, well. I'm still thinking about it.  17511894  

Well, yes, but this is /b/. I figured a less emotionally-charged reasoning would be more acceptable to the full audience. But yes, I certainly hadn't planned on throwing a handful of printouts at her any time soon. Also: Afk for a bit, making some quick dinner.  17514052   He's not the OP, since I am. But his archiving is greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work!  17514148   And yeah, seems it's winding down, but I suppose there isn't a lot to say anymore today. Perhaps something tomorrow, but I suppose we'll all have to wait and see, hm?  17515444   Um, that's the plan. I'm not sure if I should do anything tonight, though I'm considering checking to see if she's awake, and if so, telling her that she doesn't have to keep the bear a secret, etc, just to take that burden off her.