Michaela and her Mother

[Ishigreensa]

Sonja, pronounced Son-ya, was a thirty-nine year old recently single mother with one daughter.  Because of some idiot getting drunk and running into her husband's car a few months ago, they had had two months of touch and go hoping that Jim would recover, but he never did.  Not only did he die, but because he was in the hospital for so long, the funds were quickly depleted that she had access to, and since the hospital bills were never fully covered, Jim's bank account was frozen so she couldn't touch it even though it was willed to her.

Now, with money running near the bottom of the barrow, the hospitals and clinics that could take care of her daughter who had something very wrong with her being nowhere near the small town she lived at, and there being a lack of any work there, Sonja took a chance and moved her daughter to a bigger city hoping to find cheaper rent and a job.

For now, though, it had been a week, and she still had not found any work, though that was not surprising since she had to be with her daughter all the time until she could put Michaela into school to look after her.  Michaela could walk with very special crutches, but because she was growing, and the crutches were made for her almost a year before, she was outgrowing them, and that made it hurt sometimes when she used them.  Not only that, but she needed special braces on her legs, which she was also outgrowing.  When it got hard for her to walk, Sonja did have a folding wheelchair for her that she put her in when it was difficult for her to navigate certain areas by herself.

Now, they were on their last dollar, and Sonja was almost out of ideas for a place to go.  Then, by some lucky chance, she found that an old couple were renting out a guest house at a mere fifty dollars a month!  She called them to find out about it, and by the stars, her luck continued and the old couple asked them to come and look it over for themselves.  Sonja was not picky at all at this point because they were desperate.

She took her daughter to the address that was given them, and soon found that this guest house was really just a one room place with enough space that it had a twin bed at one end and a kitchen table at the other end.  Near the twin bed, there was also a television, and there was a small walk-in space that had a toilet to one side.  

They had access to a kitchen and to a bath if they knocked on the joining door that went to the rest of the house.  

Sonja quickly took them up on this gem of a find.  While it was less convenient than Sonja would have liked, it was only fifty dollars a month, and she was not going to find any place that cheap anywhere else.  The old couple also didn't take any deposit money when they realized how much she had left, and knew that she had a daughter to feed.  Instead, they said she could help them out with the utilities later, after she got working.

And this is where we start the story:

 

"I'm sorry that I can't do better right now," Sonja apologized to Michaela.  "But this is only until we can get on our feet.  I have to see if I can find a job, and I can't really do that until you start school.  We will check out the local school tomorrow to see about registering you, okay?"

[Shy-Diapers]

“It’s okay Momma.” Michaela said quietly. She used to be such a bubbly little kid, but with the death of her father, she became more withdrawn. It didn’t help that they moved to a new state and they knew absolutely nobody there. 

She was near the kitchen table, standing in a frame thats meant to help posture in people with cerebral palsy. She was coloring on the tray attached to her frame. She liked things like arts and crafts like most 8 year olds did. She also loved things like basketball and swimming. Those were things that she could do almost completely normally. She could play basketball so long as she used her wheelchair, and she could swim with almost no support or assistive devices, though sometimes she did need a kickboard. 

She missed her old house, one with lots of room for her to get around and for her adaptive equipment. Most of all though, she missed her father. She wasn’t too sure about having to go to a new school. She’d never been a new kid. She’d been in the same school all her life and therefore, all the kids in her grade were used to her disability. 

“What are we gonna eat for dinner?” She asked with a slight hesitation. She knew that money was tight and they didn’t have much food, so she usually didn’t ask for food unless she was offered it. She used to eat snacks a few times a day in addition to her meals, but now she felt bad so she tried to stick to just her meals. 

[Ishigreensa]

Sonja sighed when her daughter asked her what they were going to eat for dinner.  She looked in her bag and found a bag of chips and some chocolate pies.

"You can eat this for now," she said wondering how she was going to get to the store at this time of day because with her daughter's disability, it would be nearly impossible to get back in time to catch any running busses.

Just as she was about to give up on any good dinner for her daughter, the gem-like, the angel-like, the savior old couple knocked at her door that led to the rest of the house.

When Sonja opened the door, they brought in two extra chairs to the kitchen table in their little rented space, and then they brought in a chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and lots of other foods.  When they were finished bringing in the dinner, the old couple looked to Sonja.  "May we?" they asked.

"Of course," Sonja said very surprised.

The old couple had dinner with them and then the woman smiled at Sonja.

"No doubt you need to register your child for school tomorrow.  We can use my car to take her in, and I'll take you to pick her up, okay?"

Sonja nodded with a very big smile.  "Thank you!"

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela was happy to be able to eat some real food, so much so that she had three servings. She didn't want her mother to have to stress over things more than she already did. She still struggled to understand  her situation since she was barely 8 years old.

After dinner was all cleaned up, Michaela grabbed her crutches and headed to the bedroom. "Momma do I need to bath tonight?" She asked. The bathroom the old couple was small compared to what they were used to, and required Sonja to assist her daughter with bathing more than before. 

The bathroom wasn't really made to have two people near the bath at once. As a result, it was difficult to get Michaela completely clean and sometimes she had a slight smell to her, though neither Michaela or Sonja really knew since they had grown accustom to it.

[Ishigreensa]

Sonja shrugged.

"I think it would be best to try to clean you up, honey.  You are going to be registering for school tomorrow, so we want to give them the best impression of you that we can, right?"

She smiled.

Then she took her to the bathroom and started to prepare to wash her off the best she could.

(I thought this was their first night at this place, so they shouldn't know what the bathroom or giving a bath is like yet, should they?  They will find out tonight how hard it is, right?  I am guessing they are just now settled in, so maybe she hadn't had a bath for a couple fo days because of how hard it was in the motel room, and how busy they were with trying to get a regular place to stay?)

[Shy-Diapers]

(Oh sorry, I thought they had been in the house for a few days already. My mistake.)

Michaela nodded. She tried to assist her mother, but the bathroom was fairly small, so she couldn't do much. She was disappointed by this, being used to having almost complete independence. Back home she could bathe herself by herself, and really only needed assistance if she was sore or tired.

She sighed and let her mother wash her up. She felt like a baby.

Back home, they had a walk in bath installed, so Michaela could get in and out independently. This small bathtub was nothing like what she was used to.

[Ishigreensa]

Sonja was happy to see a bathtub for once, when the couple led them through the main house to the bathroom with a tub, but the problem was that this room was too small for her chair, really and the tub, while standard for most homes, was not good for letting her daughter clean herself independantly.  

"I'm really sorry about this," Sonja told Michaela.  "I don't see any other way though."

She took her daughter's crutches from her, and took her braces off.  She looked around but the old couple had given them some space, so she was able to at least get her daughter to the toilet where she sat her down like it was a seat, and she started to undress her.  Of course, her daughter could do that herself, for the most part, but she was worried about her since it was going to be hard for her daughter to have her chair in the bathroom with her, and her crutches and braces had to come off for a bath.

She got her daughter undressed, and then she gently half carried her to the tub and helped her in.

In the tub, because it was confined, she started to let her daughter clean herself as much as she could, but it became apparent that her daughter would need help because there were places she couldn't reach in a tub like this.  Her body just didn't move the right way to get under her bottom for example.

Sonja sighed and took the cloth from her and started to wash her where she could reach without embarrassing her daughter too much.  Unfortunately, that mean that her butt and privates didn't get quite as clean as they should be.  The eight year old just couldn't reach those places very well in this small tub, and she squirmed when her mom tried to clean her there because her mom had not cleaned her there since she was about six years old.  Sonja figured her daughter just felt weird about being touched there, even if it was her mom, so she didn't yell at her to behave or to settle down, but just did her best with what she had.

She finally got her daughter out of the tub and sat her on the toilet again as a seat while she dried her off.  Then she got her chair in position, put a towel in her chair, and then drying her butt as she did, she helped her daughter into her chair, and then wrapped a towel around her to keep her as decent as possible while they went back to their room where she could finish getting her little one ready for bed.

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela blushed when she was being washed. She hadn't been washed by her mother in a few years, so now it was embarrassing to have her do it. Michaela loved her independence, because she had to work harder for it, and her amount of independence and ability was amazing for someone with Cerebral Palsy.

After the bath she hung her head and let her mom push her. "Can I just get dressed in the bathroom next time momma?" She asked quietly. She hated using her wheelchair unless it was absolutely necessary. 

She hooped when they were back in their own bedroom area, that her mother would let her dress herself. She didn't want to feel like a complete baby.

[Ishigreensa]

"Honey, the bathroom is too dangerous for you to dress in because it's too small.  Especially if you are going to do it by yourself.  Of course, when we get back to our room, I'll let you dress yourself.  You are a big girl after all, honey."

Sonja knew that her daughter liked her independence, and she hated taking it away from her, but she was more worried about her daughter getting hurt especially because if her daughter fell, things were a lot closer in this bathroom, so she could easily bump her head against the wall, the toilet or the sink.  And yet, things were far enough away, that she couldn't really support herself into a standing position while trying to get dressed.  Of course, she could try to sit on the toilet, but what if the old couple needed the bathroom?

Sonja wrapped a towel around Sonja so she was good and covered, and then she wheeled her towards their own room.

When they were in their room, she locked the wheelchair, and then she put the clothes on the bed, the chair near the bed, so her daughter could reach them, and use the chair and the bed to support herself when she needed to briefly change positions.

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela sighed. She didn't like going through the old couple's house in just a towel. She didn't know these people, and didn't want them seeing her that way.

She quickly got her pajamas on and put her braces back on. "Why couldn't I have walked? I walked in alright."

For the most part she hated her chair. It took away one of her biggest accomplishments, her ability to walk. She knew not to complain about her crutches and braces, even if they did hurt sometimes, because she knew they were expensive. She also doubted that she'd be going to physical therapy anytime soon, since doctors cost money and physical therapy was with doctors.

[Ishigreensa]

"Honey, I just didn't want to take a chance of putting the braces on in the bathroom, and them getting so wet, that you might have slipped on the way to our room.  This is new for both of us.  Just please, try to brave through this, and as soon as I can, we will get our own place where we can make sure it is safe for you to take care of yourself, okay?"

She reached out to hug her.

"I know you can walk around as long as there is room, and there is nothing for you to trip or slip on in your way.  I will try to maybe talk to the people later about making the bathroom a little safer for you to put your braces on after a bath without fear of them getting wet."

(The braces I'm thinking of, have a kind of shoe on the bottom so as to support her better when she stands up.  Is that not the right kind?  I am working at a nursing home, and one person who is semi-immobilized on one side uses that kind of shoe brace to support him when he stands up, but he is mostly in a wheelchair.)

[Shy-Diapers]

(That's the right kind, but that doesn't give her a whole lot of support, especially since they're becoming too small.)

Michaela sighed. She didn't want to argue, but didn't get why she couldn't just walk out after she was dry. She just wanted everything to go back to normal.

She curled up on the bed and sniffled, holding her old stuffed pig. She had gotten a lot more sensitive after her father died and she had to move to a brand new place. First her daddy got taken away from her, and now her independence was too it seemed.

[Ishigreensa]

Sonja sighed.  She couldn't blame her daughter for feeling lonely and upset about everything.  She had no friends yet, she had lost her father at a very young age, and now, she was having to get used to living in a space that was less than ideal for someone struggling to walk.  She did like her independence.

While most people took that kind of thing for granted, Sonja was sure that Michaela did not.  She knew it took a lot of work for the girl to walk on her own, and yet, she always tried even when the old braces which were getting a bit small for her hurt.  She wanted independence more than most eight year olds, or so Sonja thought.

She got ready for bed herself, and then slipped into bed next to her daughter to go to sleep.

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela slept through the night, until about 2AM. She woke up after a bad dream. She kept having nightmares after the death of her father and they didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. She woke up soaked in sweat and from wetting the bed. That had been happening a lot too lately, about every other night she’d wet the bed and it frustrated her so much, especially since she couldn’t clean herself up in the motel because of no shower or bath at all, and now the apartment because of the small bathroom  

She never took anything for granted, especially now that her mother was struggling with money. That’s why she did her best not to complain about anything, even if her braces weren’t getting way too small and hurting her every time she walked. 

[Ishigreensa]

Sonja woke up when she felt moving around on the bed, and then realized the bed was soaked as well as her daughter.  

She turned to look at her daughter, and then she pulled her closer to her to hug her.

"It's okay," she whispered.  "It's okay.  Mommy is here, honey."

She patted her lightly as she whispered.

"Do you want to get out of those wet things, honey?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela cried into her mother and nodded. “I’m sorry Momma.”

She hated wetting the bed, she felt so bad for waking up her mother and she felt like a little kid. Yeah, she was still a little kid, but to Michaela she was a big kid and she worked so hard for her independence. 

She cried and rubbed her eyes. She was still pretty shaken up from her nightmare too. 

[Ishigreensa]

Sonja smiled and pulled her big girl closer and into her lap.

"Honey, it's not the end of the world, sweetie.  We both know you are a big girl.  One little accident from time to time doesn't change that, and I know you didn't do this of your free will.  It was just an accident, and you are dealing with a lot, honey.  Sometimes, the human body does strange things to us when we are dealing with more than we can handle."

She rocked her a bit to try to calm her down from the nightmare before starting to undress her from her wet things.

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela nodded and tried to calm down. That was at least one nice thing about them sharing a bed, she didn’t have to struggle to get to her mother’s room if she needed her. 

She rubbed her eyes and sniffled. “Are there clean sheets momma?” She asked softly. She felt bad that she had wet the bed and wasn’t even sure if they were able to clean the sheets at all because kt was their first night there. 

[Ishigreensa]

Sonja sighed.

"I'm afraid I don't know," she said.  "I don't want to bother those other people because I didn't know you were going to wet the bed, sweetie, and it wouldn't be very nice to wake them up in the middle of the night to ask.  Maybe we can just cuddle and get back to sleep for now, and then change in the morning?" she offered her not really thinking that putting on clean clothes while sleeping in a wet bed would do much good.  As it was, they were semi-comfortable because the body heat from each other kept them warm, and where they were lying down, at the moment, the bed still felt warm under her, at least.  If they moved to change, then the bed would get cold and very uncomfortable.

"Just try to go back to sleep," she cooed.  "I'll get you changed in the morning, okay?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela frowned. Her wet clothes felt disgusting. She sighed. 

“Okay momma.” She said trying not to let her voice show that she had started crying again. She felt like such a baby, especially since she had to sit in her own pee for the rest of the night. 

She felt so guilty now. She had made more trouble for her mother than she already had. 

[Ishigreensa]

Sonja hated to leave her daughter like that, but there wasn't really anything she could do about the wet bed.  She let her daughter sleep as much as she could let her, and the next morning, she woke her up and started to get her out of her wet clothes.

"I'm sorry about last night," she said.  "We'll get some extra sheets today, and hopefully, this will be the last time you have to sleep in a wet bed all night, okay?"

She got her daughter ready to dress herself, and then gave her some space.

"We'll go register you for school in a couple of hours, so go ahead and get ready, honey."

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela barely slept after she had woken up to the wet bed. The further into the morning they got the colder she was. She wasn’t used to the cold weather of the nights. They had come from somewhere where it never got too cold and never snowed. Now they were in the winter in a new place where it apparently got quite cold at night. 

The next morning she put her jeans and shirt on, zipping up her jacket all the way. She was still cold after being dressed. She would need a winter coat soon, but for now she was fine in just a sweatshirt, which was lucky because they didn’t really have the money to buy a winter coat. 

When she was dressed she got her braces on and looked at her mother. “How long until we go to the school momma?” She asked. She wanted to get out of the tiny place, but was also nervous about having to go to a new place with new people. 

[Ishigreensa]

Sonja looked over at the clock.

"We have about a couple of hours.  Are you hungry, honey?"

She went to the little eating area to look for some cereal and milk that they had there.

The milk was in a tiny ice box near the table.

[Shy-Diapers]

Michaela was hesitant to accept the food, but nodded. She was pretty hungry from the crying and the stress. 

She climbed up to the table and waited patiently. She wanted to get the food herself, but there just wasn’t enough room for her move around and get her food. 

She didn’t want to be a burden or stress her mother out more than she already was so she usually refrained from asking for food unless she was starving. She also was afraid that when she asked for food she wouldn’t be able to get any.