Saving Grace: CH 30 (11/2/24)

[Craisler]

A very enjoyable chapter.  I’m kind of curious about your use of the word “bride.”  I’ve never heard it used in that context before and am trying to figure out the meaning.

[Kaiko-chan]

1 hour ago, Craisler said:

A very enjoyable chapter.  I’m kind of curious about your use of the word “bride.”  I’ve never heard it used in that context before and am trying to figure out the meaning.

Pretty sure it was supposed to be bribe. 

[Craisler]

That makes sense. 

[kerry]

3 hours ago, LGGrace said:

Both my parents started laughing, and then my dad said, “We promise, but your mom may try and bride you every now and then to wear certain outfits.”

Rolling my eyes, “It better be a good bride for the cost of my dignity.”

With a gentle squeeze, my mom said, “I will make it worth your wild, and no matter what you wear you will be adorable.”

A few errors, courtesy of spellcheck. 🙂 Should be bribe and while.

4 hours ago, LGGrace said:

Once we were reaching the end of the secession

session

2 hours ago, BabySofia said:

Grace is the name I assumed she would end up with from the title

Absolutely, and I agree that it is a pretty name.

[LGGrace]

5 hours ago, BabySofia said:

Grace is the name I assumed she would end up with from the title - definitely a fitting one! 

You have my appreciation as we read this, and my sincerest sympathy as a writer the toll your keyboard will have on your fingers! 🤣 Keep it coming! (And no not finishing this one by the way!)

Her brother better not be a jerk, if he is we're going to make him pay in many bad comments! 😈

Thank you!  I didn't even mean to, but it wasn't until I started writing this story I was like crap, I am kind of copying BabySofia with Emerald Princess. 😆 The title was too good to change the MC's name.

This is definitely the most typing I have ever done for fun.  This whole story is written in my head so it is just a matter of typing it out.  There is this one scene that happens around chapter 35 that is so moving, that it forced me to write this story in the first place.  And as a little teaser,  Grace will meet a world-famous scientist near the end of the story.  The funny thing is I don't have to embellish it all for the story from when I actually met him, which is pretty funny. 

I already have a roughly 200 page story to write after this one so I need to get this one done first.  And after that story, I have a 400+ page story I want to write.  That story, I will need to probably clear with admin first.  It doesn't go against site rules, but it's what I consider a horror story that is extremely dark and twisted, which is funny because little me would fall to pieces over anything more than a light spanking or corner time.

No spoilers, but their relationship dynamic will be the most fun for me to explore.  They have been brothers for nearly 28 years and she still has her adult mind, but he is also a loving father to a toddler and infant.

4 hours ago, Craisler said:

A very enjoyable chapter.  I’m kind of curious about your use of the word “bride.”  I’ve never heard it used in that context before and am trying to figure out the meaning.

Thank you.  Bribe not Bride was a brain fart on my end.  It's funny how one letter can change the whole meaning of the sentence.

3 hours ago, kerry said:

A few errors, courtesy of spellcheck. 🙂 Should be bribe and while.

session

Absolutely, and I agree that it is a pretty name.

Thank you for the corrections.

Thank you!

[Craisler]

I’m kind of embarrassed that I didn’t recognize the bride -> bribe thing myself. While I was reading the story, my mind was on a different track and I was trying to think of a clothing outfit or something and the misspelling just didn’t occur to me.  

This is definitely the kind of story that appeals to me and I am looking to forward to future stories from you. 

[LGGrace]

Chapter 17

I can see my brother smiling on the screen, then in a nasal voice that he uses all the time when he wants to be coy answering the phone, he said, “Hello.”

I was too nervous to respond, but my parents, both in unison, said, “Hey, Stanley.”

“Dad, can you move the phone so that I can get a better look at Sleeping Beauty?” Stanley asked.

My dad moved the phone closer to my face and as our eyes locked, I quietly said, “Hi.”

With a big smile, he said, “Awww, you are so cute, Will.”

Immediately, I flipped him off.  In mock shock, he said, “Ooo, you are going to get in trouble.”

My dad moved the phone camera on himself and said, “Stanley, is this a good time?  We would like to talk to Katie and you about some changes.”

“Yeah, I just got home from work and was about to take my boots off after feeding the dogs and go inside.  Katie and the kids are inside right now,” Stanley said.

All I could think was that Mom and Dad had not told them yet about the name change.  This is going to get uncomfortable, real quick.  I could not see my dad’s phone screen clearly, but it looked like Stanley was taking off his boots on the enclosed back porch and opening the back door.  As soon as I hear the door shutting, I hear a small voice yell out “Daddy!”

I could then hear Stanley say, “Well hey baby girl.”

I could then see that he bent down, picked up Ellis with his free hand, and placed her on his hip.  I then hear him say, “Ellis, do you remember how I told you that Uncle Will got very sick and was asleep for a long time.”

I then heard Ellis say, “Yes, Daddy.”

“And do you remember the pictures that we showed you and how small he is now?” Stanley asked.

I heard Ellis say again, “Yes, Daddy.”

“Would you like to say hello to Uncle Will?” Stanley asked.

The next thing I knew, the phone was back in my face and I could see that Stanley had his phone in Ellis’ face.  I could see the confused look on her face, but mustered up the courage to say, “Hi, Ellis.”

She tentatively said, “Uncle Will?”

“Yes Ellis, it is me, Uncle Will,” I responded.

She smiled, then said, “You small.”

I couldn’t help but smile a little looking at her smiling face and said, “Yeah, I think we are probably about the same size now.”

With excitement in her voice, she said, “We play now.”

I then heard Stanley say, “Uncle Will can’t right now, I’m sure he will play with you when he gets home soon.”

My mom seconded, “We will be home soon, and I can’t wait to get some Ellis time.”

Ellis then said, “OK,” then started wiggling to be put down.

I watched, as I could see him walking through his kitchen, then into his den.  As he was sitting down, I heard him say, “Look who I got on the phone,” as Katie came into view.  I could see that she was cradling Charlie in her arms.  While Ellis was a carbon copy of Katie; Charlie was a carbon copy of Stanley, down to being just as fat a baby as Stanley was as an infant.

Smiling Katie said, “Will, I’m so happy that you are awake now.  How are you feeling?”

“Uhh, I guess frustrated with having to learn to walk again and all the changes, but I guess it's better than screaming in pain like before I was in the coma,” I responded.

Katie said, “I imagine so.  And please don’t scare us like that again, you had me worried sick.”

“I will do my best, but no promises,” I said with a smirk.

I then felt my mom give me a squeeze then in my ear she said, “Do you want to tell them or do you want me to tell?”

I simply said, “You.”

My mom then said, “Stanley, Katie, we have something that we want to tell y’all.  Y’all know that Will has had more changes to his body than just his size and that it has really upset him.  Well, he talked to a therapist yesterday and this morning came to the decision that he, well, she would have an easier time with the changes if she changed her name and lived as a girl.”  Pausing for a second, she said, “I would like to introduce y’all to your new sister and sister-in-law, Grace.”

I could feel my face get hot as I looked down at my lap.  After a moment of silence, I heard Stanley say in a concerned voice, “Will, are you OK with this?”

I looked back up at the phone screen and could see that both Stanley and Katie looked concerned.  I nervously said, “Not really, … but … I think this is my best option going forward.”

Stanley said, “I bet it’s crazy looking down and seeing your dick is missing.”

I watched as Katie lightly smacked my brother on the side of the head with her free hand, then said, “Grace, I know that wasn’t an easy choice and I support your decision.  Plus, I’m going to have a lot of fun clothes shopping for you.”

I groaned and rolled my eyes as my dad said, “We are not going to push her to wear anything that she does not want to wear, so good luck getting her to wear a good portion of the things that you dress Ellis in.”

My mom followed up with, “We may need to borrow some of Ellis’ clothes tho.  She should be about the same size right now and if you have any of her old clothes that would be helpful too until we know what size she will end up as.  I plan on buying her a few sets of clothes before she gets discharged, but don’t want to buy a whole wardrobe yet.”

“Sure, Ellis has plenty of clothes and I kept all of her old nice clothes that I couldn’t find the heart to donate in case we decide to have another baby and it is a girl,” Katie said.

Stanley said, “I think two is enough right now.”

“I think we should have four or five,” Katie responded.

Stanley followed up with, “Fat chance unless we win the lottery.”

Before they could get into the same argument that they have been having since Ellis was born and seeing Charlie stir in Katie’s arms, I asked, “How has Charlie been doing?”

I saw Katie’s face light up, then said, “He is doing great.  He can roll over on his own and can sit up now too.  I’m still trying to get him to take to a bottle, but he is starting to eat baby food.”

Stanley butted in, “Yeah, it's still like National Geographic in my house with Katie having her boobs out all the time but only for Charlie.”

“Aww, poor Stanley.  He gets to see his wife’s breasts all the time,” I responded.

With a grin, Stanley said, “I know, it’s so tough being me.  So, uhh … Grace.  That going to take a while to get used to.”

“I know, Mom woke me up earlier and I was like who the hell is Grace for a moment,” I responded.

Smiling, he asked, “So, are you going to be a Daddy’s girl now?”

Grinning, I said, “Maybe, but you were always the biggest mama's boy out of the two of us even though you were older.  If you didn’t convince Katie to marry you, Mom would be still scheduling your doctors' and dentist’s appointments.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that I only worry about the important things in life, like fishing and smoking meats,” Stanley said.

To change the subject, my mom then asked, “Alright you two, so, how has Ellis been doing?”

I decided to let my mom and dad do all the talking for the rest of the phone call as they talked about trying to get Ellis to start using the potty.  I felt embarrassed since I will need to start potty training myself soon.  At some point, I felt the need to pee come on quickly and began to wet myself and try my best not to draw attention.  As my diaper warmed, I felt my mom giving my thigh a gentle squeeze making me blush knowing that she probably felt her lap get warm too.

I sat there and kind of stared off into space as I heard Stanley talk about projects he needed to do around the house and my parents asking Stanley to do a project for them with our uncle’s help.  They didn’t say what, but I had a feeling it was about me.  My attention was drawn back to the conversation when I heard Katie say, “We are going to let you go,  We love you, Grace, and cannot wait for you to come home soon.”

I said, “I love y’all too.”

As my dad was hanging up, I saw Abby walk in holding a feeding bag.  She said, “Alright Grace, last feeding of the day.”

I watched as she started the feeding and injected nausea medicine in my I.V. while still sitting in my mom’s lap.  Once done, she said, “I will be back in a little bit.”

My dad then asked, “Grace, is there anything in particular that you want to watch on TV?”

Thinking for a second, I said, “Anything but the news.”

My mom picked me up, moved to the recliner, and reclined it back to where I was just about laying against her stomach and using her breast as a headrest.  I watched as my dad flipped through the basic cable channels and then stopped on a channel that was playing one of the John Wick movies.

About ten minutes into watching the show, the need to poop built up fast, and before I could even warn my mom, the back of my diaper started to fill up.  I could feel it work up the back and between my legs.  As soon as I was done, I tilled my head up and saw my mom looking back down at me.  She said, “I know sweety, are you all done?”

I nodded my head yes and she got up out of the recliner with me in her arms.  She turned me around so that I was resting against her with my weight being supported by my thighs on her forearm.  I felt the back waistband of my diaper being pulled back, and then my mom said, “George, can you run a bath for Grace?  Her diaper is very full, I’m surprised she did not have a blowout.”

I heard my dad say, “Sure, honey.”

I was laid down on the bed, center on the incontinent pad, and my mom stripped my gown off leaving me in just a messy diaper.  I watched as she walked out of view and then walked back into view holding a tub of baby wipes.  My mom ripped the tape of my diaper open and as she was lowering the front of my diaper, she said, “Sweety, you may have the body of a toddler girl, but you can still poop like a grown man.”

I rolled my eyes and said, “I'm well aware of that since I’m the one that has to lay in it.”

“Sorry, sweetheart, I know that it must not be pleasant for you to have poopy accidents in your diaper,” my mom said as she started to wipe the front of my diapered area clean.

I just lay there in silence and stared at the ceiling as she grabbed my ankles in one hand and lifted them and started using what felt like half a tub of wipes to rid my bottom of poop.  My legs were lowered back down and out of the corner of my eye, I could see my mom balling up the used diaper.  She then picked me up and placed me on her hip.  My mom grabbed the I.V. pole with her free hand and started walking to the bathroom.  As my dad was walking out of the bathroom, my mom asked, “Can you take care of her bed for me?”

My dad nodded yes as we were going into the bathroom.  Holding me standing by the tub, my mom asked, “Do you want to try taking a bath sitting up on your own in the tub.”

Looking at the infantile bath chair that took up a third of the tub, I looked at my mom and said, “I think I want to try sitting up on my own.”

She gently sat me down in the tub and slowly let go of me to make sure I wasn’t going to have any problems.  It wasn’t that easy, but I wasn’t struggling either.  I looked down at the water and it only went an inch above my belly button.  I looked back up at my mom and she smiled and asked, “You're not having any trouble sitting up are you?”

I shook my head no then she said, “If you start getting tired, let me know and I can move you into the bath chair.”

“OK,” I stated.

Taking a cup, she said, “Let’s start with your hair.”

She filled the cup up with bath water and started pouring on top of my head.  My wet hair got in my face and I had to push it out of the way.  She then squirted some baby shampoo on my head and started working through my hair.  I couldn't help but close my eyes at how good it felt, it was like getting my hair washed before a haircut.  The rest of this is embarrassing, but I could get used to this.  My eyes shot back open when my mom dumped a cup of water on my head and I had to spit out soapy water that got in my mouth.

Pushing my hair out my face again, I looked up and glared at my mom.  She smiled and said, “Sorry sweetheart, I should've warned you, you were in la-la land.  Tilt your head back for me.”

I tilted my head back and closed my eyes as my mom continued to rinse all of the shampoo out of my hair.  With my eyes still closed I heard, “Look at you, sitting up on your own for a bath.”

I looked up and saw that it was Abby standing behind my mom.  Abby then said, “Elaina do you mind if I slide in and flush Grace’s feeding tube real quick?”

As my mom was getting up, she said, “Not at all.”

Abby knelt down in front of me and disconnected the feeding bag then flushed my feeding tube.  She then asked, “Can I see your left hand?”

I raised my left hand and as she was looking at it she said, “I’m just checking the tape, we are about to change shifts, so I will get Sarah to double-check the tape on your I.V. and feeding tube again when you get out of the bath.  She may need to replace them.”

I said, “OK, can you have her give me some pain medicine too.  I am not really a fan of waking up in the middle of the night in pain.”

Getting back up, she said, “Sure thing, you have a good night.”

“You too,” I said.

As she was grabbing the empty feeding bag, I heard my mom and Abby say good night to one another.  My mom knelt back down by the tub with a washcloth in hand and said, “Let’s get the rest of you washed.”

She wet the washcloth in the tub and after putting some baby body wash on it, she started scrubbing me from the neck down.  I could not help but blush when she washed my privates and had me lean forward against her other hand to wash my butt.  After rinsing all of the soap off, she flipped the switch at the tub overflow drain to start draining the tub.  She laid a towel out on the floor by the tub, then picked me up, and laid me down on the towel.  She dried me off, swaddled me in the towel, and picked me up in her arms.

She walked out of the bathroom holding me with one arm and pushing my I.V. pole with the other.  After laying me down on the bed, she unwrapped the towel, took some baby lotion, and coated me head to toe in it.  She quickly diapered me and set me up in a seating position.  She dressed me in a clean gown and brushed my hair. She then picked me back up to lay me back down and tuck me into bed.  She leaned down and kissed me on the forehead, then said, “Wow, you smell really good.”

I looked up at her and said, “I don’t know about good, but I probably smell like a baby.”

Smiling, she said, “Well, I wouldn’t consider it a bad thing and I don’t want you to have any dry skin issues since we are out here in the desert.”

“I guess,” I responded.

She smiled again then grabbed the towel to toss in the used linen bin, set the brush on the counter, plugged back in my I.V. pump, and took a seat in the recliner.  My dad was on the couch watching TV and when the commercials were over, I could see that the movie was still playing.  10 minutes later, Sarah walked in holding a syringe.  Smiling, she said, “Well, Abby told me you got a pretty new name today, Grace.”

I said, “Yeah.”

“Well, let me check the tape on your I.V. and feeding tube, then I have some pain medicine to give you,” Sarah stated.

I gave her my left hand for her to look at, then she took a close look at my face then said, “All the tape looks to be holding good, you should not have any problems.”

She then took the syringe and injected it into my I.V.  “You're all set Grace, let me know if you need anything tonight.”

“OK, thanks,” I said.

I turned my attention back to the TV, but after watching it for a few minutes, my eyes started to get heavy and I yawned a few times.  I made it another minute before falling asleep.

[Kaiko-chan]

She seems to be getting used to things for now, just have to see how she handles going home and being more limited then she used to. 

 

Gonna be a lot of frustration and tears in her future. 

[Craisler]

 

I enjoyed the newest installment.  Things appear to be progressing as expected.  Below are a few editorial items I think need correcting.  Are  you squeezing your creative writing in while still working on your PhD research and writing you dissertation?

I can see my brother smiling on the screen, then in a nasal voice that he uses all the time when he wants to be koi coy 

As my dad was hanging up, I saw Abby walk in holding a feeding back bag.  

eyes at how good it felt, it was like getting my hair washed before a haircut.  

I could not help but blush when she wasted washed my privates and had me lean forward against 

 

[LGGrace]

7 hours ago, Kaiko-chan said:

She seems to be getting used to things for now, just have to see how she handles going home and being more limited then she used to. 

 

Gonna be a lot of frustration and tears in her future. 

Thanks for the comment, things are going to ebb and flow for her at times she will be OK and at other times she will be a wreck.  I think some of the things that will upset her, people will not think of.

5 hours ago, Craisler said:

I enjoyed the newest installment.  Things appear to be progressing as expected.  Below are a few editorial items I think need correcting.  Are  you squeezing your creative writing in while still working on your PhD research and writing you dissertation?

Thanks for the comment and the corrections. 

Luckily, I have not started my research yet.  I need to pass three qualifying exams first to go from PhD student to Doctorate candidate.  I'm spending this summer studying for one of them that I will take in August and I will have to take the last one in January.  I could have had this chapter posted on Wednesday or Thursday, but found myself getting distracted by another story idea that is a gritty MDLB story that centers around a functional drug addict who is incontinent and a stripper who is trying to finish up her nursing degree.  Somehow, I need to figure out how to write faster.😄

[Craisler]

You were right about Dune Two.  It’s a good movie; much better than the previous versions of Dune.  It also reminded me that it’s been over 50 years since I read those books and how much I’ve forgotten. 

[BabySofia]

Glad to have this to come back and read after my trip! Great chapters, looking forward to more! 🙂

[LGGrace]

1 hour ago, BabySofia said:

Glad to have this to come back and read after my trip! Great chapters, looking forward to more! 🙂

Thanks for the comment.  I'm guessing Stanley wasn't too mean in this chapter.

[LGGrace]

Chapter 18

I woke up to the shock of a cold wipe between my legs.  I open my eyes and see my mom changing my diaper.  She smiled and said, “Good morning, Grace.”

“Morning,” I replied.

She quickly finished changing my diaper and then raised the bed so I was in a sitting position.  I looked around the room and then asked, “Where is Dad?”

My mom responded, “He is meeting with one of the hospital’s lawyers this morning to start filling out all the paperwork for you.”

“Is this for the name change?” I asked.

She responded, “Yes, and some other things that we will have to talk about later.”

“OK,” I said, wondering what else this could be about.

I then watched as Abby came into the room pushing the cart with the scale on it.  She greeted me, “Good morning, Grace.”

I said, “Morning,” as she started my feeding tube and gave me a syringe of nausea medicine.

Abby then said, “Let’s get you weighed and measured.”

She picked me up and laid me on the scale, then said, “OK, you are twenty-six pounds and ten ounces, and thirty-five and five-eighth inches tall.”

She then picked me back up, sat me down in bed, and said, “I will be back in a little bit.”

I looked over and could see that my mom was in the recliner and had turned the TV on to the morning news.  I began mindlessly watching as I had nothing else to do.  At some point, Abby came back and flushed my feeding tube.  A few minutes after Abby left, I felt the need to pee build quickly and just sighed internally as I let my diaper warm up around my bottom.  Once my diaper had cooled down, I felt another need build in my lower belly.  Wearing diapers was already bad enough, but pooping myself was the worst part of it, and having to have someone else scrape feces off my rear.  It only took a few moments to go from the need to poop and the back of my diaper filling with slimy mud that spread from my butt to between my legs and up towards the front of my diaper.  I was gritting my teeth when it finally stopped.

I looked over to my mom and with a slight hesitation in my voice, I said, “Mom,  I need a change.”

She looked over at me and responded, “Sure, sweety.”

She got up and grabbed a diaper and wipes off the counter and walked back over to my bed.  After laying on my back and pushing up my gown, she started the unpleasant task of changing my messy diaper.  With all the practice of a mother of three and a grandmother of two, I was quickly in a clean diaper.  My mom balled up the used diaper and with the wipes in hand threw the diaper away.  As she was washing her hands, I rolled over onto my stomach and crawled over to where I could sit up against the raised portion of the bed.  My mom walked back over, then after slipping her shoes off, picked me up, and got into bed with me in her arms.  I looked up at her with a questioning look and with a smile she said, “What, it’s not every day that I get the chance to hold one of my babies again.”

Glaring at her, I said, “I’m not a baby.”

Still smiling, she said, “No, technically you are not a baby, but you will always be my baby just like Stanley and Marley will always be my babies too.”

“Fine, get it out of your system,” I responded.

Hugging me, she said, “Thank you, sweety.”

She positioned me in her lap comfortably as we sat in silence watching the news.

Sometime later, Dr. Kutner walked and greeted me, “Good morning, Grace, how are you doing today?”

“I’m doing OK,” I responded.

He said, “That is good to hear,  how has your physical strength been since yesterday?”

“I’m not really having that much trouble sitting up anymore, so I guess better,” I stated.

He asked, “How about walking?”

“I haven’t tried since yesterday morning,” pausing and thinking about how truly long I have been here, I asked, “When will I be able to go home?”

Dr. Kutner was silent for a moment, then said, “As much as we would like to keep you here until the physical regression has stopped completely, we know that you would not want to wait that long and are probably ready to go home and be with your family.  This process could take over a month to stop as it slows down.”

My eyes widened at hearing that I could have to spend a whole month here, but I asked, “What do I need to do to go home?”

Dr. Kutner responded, “Well, I would like for you to at least be able to walk from one side of the room and back again on your own.  I don’t think eating on your own will be an option anytime soon, but I would like for you to at least attempt to drink some water.”

My mom asked, “What about her feeding tube and I.V.?”

“We will have to have a nurse train you and your husband on how to care for your daughter, but we can send her home with reusable feeding bags and you can use infant formula and water for the feedings just like if you were making a bottle.  We do not want to risk her getting dehydrated, so we can prescribe her I.V. fluid bags with built-in drip to connect to her I.V. port when she goes to bed at night or is taking a nap during the day.  The biggest concern will be to make sure she does not get any infections from the I.V. or feeding tube.  With all this being new to us, we are working under the assumption that any infection could be just as dangerous to her as it would be to a small child with compromised health,” he said.

My mom responded, “As much as I would love to keep her here in a safe bubble, I think I am just as ready to go home as she is.  If it makes y’all feel better, my sister is a nurse who lives less than ten minutes away from us and has already offered to help out and check on her daily.”

Smiling, Dr. Kutner said, “That does make me feel a lot more comfortable sending her home.  When she is ready, we will discharge her with a few days of medical supplies and we can call in a month's worth of supplies at your local pharmacy and medical supplies store to pick up when you get home.  Other things she will need are pain medicine, nausea medicine, and saline.  Right now she is on a low dose of morphine, but we would like to get her to the point of only needing ibuprofen.  We will send her home with both in the meantime. And it goes without saying, she will need a car seat and safety rails on her bed.   Do you have any questions?”

My mom said, “Not right now, but I’m sure I will have some as we get closer to her going home.  I will have my husband pick up a car seat for her tonight and I already have my brother and son working on renovating her old room at home to better suit her needs and be functional for her.”

I got lost in thought at my mom’s statement.  I knew that car seats were in my future and it’s not like I’m going to be able to get in and out of an adult-size bed on my own.  I just hope that my new room does not look too juvenile.  I will lose my mind if they expect me to sleep in a crib.

Looking at me, he asked, “Grace?”

I shook my head and said, “No sir.”

“Another thing I would like to schedule for tomorrow morning is a full body x-ray, CT scan, and an MRI of your brain.  We have not done any imaging since right before you woke up and I would like to see how your brain looks with you being out of a coma.  We can go over the results tomorrow afternoon,” Dr. Kutner stated.

“OK,” I responded.

“Alrighty then, let’s get some exercise in this morning,” Dr Kutner said with a smile.

My mom got out of bed with me in her arms as Dr. Kutner unplugged my I.V. pump and pushed it beside me.  He then said, Let’s start at this end of the room and see how far she can walk with you just helping with her balance.”

My mom set me on my feet, leaving her hands under my armpits just in case.  I looked at the other side of the room, then up to Dr. Kutner, and asked, “So, just to the other side of the room and back and I can go home?”

Smiling he said, “Yes ma’am.”

With determination to get out of this place, I took my first step.  I was still shaky, but I was able to do it on my own.  I slowly took step after step with my eyes fixed on the other side of the room.  At the halfway mark, my legs were like jello and I had to rely on my mom for balance, but was still supporting my weight fully.  I took about ten more steps until my legs gave out and my mom hoisted my exhausted, aching, and out-of-breath form up into her arms.

Resting my head on my mom’s shoulder and catching my breath, Dr. Kutner said, “That was great progress Grace, At the rate you are going, you could be discharged in four days or less.”

I just nodded my head and between deep breaths, I asked, “Pain medicine, please?”

He responded, “Sure, I will let the nurse know.  I will see you tomorrow.”

My mom lowered the bed and laid me down.  As she was pulling the cover-up, she said, “You did really well this morning.”

I said, “Yeah,” then thinking back to earlier, I asked, “Uh, you're not going to make my room look like a little girl’s nursery, are you?”

My mom paused for a moment, then said, “Not to the extent you are probably thinking.  We are going to make it lean more gender-neutral than girly for you, but due to your size and needs it will be a little juvenile because of the furniture, but we will try to make it as adult as possible too.  That is about the most I am willing to tell you right now, I want it to be a surprise when we go home.”

Not in love with my mom’s answer, but knowing that due to circumstances, knew that it was what I had to work with, I said, “OK.”

Abby then walked and said, “OK, Grace, I have some pain medicine for you.”

I nodded my head then she injected the syringe into my I.V.  She then said, “I will be back around noon, let me know if you need anything before then.”

I responded, “OK.”

Not long after Abby left, I was back asleep.

I woke up to my knees being pushed towards my chest.  I open my eyes and see that it is my mom changing my diaper.  She then said, “Sorry for waking you, but you needed a diaper change and the hospital lawyer will be here soon to go over some paperwork.”

A few moments later, a dry diaper was taped around my waist and my gown was pushed back down.  After pulling me up into a sitting position she said, “Grace, one of the things that you are going to have to do is sign over your power of attorney to your dad.  He is going to need to take care of all your affairs here and will need to be able to sign for you.  I’m also going to need you to let me be your medical power of attorney.  With everything that happened, I want to make sure that your best interests are being taken care of when it comes to your medical care.”

I knew something like this needed to be done, but I still didn’t like the idea of having to sign my rights away.  I knew that my parents would always have my best interest at heart, so I simply said, “OK.”

A few moments later, my dad walked in followed by a middle-aged man with the top of his head completely bald wearing a suit.  My dad took a seat on the bed beside me and kissed me on the top of my head and then the man said, “Good afternoon Grace, my name is Ted and I am one of the lawyers here at the hospital that will be helping you and your parents with all of your legal paperwork.”

I responded with, “Hi.”

“One of the big things is regarding your new identity.  I have filed all the necessary paperwork this morning to legally change your name.  You will get a new birth certificate and social security card mailed to your parent’s home.  I have given copies of the filled paperwork to your dad along with a certified letter from the hospital explaining your medical condition.  One thing that would be helpful when flying home would be to have your original I.D., birth certificate, and social security card,” Ted stated.

I looked up to my dad and said, “My driver’s license is in my wallet, in my backpack.  My social security card and birth certificate should be in a lockbox in the bottom drawer of my desk along with any other important files.  The key is on my key ring.”

He said, “I will make sure everything is in a file for when you fly back.”

Ted then said, “The only thing I will need you to sign is for the power of attorney and medical.”

He moved a table over that is used for eating while in bed and placed two documents on it.  My mom picked me up and sat me in her lap so that I could reach the table easier.  Ted handed me a pen and said, “I just need your signature in these two places.”

As he was pointing to the spots where I needed to sign, I asked, “Do I sign as Grace or as Will?”

“You will sign as Will, once you receive all your new identification documents in the mail, you and your parents will be able to change your name on the power of attorney and medical documents,” Ted responded.

I nodded my head and tried holding the now giant pen in my hand like I normally would, but found that my hands were too small and weak.  I internally sighed as I had to hold it in my fist like a toddler coloring with crayons.  As I was trying to sign my name, I noticed that I was really struggling to make my name legible.  I always prided myself on my penmanship in both print and cursive, so this was just another blow to my ego to add to the pile.  Once I finished signing, Ted said, “Elaina, I will need your signature on the medical document too.  George already signed the power of attorney in my office earlier today.”

My mom took the pen out of my hand and signed.  Ted then picked up the documents and said, “I will make copies of these to give to you tomorrow.”  Looking down at me he said, “I also filed for you to receive short-term disability benefits.  Once you are approved, you will receive payments monthly and also get paid retroactively from the date it was filed.  Also, with you being over the age of twenty-six and your father telling me that ASU will only insure you until the end of June, I have also filed for COBRA which will keep you insured for the next eighteen months.  In a year, you and your parents can apply for long-term disability and Medicaid depending on the care you will need going forward.”

My eyes glazed over at all of the things that Ted stated that I needed that I didn’t even think about.  Slightly grateful that I’m not having to deal with all that paperwork, I just said, “OK.”

My mom responded, “Thank you.”

Smiling, he said, “Grace, I hope you feel better and can go home soon.”  Turning to my dad, he said, “George, just come by my office tomorrow and I will have the rest of the documentation ready for you.”

My dad said, “Thank you, Ted, see you in the morning.”

After Ted left, my day looked down at me and said, “Grace, there is one more thing we need to talk about.  A lot of your belongings you will not need or can use when we go back home.  What things do you want to take back with you?”

I couldn’t help but drop my head at that statement.  Everything was happening so fast and it seemed that it was all completely out of my control.  Tears pooled in my eyes as it was another nail in the coffin that was my former life.  My mom wrapped her arms around me and my dad placed his thumb under my chin to lift my head so he could see my face.  Seeing the tears in my eyes, he softly asked, “What has you so upset, sweetheart?”

“It’s just I worked so hard to build a life for myself out here and it was all for nothing,” I said.

My dad responded, “It wasn’t for nothing.  You did something that I would never have been brave enough to do.  You decided to chase your dreams and move across the country to a city where you knew no one by yourself.  The experiences and things that you learned will always be with you.”

Sniffing, I said, “OK,  I guess the only things that I want are all my books, laptop, and degrees off my wall.  I guess the TV in my bedroom so that I will have a TV in my room at y’all’s house too.  I guess you can try to sell and donate everything else.”

My mom then said, “Sweety, it’s not just your dad’s and I’s house.  It is your home too and always was and will be. Even when you moved out years ago, it was still your home.”

I said, “OK.”

My dad wiped a few stray tears off my cheek with his thumb and said, “Well, the plan is, that you will fly back with your mom and I will stay behind to break the lease on your apartment and I will drive your car back with your belongings that you wanted to keep.  Any money that I can make off of selling your possessions will go into a bank account for you and when I get back home, I will sell your car and the money will also go into that account.  Your mother and I want you to be as independent as you can be and all the money in the bank account is yours to spend on anything that you want.”

“So I can use the money to buy weapons-grade plutonium and black-tar heroin off the dark web,” I asked.

Chuckeling, he said, “Well, within reason.”

I responded, “OK.”

He lifted me out of my mom's lap and with one hand under my bottom and rubbing my back, he said, “I got my work cut out for me, so I'm going to head back to your apartment and start getting everything prepared.  Your mom will stay with you tonight and I will be back in the morning.”

“OK, ... where is my cell phone?” I asked.

Smiling he said, “I was wondering how long you could last without it.  It’s in your bookbag at your apartment and probably dead.  I will charge it tonight and bring it to you tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks,” I responded.

After kissing me on my forehead, he said, “I love you and will see you in the morning.”

As he was putting me down in my mom’s lap, I said, “I love you too.”

[BabySofia]

Glad to see she's soon going to be out of the hospital. You'll definitely have a lot more avenues to go with the story with her home. I can only imagine the flight home is going to be culture shock for her. I'm thinking she's small enough to fly home as a lap baby - that should be fun! 🙂

[LGGrace]

49 minutes ago, BabySofia said:

Glad to see she's soon going to be out of the hospital. You'll definitely have a lot more avenues to go with the story with her home. I can only imagine the flight home is going to be culture shock for her. I'm thinking she's small enough to fly home as a lap baby - that should be fun! 🙂

Me too, as much as I love medical dramas, I'm ready to delve into how she going to interact with the world that sees her as a baby.

I'm still on the fence on if she going to be a lap baby or not.  Knowing myself, I'll probably decide as I'm writing the chapter. 😆

[BabySofia]

1 minute ago, LGGrace said:

Me too, as much as I love medical dramas, I'm ready to delve into how she going to interact with the world that sees her as a baby.

I suspect the elevator was a taste of what's to come? Really looking forward to the continued tale!🙂

 

1 minute ago, LGGrace said:

I'm still on the fence on if she going to be a lap baby or not.  Knowing myself, I'll probably decide as I'm writing the chapter. 😆

Been there, done that on things like that! 

[zzzz50]

Since she is older than two by birth certificate airlines will require a paid seat. Since they will have a car seat to get her to the airport it would make sense to take it with them and use on the plane, further humiliation for Grace!

[LGGrace]

2 hours ago, zzzz50 said:

Since she is older than two by birth certificate airlines will require a paid seat. Since they will have a car seat to get her to the airport it would make sense to take it with them and use on the plane, further humiliation for Grace!

That makes sense, I had to do a quick Google search because it always seemed arbitrary when I would fly.  I do wonder if she was well under the size of the average 2-year-old if they would make an exception.  Right now she is in the 50 percentile for a child slightly older than 27 months in height and will be a little smaller by the time they fly home. I didn't plan on her using a car seat if she wasn't going to be a lap baby and have never seen a toddler use a car seat before, but I do have plans for plenty of embarrassing situations for her on her way home that I hope readers enjoy!

[BabySofia]

11 minutes ago, LGGrace said:

That makes sense, I had to do a quick Google search because it always seemed arbitrary when I would fly.  I do wonder if she was well under the size of the average 2-year-old if they would make an exception. 

All her parents have to do is say she's under two. Babies don't have IDs, so no TSA or airline is going to ask for one. They're just going to smile at the adorable baby girl and coo at her, or else glare because an obnoxious baby is about to sit next to them on the plane. 

[zzzz50]

I looked this up as I seem to remember that my granddaughter had to have a birth certificate for a flight. It appears to vary by airline so you could write it either way.

Infants 

Children under two can sit on a parent's lap for any flight, but some airlines may ask for proof of age. This could be a birth certificate, health card, or passport, and it may need to be original. Some airlines also allow infants to have their own seat if you bring an approved car seat.

[BabySofia]

22 minutes ago, zzzz50 said:

but some airlines may ask for proof of age. 

I suspect this is a case-by-case question. They probably have some parents try and get older kids on for free, so checking probably happens if they think they're older. I don't believe that's going to happen to Grace given her size and continued shrinkage though.

[LGGrace]

15 minutes ago, BabySofia said:

All her parents have to do is say she's under two. Babies don't have IDs, so no TSA or airline is going to ask for one.

Unfortunately, @zzzz50 is correct and all children need at least a birth certificate to fly to cut down on the issue of human trafficking.  There is a story on Wattpad, Small but Mighty, where the main character is 14 but looks like she is an older 2-year-old due to a rare case of dwarfism, and the issues with TSA she and her family faced to go on a vacation.  Getting through security is going to be interesting.

25 minutes ago, BabySofia said:

 or else glare because an obnoxious baby is about to sit next to them on the plane. 

LOL, that is one thing that I don't get is why people are so against babies being on flights.  I would much rather sit next to a baby that may or may not cry and poop their pants than a smelly person that is too big for their seat.

[dmavn]

I have 2 questions on my mind.. 

1. How are lap babies on planes even allowed? In the event of a crash or mishap very hard landing etc. The mother isn’t going to be able to hold on to the baby and they will either die or get hurt..

2. Since Graces brain is drastically smaller than what it was when she was 20 something wouldn’t she slowly loose memories?

[LGGrace]

9 hours ago, dmavn said:

I have 2 questions on my mind.. 

1. How are lap babies on planes even allowed? In the event of a crash or mishap very hard landing etc. The mother isn’t going to be able to hold on to the baby and they will either die or get hurt..

2. Since Graces brain is drastically smaller than what it was when she was 20 something wouldn’t she slowly loose memories?

Not sure about why, but of the 10 commercial flights that I have been on, I have seen at least one lap baby on most of them.  I do know that if the plane is going to crash everyone is going most likely die so it really doesn't matter.  There is a slightly higher chance of living if you are in the back of the plane and it is the reason I always book my seat near the back.

Honestly, neuroscience is a relatively new field and I don't know much about it.  There have been many cases of TBI where the person regains all function despite having a large portion of their brain damaged or missing.  It seems that the brain can rewire itself to compensate for areas that are damaged or missing.  I took some creative liberty and used this information along with the fact that young children have more plasticity of the brain and ran with it.  I also used the fact that there is not a correlation between brain size and IQ in adults.  There are some changes to her brain that I hinted at a little bit in her behavior, but we will find out more in the next chapter after the MRI.  One of the reasons I wanted to keep her adult mind intact is to explore the psychological impact that the physical changes can have on her and how she sees the world.