A Family Back Together

[Shy-Diapers]

“Malee say potty!” Malee insisted. “Malee say potty potty potty! Malee say potty Aplil. Aplil nusing!” She tried to explain to Rick. She tried to tell him that she could say it, and that she had said it a lot and to April, but April didn’t do anything when she said potty. 

Malee grabbed one of the stuffed animals on her bed and let Rick clean her up. “Kol tad.” She said to Rick. Sometimes when she was upset or frustrated, she’d revert back to speaking Thai. She was apologizing to him for having soaked herself. 

“Malee know how potty.” She insisted. “Malee don know um....” She trailed off. She couldn’t think of how to say ‘where’. She knew it, but couldn’t remember. She whined and growled in frustration, sick of her poor English and inability to communicate effectively. 

[Ishigreensa]

Rick frowned and continued to change her.

"Honey, I'm not sure, but I think April thought you had already wet your pants.  She said that you told her you had peed so came to get us to help you."

He got her clothes back on her and he hugged her.

"I think it's because you said you were wet, baby," he told her.  "Next time, even if you are a little wet, don't say you're wet, okay?  It confused her and she didn't know.  I didn't mean that you didn't know how to go potty.  I just thought maybe you forgot how to say the word, so I wanted you to say it.  If you say potty, I'm sure April will take you to the bathroom next time if you are with her, honey."

He patted her back.

Then he picked her up and put her on her feet.

"Come on," he said taking her by the hand.  "Daddy is going to show you where the potty is from your room.  I don't know how many times you'll need to be shown, but I'm sure you'll learn it soon."

He had missed that she had apologized because he didn't really understand Thai at all.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee sighed and frowned. Rick and Mary had emphasized telling them when she was wet so they could help her. She didn’t understand why she wasn’t supposed to say she was wet when she was. Even for a typical eight year old the concept was strange. 

She followed Rick to the bathroom and nodded. She started to remember where it was in comparison to the other rooms. Malee squinted and concentrated really hard. “Thank you Daddy.” She said looking up at him. It took a lot of effort to get her English to sound normal, but she wanted to tell Rick she appreciated him. 

[Ishigreensa]

He could see that she was confused, and he took a moment to collect his thoughts.

"I mean, don't say you are wet to your sister, honey.  She doesn't really understand and thinks you just peed all the way in your pants when you tell her you're wet.  Of course, you can still tell mommy or daddy if you need a clean pull up because you're wet.  But to your sister, unless you've completely wet yourself, just tell her you have to go potty, and then either I or mommy will check on you afterwards to make sure you're not wet, okay?"

He hugged her.

April went downstairs frowning.

"Mommy?  Do you need any help?  Daddy is helping little sissy because she said she was wet, but then she started crying, and I guess she wasn't completely wet when she told me she was, and she got really upset when she wet all the way...."

She looked up at her.

"I was trying to help her, but she said it strange, mommy.  I didn't realize she still wanted to use the potty."

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee sighed and nodded. She still was struggling to understand what Rick meant. She was confused and a little frustrated. English was a hard language to learn. The little girl hugged Robert back. She buried her face in his chest. She wanted to scream from frustration. She put her arms up for Rick to carry her. “Aplil?”

Mary smiled and hugged April. “It’s ok honey. She’s trying. Her English isn’t that good yet and you haven’t been around her enough to understand her. Maybe we can go for a walk. Let everyone get some fresh air.”

[Ishigreensa]

April smiled and nodded at her mom's idea.

"Yeah, I think a nice walk with little sissy would be really fun."

She looked around.

"So, do you want some help?"

 

Rick smiled and picked her up.

"I think April went downstairs because I told her to see if her mom wants some help with anything."

He hugged her.  He knew that he was saying a lot, and that she probably only caught half of it, but the doctors did encourage him to keep talking to her normally telling him that it was better for her understanding, if they spoke naturally for her unless they expected her to do something.  Then they should use one or two word commands to make it easy for her until she really understood what was going on.

[Shy-Diapers]

“No thank you honey. I don’t need any help. Why don’t you go see if Malee wants to go for a walk.” Mary said smiling. She finished loading the dishwasher and turned it on. She headed to put her shoes on and to look for something outside. 

Malee nodded. She wish she could understand more, but it was so difficult. She just hugged Rick and let him carry her downstairs. 

[Ishigreensa]

Rick came down just as April came out to look for Malee.

"Hey, Malee!  Do you want to go to the park?" April asked her.  "Mom says we can take a walk around, and maybe you want to know where the park is."

She ran up to where Rick was holding Malee.

"I'm not sure about her walking about the neighborhood yet," Rick said.  "It won't be easy to just sit down somewhere if she gets tired."

"But mommy said we could," April whined.

Rick sighed.

"Let's go talk to mommy," he said.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Palk?” Malee asked curiously. She didn’t know what the park was, but April seemed excited about it. She wanted to do whatever her big sister was excited about. She smiled and looked up at Rick, but frowned when she saw him frowning. 

Mary came in from the back and smiled at Rick and her daughters. “I thought maybe some fresh air might be nice for Malee. We still have April's wagon in the garage from when she was little. That way when she gets tired she can sit down.”

[Ishigreensa]

"Oh, okay," Rick nodded.  "That sounds like a good idea then.  The fresh air will probably do the girls some good."

April, being twelve years old, still liked to sit in the wagon from time to time, but she didn't expect anyone to pull it now.  She was probably too heavy for her parents to pull her around anyway not to mention she would die of embarrassment if any one from school saw her being pulled around.

"I want to take Malee to the park," April said bouncing on the balls of her feet.

[Shy-Diapers]

(I thought April was 12?)

“I figured. Malee has been cooped up in that stuffy hospital room for so long. Being outside will give both girls some fresh air and give April a chance to get some energy out. And Malee can walk around if she chooses.” Mary said with a smile. 

Malee looked confused. Everyone seemed happy, but she didn’t understand why. “Palk?” She asked, unsure what April was talking about. She wished she could understand her family a little better. 

[Ishigreensa]

(I think I misread the beginning, or rather, didn't read it carefully enough.  Yeah, it looks like she's supposed to be twelve.  I wasn't sure because the girl in the other one is 12.)

April bent down by her little sister, and she showed her the wagon.

"Sit down, Malee.  I'll pull you."

She tried to help her into the wagon.

"You'll love the park.  It has fun things to play on, and it has lots of birds, small animals, and fish to feed.  And the grass is green and soft."

She hoped her sister wanted to get into the wagon.

(I edited the part above)

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee frowned. She didn’t understand what was going on. She was getting upset that her question wasn’t being answered. What was this park? Why would no one tell her what was going on? 

Malee refused to climb into the wagon, arms crossed. She was so confused. April was talking way too fast to be understood and no one was clarifying. 

She turned and looked at Mary and Rick, frowning. “Palk?” She asked with tears in her eyes. She didn’t understand what was going on. She had asked a few times and no one had responded. She was confused and frustrated. 

[Ishigreensa]

Rick bent down and picked her up.

Touching her nose, he tried to explain.

"Park," he said to her.  "It is easier to see it."  

He patted her back.

"Play?" he asked her.  "Play at a park."

"Animals?" he asked her.  "Sometimes, animals at a park."

"Trees?"

"Grass?"

"A park... It's a place.  You play there.  You look at trees and flowers there.  You can see some small animals sometimes."

He touched her nose hoping she caught some of what he was trying to tell her as simply as he could put it.

[Shy-Diapers]

“Outside?” Malee asked nodding. She was starting to understand what Rick was saying. It made her feel better that someone was explaining things to her. English was so difficult for her and it got frustrating at times. 

Mary grabbed a small bag and threw some water bottles and a few small snacks in it, before grabbing an extra pull-up for Malee from upstairs. She didn’t think they’d need any of it, but wanted to be safe. 

[Ishigreensa]

April looked up at Malee wanting Malee to get in the wagon so she could pull her sister around.  She was really proud of having a little sister, and wanted to show her off to any friends that she might see out.  

"Malee," April called up at her.  "Don't you want to ride in the wagon?"

Rick leaned down with Malee in his arms.

"This." 

He moved one of her hands to touch the side of the wagon.  

"This is a wagon.  April wants Malee to ride in it."

He waited.

April waited.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee looked skeptically at the wagon, but she could see that April wanted her in there and Rick seemed ok with it. She felt it and looked it over for a while. She nodded and climbed in, needing some help from Rick. 

She smiled a little up at April. She could tell her sister was happy. She didn’t really know what the park was still, but she got a better idea now that someone tried to explain it. 

[Ishigreensa]

April knelt down next to the wagon while her mom was still in the house getting things together to bring out, and she whispered.

"Play?"

She smiled and looked around at the ground until she found a stick.  Then she poured a little dirt into the wagon in front of her sister.  She took another stick and drew a stick person in the dirt and then wiped it erasing the stick man.

"See?  Play." she said.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee looked at her sister. She wasn’t used to playing in the dirt. She was confused when April poured the dirt in the wagon. She took the stick and played around in the little bit of dirt. 

Mary came down soon with the small bag and put it into the wagon. “Are we ready to go everyone?” She asked. 

[Ishigreensa]

April smiled and nodded up at her mommy.

Rick reached down and took the handle leading to the tongue of the wagon and started to pull it.

"It looks like we are ready," Rick said.  

April climbed into the wagon after awhile and sat behind her sister.

"Do you like swings?" she asked taking the stick and drawing a stick figure of a swing set with two swings.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee shrugged. She had never been on a swingset or gone to a park before. “Malee no palk.” She told April. She wasn’t paying attention to her sister very much. She looked around and smiled. She liked being outside and getting fresh air. The sunshine felt so nice. 

When they got to the park, Mary set the bag on the bench and had Rick park the wagon there too. “April remember to be careful if you’re playing with your sister. She’s still weak and can’t do a lot of things.”

[Ishigreensa]

April nodded and reached for her sister's hand.

"Let's go look at the slide," she said.  "It's fun.  And after that, we can look at the swings to see if you want to get on one or not."

She looked around the park but didn't see any of her friends there.

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee clinbed out of the wagon with Rick’s help and looked back at him when April took her hand. She wasn’t too sure on what to do. She wasn’t super used to April yet either. 

She slowly followed April, looking around at everything. The playground equipment didn’t look too interesting to Malee though. 

When April stopped, Malee wandered off a bit to a patch of yellow dandelions. She smiled and picked some flowers and some grass, trying to carry tons of flowers, grass, sticks, and leaves in her arms. 

[Ishigreensa]

April noticed her wander off and look at the flowers.

Once she started to try to carry stuff, went over and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Do you know how to do this?" she asked.

She took five flowers, and intertwined them into the start of a wreath.

"You can make a crown or a bracelet like this," she said.  "Want to try?"

[Shy-Diapers]

Malee looked skeptically at April at first, but her eyes widened in amazement when she started weaving the flowers together. She squealed and handed April all her flowers, looking around for more. She wanted April to continue doing it, and was willing to supply her with the flowers. 

Mary smiled on at the girls. “I’m glad they’re getting along. We worried so much that they wouldn’t.”