Saving Grace: CH 12 (5/12/24)

[LGGrace]

I had finals this week and bit off more than I could chew.  So I will probably stop giving estimates on when chapters will be completed and just let y'all know that I am working on this story diligently.

Chapter 9

I opened my eyes and looked up to see that I was being fed from my feeding tube, then I turned to my parents and said, “I think I’m going to throw up.”

My mom said, “George, go get something for Will to throw up in.”  Then turned to me and said, “I’m going to call the nurse.”

My mom grabbed the remote and pressed the call button as my dad rushed across the room to a counter that had a stack of small kidney-shaped bowls on top.  My dad rushed back to me with one in hand and handed it to me.  Laying down, I focused on taking deep breaths and moving as little as possible to try and keep from throwing up.  A few minutes later, Rosie walked in and asked, “What can I do for you, Will?”

My mom responded, “Will is feeling nauseous and thinks he might throw up.”

“I’m sorry to hear that Will.  It looks like your feeding bag is almost empty.  The best we can do right now is wait it out and if you do throw up, let me know,” Rosie said.

I nodded and continued to lay in bed as still as possible while taking deep breaths.  The minutes seemed to drag on as I walked the fine line between extreme nausea and vomiting.  About 30 minutes later Rosie walked back in and asked, “Will how are you feeling?”

Thinking for a second, I said, “A little better, I think I am now less likely to throw up.”

Rosie said, “That is good to hear.  I’m going to flush your feeding tube.”

After flushing my feeding tube and throwing the feeding bag away, Rosie left the room.  I was still feeling nausea, but it seemed with each passing minute, my nausea would get a little better.  When the nausea was starting to subside, I was hit with a different bodily function.  I needed to poop and I needed to poop now.  I turned and said, “Dad.  Bathroom!”

Wasting no time, my dad sprung to his feet and rushed over to me to unplug the I.V. pump.  My dad helped me out of bed and threw an arm around me to help me stay on my feet and with his free hand, pushed my I.V. pole.  We got to the bathroom with little time to spare.  As soon as I was on the toilet, I unleashed another packed colon’s worth of poop.  My dad said as he was exiting the bathroom, “Let me know when you are done and I will help you back into bed.”

After a few minutes of emptying my bowels and trying to empty as much of my bladder as possible; I wiped and flushed.  I called out, “Dad, I’m done.”

My dad walked back into the bathroom and helped me to my feet as I pulled up my underwear and pajama bottoms.  My dad helped me to the sink to wash my hands and then helped me back into bed.  Utterly exhausted from the day, I quickly fell asleep.

I woke up to Rosie gently shaking my shoulder.  Feeling even more tired than when I fell asleep the night before, I slowly opened my eyes.  Rosie asked, “Will, do you need any more pain medicine?”

I weakly nodded and watched as Rosie injected me with Dilaudid, the nausea medicine, and began my feeding tube for the morning.  She then said, “Ready to go get weighed and measured?”

I nodded again and with all of my strength, tried to sit up in bed, but my muscles were so weak that as soon as I got halfway up, I collapsed back into bed.  I looked up with a concerned look and said in a weak voice, “I can’t get up.”

Rosie, thinking quickly, said, “That is OK, I can get a fairly accurate weight from the bed and I will go get a tape measure to measure your height while lying down.”

Rosie quickly left the room and was back within a minute with a tape measure in hand.  She then took the tape measure and measured me lying flat in bed.  After pressing a button on the bed she said, “I have you being roughly 5 foot 2 and 98 pounds.”

Before my parents could comment on my shrinking size, the need to go to the bathroom hit me.  I looked and said, “I got to go to the bathroom.”

Rosie froze, but my dad jumped up and said to Rosie, “Grab Will’s I.V.”

My dad then bent down over me and easily picked me up out of the bed bridal style.  While in my dad’s arms, I was carried into the bathroom with Rosie following with my I.V. pole.  My dad sat me down on the toilet seat while he crouched down in front of me.  Too weak to sit up on my own, I leaned forward into my dad with my head resting on his shoulder.  With one arm wrapped around my upper body, my dad used his other to pull down my pants and underwear.  Without a moment to spare, my bowel let loose.  At the moment I didn’t even care that I was pooping while pretty much being held by my dad or that Rosie was right there in the bathroom too.  I was too sick and weak to care, I was just glad that I did not have a repeat of the ambulance ride.  A couple of minutes later, my dad asked, “Will, are you done?”

I nodded yes into my dad’s shoulder and before I could attempt to try and wipe myself, my dad took some toilet paper and wiped my rear for me.  As soon as he was done and flushed, Rosie spoke up and said, “I have a better solution for when Will needs to go to the bathroom, but for the time being, I think it would be best if Will is just wearing the gown and socks.”

My dad nodded and slid my pajama bottoms and underwear the rest of the way down my legs and tossed them on the floor.  My dad then picked me back up off of the toilet and carried me back to my bed.  He laid me down in the bed and pulled up the covers as Rosie was plugging in the I.V. pump.  Rosie said to me and my parents, “I will be back in a few minutes.”

My dad went back into the bathroom and washed his hands, came back out, and took a seat on the couch.  About 5 minutes later, Rosie walked back carrying something big; at first glance, it looked like some oversized walker with something in the middle.  Rosie said, “Will, this is a bedside commode.  This makes it easy for you to go to the bathroom.  Either I or your parents can help you when you need to make a bowel movement.”

Opening up the lid on the commode, she pulled out a small plastic jug and said, “This is a male portable urinal.  If you only have to urinate, then you can go in it while still in bed then it can be emptied in the toilet.  Do you have any questions?”

I shook my head no, and then Rosie said, “I will be back in a little while to flush your feeding tube.”

I started to feel nausea from the feeding tube again, but not as bad as the night before.  But as tired as I was, I still managed to fall back asleep.  I woke up to my mom saying, “The doctors are here to see you.”

I looked over and saw that Dr. Kutner, Dr. Taub, and Dr. Cameron were standing next to my bed.  Dr. Cameron asked, “Will, how do you feel this morning?”

In a weak voice, “I’m very tired.”

My mom then interjected, “Will is very weak, he is to the point that he can not sit up on his own.  His father had to carry him to the bathroom this morning.”

Dr. Cameron responded, “That is disconcerting news.  Dr. Taub does have some promising news on finding out what is going on with Will.”

“We started sequencing your DNA and do see some anomalies.  Humans have 22 pairs of chromosomes and since you are male, an X and Y chromosome too.  Our preliminary findings show that you have mutations on your 3p, 6q, 7q, 9p, and q, 12p, 13q, and Xq chromosomes.  It is too early to say how these mutations are causing the symptoms that you have, but we do have a team of geneticists working around the clock to get a better understanding of exactly what gene mutations are causing the symptoms,” Dr. Taub said.

Dr. Cameron added, “We believe that your genetic anomalies are what is causing an autoimmune response and your symptoms.”

Dr. Kutner then said, “I’m still waiting on the results from the biopsy,  I do not think that it could be a mycobacterial infection, but it should give us more insight into how your body’s autoimmune response is causing your symptoms.  It looks like we now have a clear direction for diagnosing you.  Do you have any questions?”

I shook my head no and my mom said, “That is great news that we are getting closer to getting an answer.”

“Hang in there Will, one of us will check on you tomorrow,” Dr. Kutner said.

As soon as all the doctors left my room, I was back asleep.  I woke back up and immediately turned my head to the side to vomit.  It was only a couple of mouthfuls of a milky white liquid, but I had no time to call out for help or avoid getting it on my pillow and face.  As I was dry heaving, my mom came rushing to my side and asked, “Will, are you OK?”

After catching my breath, I was able to weakly say, “I’m nauseous.”

My mom turned to my dad and said, “Go get a washcloth and a bowl off the counter.  I’m going to call the nurse.”

I look up to see that the feeding bag is empty, I then see my dad coming out of the bathroom with a wet washcloth.  He hands it to my mom and she begins to wipe my face clear of the vomit.  Once my face is clean, my mom lifts my head up slightly to remove the pillow from under me and tosses it to the floor.  She then raises the head of the bed to where I am in an almost sitting position.  My dad then walks back over and places a small bowl in my lap.  Rosie walks in and asks, “What can I do for you.”

My mom responded, “Will threw up a little bit and needs a new pillow.”

Rosie came to my bedside and asked, “Can you open your mouth for me?”

I opened my mouth and she took a small flashlight to look in and then disconnected my feeding tube.  She then said, “Your feeding tube looks like it is still in place, does it feel any different to you?”

I shook my head no and she said, “Alright, I will be back in a minute with a clean pillow.”

My dad then said, “Will, let’s rinse your mouth out.”

With a small cup of water in hand, he raised it to my mouth.  I took a small sip and started swishing it around.  My dad took the small bowl and held it up to me to spit in.  We repeated the process a few more times until my mouth was relatively clean of vomit. 

Rosie walked back in with a pillow and handed it to my mom who then helped place it under my head.  Rosie flushed my feeding tube, then said, “Let me know if you have any other issues, but you should be OK.  You will probably have issues with nausea and vomiting during feedings.”

Rosie walked out of the room with the vomit-stained pillow.  My mom then lowered the bed back into a lying position for me and told me, “Will, get some rest,  we will just have to be prepared when you are being fed through your feeding tube.”

Nodding, I roll over onto my side and fall back to sleep.  I wake back up to the need to poop.  I rolled onto my back and turned my head over to my parents and said, “I need to go number 2.”

My dad gets up off of the couch and walks over to my bedside and begins to pull the covers off of me.  My mom said to my dad, “I’m going to wait outside to give Will some privacy.”

My dad picked me up out of bed, turned with me in his arms, and set me on the seat of the bedside commode.  Crouching down in front of me so that I could lean against him, making sure that the back of my hospital gown was moved out of the way.  With not too much time to spare, I let my bowels loose.

As I am sitting there, the gravity of my situation is starting to sink in.  Tears began to well in my eyes as I thought about how truly sick I was.  It seems that no matter how much the doctors do to make me feel better, I am getting sicker and weaker each day.  I feel for the first time in my adult life that I am completely helpless and fear grips me.  Questions of what tomorrow will look like for me, much less next week, have me questioning my future.  Even if the doctors can figure out what is going on with me, is there even a treatment option; will this kill me?

Tears began to stream down my face as I started to think about my family.  Will I ever be able to see Stanley, Katie, and Marley again?  Will I ever be able to hold Ellis and Charlie again in my arms?  Thinking I would give anything to see them again, spit up, sticky hands, poopy diapers and all.  My thoughts were interrupted by my dad asking, “Will, are you done?”

I nod yes into my dad’s shoulder.  Using wet wipes, my dad quickly wiped my butt.  As my dad was positioning me to be able to pick me back up, he was able to see my tear-soaked face.  With concern, he asked, “What’s wrong Will?”

With quivering lips, “I’m scared . . .  I don’t want to die here.”  As I was starting to sob, I let out, “I want to go home!”

The dam broke and I began to sob uncontrollably.  My dad picked me up and sat down on the bed with me sitting in his lap with my legs hanging off to one side.  He wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face into his chest.  Tears and snot stained his shirt as I cried.  My dad started to rub my back and said in a quiet voice into my ear, “Son, it’s going to be OK.  As soon as you get better, we will take you on the first flight home.”

Between sobs into his chest, I cried out, “What if I don’t get better.”

Then I let out another round of uncontrollable sobbing.  My dad tightened his hold on me and after kissing the top of my head said, “Will, listen to me,  YOU WILL GET BETTER, and YOU WILL GO HOME.”

“George, why is Will crying?” I could hear my mom say.

“I think that everything that has been happening to him finally hit him.  Can you empty the commode and rinse it out for me?”

After a few minutes, my sobs turned to sniffing.  I felt a hand touch the back of my head and heard my mom say, “Will, can you look at me for a second?”

I slowly lifted my head off my dad’s chest and turned to my mom.  She had tissue in her hand and as she brought it up to my snot dripping nose, said, “Blow for me, sweety.”

I blew out all of the snot in my nose, and then my mom took a damp washcloth and wiped all the snot and tears off of my face.  My dad then picked me back up and set me down in bed.  After pulling the covers up, he kissed me on the head and said, “Will, it is going to be OK.”

Still feeling dejected and not truly believing him, I just turned onto my side and curled up into a ball.  A moment later, I could feel my mom get into bed behind me.  She wrapped an arm around me and pulled me into a tight embrace.  After my emotional outburst, it did not take me long to fall back to sleep.

[BabySofia]

Hang in there with finals, I remember what those were like! Hopefully you have a good chance to rest on the other side! 

Great chapter, and great to see him break down as he realizes he is seriously in a bad/scary medical situation that he could potentially die from. (Though I suspect you are not the kind of author to actually kill your character... <crossed fingers>)

[LGGrace]

I figured I would post a picture of a chromosome to help with the story since this story will center around a genetic disorder.  I am having to take more creative liberty in making this genetic disease than I would like.  It seems that molcular genetics is not as far along as I would have hoped when doing my research.  I am going to have to combine different known genes and genetic disorders to come up with Will's illness.  The chromosomes that I listed in chapter 9 come from a meta study on genes that are responsible for adult heights.

6 minutes ago, BabySofia said:

Hang in there with finals, I remember what those were like! Hopefully you have a good chance to rest on the other side! 

Great chapter, and great to see him break down as he realizes he is seriously in a bad/scary medical situation that he could potentially die from. (Though I suspect you are not the kind of author to actually kill your character... <crossed fingers>)

Yeah, you would think I would be used to it by now since I have been going to college either part-time or full-time since I was 16 with only 3 year break after my first year working on my master's and a one-year break before starting my PhD.

Thanks, without giving anything away, Will will not die, but at times he probably will wish he was dead.

 

[Kaiko-chan]

Poor will, hang in there buddy. 

[LGGrace]

1 hour ago, Kaiko-chan said:

Poor will, hang in there buddy. 

I agree, but it's going to get a lot worst for him before he gets better.

[kerry]

16 hours ago, LGGrace said:

Will will not die, but at times he probably will wish he was dead.

Goodness! Just wanted to say how fascinated I am by this story. 🙂

[LGGrace]

2 hours ago, kerry said:

Goodness! Just wanted to say how fascinated I am by this story. 🙂

Thank you.  It going to get pretty crazy in the next few chapters. 

[Kaiko-chan]

18 hours ago, LGGrace said:

I agree, but it's going to get a lot worst for him before he gets better.

Oh no. At least he has his parents. 

 

7 hours ago, LGGrace said:

Thank you.  It going to get pretty crazy in the next few chapters. 

Man I can't wait. 

[LGGrace]

Hope everyone had a good May the Force and Cinco de Mayo.

Chapter 10

 

I woke up to my mom rubbing my back and saying, “Will, it’s time for your evening feeding.”

I open my eyes, roll onto my back, and see that Rosie is standing beside the bed.  She said, “Alright Will, last feeding of the day.  If you vomit, that is OK, just call me if anything feels off with your feeding tube.  Do you need any more pain medicine?”

I nodded my head and watched as she connected my feeding tube to the bag and then injected me with two different syringes.  She then said, “All set, I will be back in a little bit to flush your feeding tube.”

My mom then said, “Let’s have you sitting up in case you get sick again.”

She then raised my bed until I was almost in a sitting position and placed a bowl in my lap for if I threw up again.  “Try and stay awake until after the feeding is done and we know that you won’t get sick,” my mom said.

I just nodded my head.  After my mom sat back down in the recliner, I looked at the TV to see that my parents were watching reruns of The Office.  Doing my best to stay awake, I try to focus my attention on the TV.  Within 10 minutes of the show, I started to feel nauseous.  Another 10 minutes later I was using all my power not to throw up.  I was starting to have to constantly swallow my saliva, as the need to vomit built up.  A minute later I could not hold back any longer and with the bowl raised to my face, I threw up a few mouthfuls of the milky white liquid that was coming from the feeding bag.  My mom rushed to my side and placed a hand on my shoulder.   A few moments after coughing and catching my breath, I look to see my dad on the other side of my bed with a small cup of water in hand.  He said, “Let’s rinse your mouth out.”

He brought the cup up to my lips and I took a few sips to rinse my mouth out and spit into the bowl.  My dad then threw the bowl away and grabbed a new bowl for me and set it in my lap.  My mom said, “The feeding bag is almost empty, I don’t think you are going to get sick again, but try and stay up for a little longer until it is empty.”

I just nodded my head as my parents retook their seats.  Less than 10 minutes later, the bag was empty and my nausea was starting to subside.  A moment later Rosie walked back in.  As she was flushing my feeding tube, my mom said, “Will got sick again.”

Rosie asked while looking at me, “Are you having any issues with your feeding tube after vomiting?”

I just shook my head no, and then she said, “I will let the doctors know, but it may be something that we are just going to have to deal with for the time being since this is the only way for you to get nutrition.”

I just glumly nodded my head and thought that throwing up three times a day is just one more thing to add to the list of shitty things to deal with daily at this point.  As Rosie was leaving the room, my mom got up and started lowering the bed back down for me and said, “Get some rest, Will.  Your Dad and I will both be staying the night here.”

As soon as the bed was lowered to almost flat, I just turned onto my side away from my parents and as I was falling asleep, I could feel my mom kiss me on the back of my head.  I awoke in the middle of the night needing to poop.  I turned over onto my back and could see that my mom was sleeping on the couch and my dad was sleeping in the recliner.  In the strongest voice that I could muster, I said, “Dad, Dad, Dad!”

I could then see my dad stirring in his sleep, then open his eyes and look at me.  “Will, what’s wrong?”

“Bathroom,” was as I could speak in my weak state.

My dad jumped out of the recliner and rushed over to my bedside.  Pulling the covers off of me, he picked me up then quickly turned around with me in his arms and sat me on the commode.  In less than a minute, my bowels were empty and my dad wiped my bottom using wet wipes.  He then picked me back up and set me back in bed.  While pulling up the covers, he kissed me on the forehead and said, “Get some sleep, Will, wake me or your mom up if you need anything else tonight.”

I nodded and turned back over onto my side.  As I was falling back to sleep, I could hear my dad emptying the commode in the bathroom.  I woke up again to the night nurse who I have yet to get her name, asking me if I need more pain medicine. With a simple nod, she injected me with the Dilaudid and I was back asleep.

I woke up to it being light outside.  A moment after waking up, I noticed why I woke up in the first place.  My joints were starting to ache again; I turned onto my back and could see that both my parents were up and watching the news on the TV.  I called out to my parents, “What time is it.”

My dad said, “It’s almost 8:30.  Why do you ask?”

“The pain meds are starting to wear off,” I said.

My dad responded, “I’ll call the nurse.”

A few minutes later, Rosie walked in and said, “Good morning Will, what can I do for you this morning?”

My mom answered, “Will’s pain medicine is wearing off.”

With a concerned look on Rosie’s face, she turned to me and asked, “Do you think you can hold off for another thirty minutes when you are scheduled to get your next dose?”

I simply replied, “Maybe.”

Rosie responded, “I’m going to go ahead and start your morning feeding, and weigh and measure you.  I will be back in a minute.”

Rosie was back within a minute and started the feeding bag for my feeding tube and injected me with nausea medicine.  She then measured me as I was lying in bed and took my weight using the bed.  She said, “Will, you weigh ninety-four pounds and are five foot and a half an inch.  I will be back in twenty minutes to give you your pain medicine.”

Once Rosie walked back out of the room, my mom raised my bed to some I was back into an almost sitting position and placed a bowl in my lap for me.  Knowing that I would probably throw up and that I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep until I got more pain medicine, I turned my attention to the news on the TV.  Just like last night, I started to get more and more nausea as time crawled by.  The pain in my joints was also getting worse by the minute.  Not knowing how long I had been waiting, I decided not to try and hold back vomiting.  I raised the bowl to my mouth and threw up another couple of mouthfuls of white liquid.  My dad, seeing me throw up, got out of the recliner and went and got me a small cup of water to rinse my mouth out with.  As I am rinsing my mouth out, Rosie walks back in.

“Will, I’m back to give you your pain medicine,” pausing, she then said, “Did you get sick again?”

My dad responded, “Yes, he threw up another couple of mouthfuls of vomit.”

Rosie nodded, then injected me with the Dilaudid.  Relief washed over me as the pain medicine worked its way through my body.  Rosie said, “It looks like the feeding bag is almost empty, I will be back in a few minutes to flush Will’s feeding tube.”

My dad then asked me, “How do you feel right now.”

“Nauseous and tired, but I don’t think I’m going to throw up again,” I said.

My dad nodded and said, “I’m going to let you lay back down.”

My dad took the bowl of vomit from my lap and lowered my bed down to where I could lie down again.  Before I could fall back to sleep, Rosie walked back in.  She then flushed my feeding tube and threw the bag away. Before walking out of the room she said to my parents and me, “One of the doctors should be checking in on you this afternoon and possibly going over the biopsy results.”

Not long after Rosie left, I was back to sleep.  I woke up screaming in agonizing pain.  The pain was so intense, that I was arching my back and curling my toes and fingers.  It felt like someone had smashed every joint in my body with a hammer.  My parents rushed to my side, but there was nothing they could do as I was screaming.  It seemed after 30 seconds the pain started to subside just enough to keep me from screaming and arching my back.  My mom frantically asked, “Where does it hurt Will?”

With tears welling in my eyes I was able to shout out, “Everywhere!”

No less than a few seconds later, I was hit with another wave of agonizing pain and screamed out again.  The pain was so great that I immediately let loose my bowels and poop covered my butt, thighs, and lower back.  As the wave of intense pain was starting to subside again, I could see out of the corner of my eye Rosie rushing in.  Before she could even make it all the way into my room, I could hear my dad shout, “Get a goddamn doctor here now!”

I could see Rosie turn on her heels and rush back out of the room.  I could smell the foul smell of my poop filling the room.  I looked up at my mom who was holding one of my hands as tight as she could with tears in her own eyes.  Tears streamed down my cheeks, all I could say at that moment was, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

My mom placed her other hand on the side of my face and said, “It's just an accident, it’s OK.”

A moment later, another wave of extreme pain hit me as I screamed out, arched my back, threw my head back, and my eyes felt like they were rolling into the back of my head.  As the latest wave was starting to subside, I could see a bunch of doctors and nurses rushing into the room.  I watched as two nurses pulled my parents from my bedside and I was then surrounded by doctors and nurses on either side of me.  Sobbing now, I just yelled out, “Make it stop, Make it stop, MAKE IT STOP!”

I could feel multiple nurses and doctors hold me down to the bed.  Out the side of my eye, I could see someone with a tray full of syringes.  Before I could get a better look, I was hit with another wave of extreme pain.  I started to scream again but was unable to arch my back due to the staff holding me down.  As I was screaming,  I felt the pain in my body starts to dissipate.  I stopped screaming and looking to my left, I could see someone injecting syringe after syringe into my I.V.  Looking straight up at the ceiling,  I could feel a warmth that started at my core and worked its way to all my limbs.  As it worked its way to my head, I was overcome with an intense feeling of inner peace and calmness that I never felt before.  As my eyes were feeling heavy, I thought, ‘This must be what dying feels like.’  A second later darkness overcame me.

I opened my eyes.  Gone was the hospital room and everyone in it.  Gone was the pain and suffering.  Gone was the bed where I was lying in my own waste.  Looking down, I noticed that I was sitting in a kayak with a paddle in my hands.  I was no longer in my sickly small body, but the body before I got sick.  I could see the hair on my arms and legs.  I was no longer wearing the hospital gown, but just a simple pair of shorts and a tee shirt.  Setting the paddle in my lap, I brought a hand up to my face and could feel that I had my beard back.  I looked around and could see that I was no longer in Arizona but on the river in my home state of Georgia where I spent most of my childhood on.  I could feel the hot humid air on my skin and surprised myself with how much I missed it.  I was home.

I stuck my feet out of the kayak on either side and plunged them into the refreshing cool black water of the river.  Looking on either side of the river, I could see that the banks were lined with cypress trees with their knees jutting out of the water.  Looking past the line of cypress trees, I could see oak trees going up the hill that morphed into a forest of pine trees that could go as far as the eye could see. 

I leaned back into the seat of the kayak and let the current bring me downstream, only using my paddle to steer and letting it sit in my lap to allow me to also plunge my arms into the cool water as well.  As the straightaway gave way to the lazy whining bends of the river,  the canopy of the tree tops that overhung, allowed for shade from the hot sun.  On the bends of the river, sandbars were formed that I could stop at for swimming, and cliffs that overlooked the river made the perfect camping spot.

I watched as a kingfisher would fly from one side of the river to the other, working its way downstream with its shrill call as it was in flight.  Going around another bend, I could see a herd of deer crossing.  The Bucks were just starting to grow their antlers for the fall rut.  As I made my way around another bend, the river opened up to a straightaway.  As I was making my way down the straightaway, I noticed a pair of river otters playfully circle my kayak before leaving me as I made my way further downstream.  The sun began to set below the tree line and I could hear the calls of barred owls as they were waking up for the night.  I could then hear the call of wood ducks and just as I was looking up, they passed overhead so close that I could hear the whistling of the air coming off their wings as they flew home to roast for the night.

As the last rays of light were giving way to the night, I was joined by a chorus of insects and frogs.  I laid back into my kayak and as all the stars were coming out, everything faded to black.

[Kaiko-chan]

Have a feeling a fair amount of time will have passed and hell be more different than he expected. 

[LGGrace]

3 hours ago, Kaiko-chan said:

Have a feeling a fair amount of time will have passed and hell be more different than he expected. 

The only thing I can reveal is he will wake up wearing a diaper.🤫

[Kaiko-chan]

3 hours ago, LGGrace said:

The only thing I can reveal is he will wake up wearing a diaper.🤫

Since they put him in a medically induced coma. I kind of figure they will wake him up after a lot of changes will have happened

[zzzz50]

17 hours ago, LGGrace said:

The only thing I can reveal is he will wake up wearing a diaper.🤫

Will it be an adult or youth diaper? The suspense builds!

[deewet]

Not much of a leap as in his condition, that would be expected.  What happens after he wakes is the guess at this point, but  I expect there will be many changes to his life as this is very unusual for sure!!

[LGGrace]

Thanks for the comment! 

I woke up early this morning and not being able to go back to sleep, decided to try and finish writing the second half of the next chapter. Should have it posted sometime today.  It should answer the majority of the questions surrounding Will's illness.

[LGGrace]

This chapter is a little short but a lot happens in it.  I will go back to the much longer chapters from now on.

Chapter 11

I woke up to the sound of beeping.  I struggled with all my might, but I was unable to move or open my eyes.  I could then hear my mom’s voice, “How long until Will wakes up?”

A male voice that sounded like Dr. Kutner responded, “It could be anytime between now and a few hours.  It depends on how long it takes the drugs to wear off.”

A moment later, all the sounds and voices faded away.  I woke back up and was able to slowly open my eyes.  The first thing I noticed was that the bed I was lying in was huge, and swallowed me up.  I looked across the room and could see that the wall was painted in a bright light blue color with whimsical pictures framed on the wall.  I thought, ‘This is not the room I was in before.’

I turned my head to the left and could see that there was a large light brown teddy bear sitting on the bed right next to me.  Looking past the bear, I could see a counter along the wall with a built-in sink.  Sitting on the counter, I could see a large bright aqua-green opened box.  On the front of the box, I saw the name, ‘Pampers’ and ‘size 4’ written below.  My next thought was, ‘Shit, that’s what size Ellis wears.’  I then noticed a bulk between my legs and could tell I was wearing a diaper and it felt slightly damp.  Besides the box of diapers, I could see what looked like a stack of diapers, a stack of incontinence bed pads, baby wipes, lotion, and a tub of diaper rash cream. 

Turning my attention to myself, I looked down at my arms that were lying at my sides.  They were completely hairless and were fairly thin.  I could see that there was an I.V. in the back of my left hand and looking at my upper body that was not under the covers, I could see that I was wearing what looked like a juvenile hospital gown with rabbits on it.  Leads were coming out of the top of the gown that must have been running to a heart monitor and was probably the source of the beeping.  Wiggling my nose and swallowing some spit, I could feel that I still had a feeding tube in, and it was tapped to my left cheek.

I looked to my left and could see my parents sitting on a couch that ran along the wall and there was a recliner chair at my bedside.  I could see that my mom was reading a magazine and my dad was reading a paperback novel.  Looking at their faces, I could see that they looked run down, exhausted, and stressed.  I called out, “Moom? Daadd?”  I was immediately stunned hearing my slurred high-pitched voice that sounded like a small child and the drool running down my chin. 

My parents’ heads snapped up from their reading material and they jumped up and rushed to my bedside.  My mom sat on the bed right beside me, cupped my cheeks in her hands, and started showering my face in kisses.  I was a little intimidated by the size disparity between us now and her hands easily covered my face and the sides of my head.  My mom pulled her face back and with a smile said, “Will! I’m so glad you're awake.”  Turning to my dad, she said, “George, go get the doctor.”

My dad then leaned down to me with a gentle smile, brushed my hair back, and kissed me on the forehead.  As he stood back up, he said, “I’ll be right back with the doctor,” then walked out of the room.

I looked up at my mom who was smiling down at me.  She had my right hand engulfed by hers and was rubbing the back of my hand with her thumb.  All I could think or ask was, “What happened?”

My mom paused for a moment, then said, “Will, the doctor will do a better job of explaining everything to you, but you were in a medically induced coma for the past thirty-four days.”

My eyes shot back up to my mom’s eyes and I said, “Thirty-four days!?”  As more drool ran down my chin.

My mom grabbed a hand towel that was sitting on the bed above my head and as she was wiping the drool off of my chin said, “Yes sweety, the doctors tried to wake you up two times before, but you would just wake up confused, then start crying and screaming in pain.”

Before I could think of anything else to say, my dad, Dr. Taub, and a nurse walked in.  My dad took a seat on the bed beside me opposite my mom and took my hand in his.  Dr. Taub took a seat on the end of my bed and I could see that the nurse was just standing off to my left.

Dr. Taub then asked, “Will, do you know where you are?”

I nodded my head yes, then he asked, “Do you remember who I am?”

I nodded and said, “Dr. Taub,” as drool ran down my chin again.

My mom wiped the drool from my chin and asked, “Do you know why Will is drooling and slurring his speech?”

Dr. Taub said, “The drooling and slurring is most likely from the drugs that are still in his system.  One of our biggest worries was cognitive decline; but based on you knowing where you are and who I am, I am hopeful that it will not be an issue.  We will have to run some tests to be sure.”

Pausing for a second, he said, “One of the biggest changes you probably noticed right now is your size.  We measured you this morning and based on your measurements, we place you being somewhere between thirty months and thirty-six months at a height of thirty-seven inches and weighing twenty-seven and a half pounds.  You are a little underweight for your current height but that is due to your muscle atrophy while in a coma.”

“What’s going to happen to me?” I said as more drool rolled down my chin.

As my mom was wiping my chin again, Dr. Taub said, “The good news is that we are almost certain that this condition is not fatal.  We have been plotting the changes to your body and have projected that the changes will stop somewhere between twelve months and twenty-four months.  We are using age because the changes to your body are more than just your height.  It seems that your body is developmentally between thirty months and thirty-six months.  We will be able to get a better estimate of your final physical age as time progresses.”

My heart began to race; I could hear the beeping of the heart monitor quicken.  Both my parents squeezed my hands and my mom began to run her fingers from her other hand through my hair.  She leaned her head down to my ear and said, “Relax honey, it’s going to be OK.”

I looked up at my mom, then looked at Dr. Taub, and asked, “What does this mean for me, will I ever grow again, and how could this have happened?” as my mom had to wipe more drool from my chin.

Dr. Taub then said, “For you, it means that you will most likely have problems with incontinence, possibly have issues with your coordination and fine motor skills.  You will need to have help from your parents or a caregiver for everyday things.  Unfortunately, the growth plates in your bones have fused together after you went through puberty and we do not think it is possible for you to start growing again after you reach your final physical age.”

After pausing, Dr. Taub said, “We are still working out all the details on how this works since it seems to affect so much of your genes.  It seems that the chromosomes . . .”

I began to shut down as I could not pay attention to what Dr. Taub was saying and felt I was a million miles away even though my body was still in the room.  I could only stare at the movement of his lips, but could not process what he was saying.  Thoughts of what this means for my future and independence raced through my mind. 

I was snapped back to reality when Dr. Taub said, “The next thing I want to discuss with you is regarding your primary sexual characteristics.”

My thoughts upon hearing those words were, ‘’What’s wrong with my penis?’

Dr. Taub continued, “The condition that it seems like you have usually only occurs at birth, but it seems that the same underlying genes that are responsible for your developmental changes are also responsible for changes to your primary sexual characteristics.  The condition is called Swyer Syndrome or XY gonadal dysgenesis.  This is when someone has male chromosomes, but due to a mutation to the SRY gene on the Y chromosome, they develop a vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes.  People with Swyer Syndrome do not have ovaries or testicles, but functionless gonad scar tissue called streak gonads. People with Swyer Syndrome are usually assigned female at birth but are considered intersex.

In your case, your testicles ascended into your lower abdomen where they degenerated into scar tissue.”

My heart began to race again and my palms began to sweat.  Thoughts swirled through my mind, ‘I don’t have a penis anymore’, ‘Am I even considered a guy anymore’, ‘This isn’t happening, I must be dreaming’.

At that moment, either out of fear or my weakened body, my bladder released and I could feel hot urine cascade down the front of my diaper.  Before, either because I still had drugs in my system or the distraction of the diaper between my legs, I did not notice the difference in my lower anatomy.  Now, it was obvious as I felt the wetness on my new vagina lips. As the urine worked its way down and to the seat of my diaper, I could tell that I did not have any testicles between my legs.

Panic began to set in as wetting my diaper made this all too real.  Thoughts of not only having to deal with a toddler body but a female one at that, just added fuel to the fire of my downward mental state.

My parents tried to comfort me, but it had no effect.  My breathing became erratic and my heart was beating so hard it felt like a drum in my chest.  As I began to hyperventilate, my arms began to tingle and my hands went numb.  In full-on fight or flight mode, I was gasping for air and both trying to push and pull on my parents' hands as sweat and drool poured down my face.

I could see out of the corner of my eye the nurse approached me with a syringe in hand and then quickly injected it into my I.V.  A moment later, my heart began to slow and my breathing began to stabilize.  Feeling returned to my hands and I was able to start taking deep breaths.  As my body calmed, my eyes began to feel heavy.  Seconds later I closed my eyes and sleep consumed me.

 

Hopefully, the 36K words to get to this point was worth it.  I will do a better job explaining the inner workings of Will's illness in later chapters but thought that Will's panic attack was warranted.

[D503]

Excellent story. Poor Will (and poor Willy). Looking forward to see how he navigates his new life.

[Samriis]

I'm having a lot of fun with the story as well, and the attention you put to making the science believable is very much appreciated.  Excellent story so far

[Kaiko-chan]

I knew it's but wasn't expecting the Sawyers syndrome. 

[zzzz50]

Skipped right through Adult and Youth diapers, directly to baby diapers. And the sex change was totally unexpected. I can see how this is overwhelming for Will!

[LGGrace]

7 hours ago, D503 said:

Excellent story. Poor Will (and poor Willy). Looking forward to see how he navigates his new life.

Thank you, Will will have a hard time accepting his new life at first.

6 hours ago, Samriis said:

I'm having a lot of fun with the story as well, and the attention you put to making the science believable is very much appreciated.  Excellent story so far

Thank you,  I love science fiction and wanted this story to be as believable as possible.

4 hours ago, Kaiko-chan said:

I knew it's but wasn't expecting the Sawyers syndrome. 

I had a feeling that some readers would probably know where this story was going based off of my first post on DailyDiapers.😊

I find the topic of intersex very interesting and thought that having Will have a form of XY intersex would be the most believable way for his sex to change. There is androgen syndrome too, where people with XY chromosomes are assigned female at birth, but I didn't see that working for this story based on how it works.  Fun fact, people with Swyers syndrome are the only people in the world who can get pregnant and have XY chromosomes, but only through Invitro. 

1 hour ago, zzzz50 said:

Skipped right through Adult and Youth diapers, directly to baby diapers. And the sex change was totally unexpected. I can see how this is overwhelming for Will!

I wrote this thinking that the pain would be too great due to the accelerated physical regression for Will to wake up from his coma.  The doctor needed to wait until it slowed back down.  Will's going to have a tough time dealing with the changes to his body.

[Craisler]

I’m really enjoying the story and am interested in seeing how it progresses.  One observation I have to make is that this chapter seems a bit rushed given the pace of the previous chapters.  I wonder whether a doctor would tell a twenty-something male patient that he’s now an incontinent three year old female and is likely to regress to an 18 month old toddler and be that way for the rest of his/her life within minutes of coming of a coma.  Talk about information overload!  No wonder he panicked.

[Kaiko-chan]

8 hours ago, LGGrace said:

I find the topic of intersex very interesting and thought that having Will have a form of XY intersex would be the most believable way for his sex to change. There is androgen syndrome too, where people with XY chromosomes are assigned female at birth, but I didn't see that working for this story based on how it works.  Fun fact, people with Swyers syndrome are the only people in the world who can get pregnant and have XY chromosomes, but only through Invitro.

So i love learning and onenof the topics I ended up researching once was intersex conditions. So I heard about that before.

[LGGrace]

7 hours ago, Craisler said:

I’m really enjoying the story and am interested in seeing how it progresses.  One observation I have to make is that this chapter seems a bit rushed given the pace of the previous chapters.  I wonder whether a doctor would tell a twenty-something male patient that he’s now an incontinent three year old female and is likely to regress to an 18 month old toddler and be that way for the rest of his/her life within minutes of coming of a coma.  Talk about information overload!  No wonder he panicked.

I agree that the news was broken pretty hard to Will.  My thought process on this was that Will's parents and the doctors did discuss the best ways to break the news to him and thought that ripping the bandaid off was the best option since it would not take long after waking up for him to figure out that there was something very different about his body and not just his size.  One of the reasons that Will broke down in chapter 9 was due to not knowing what was happening to him and thinking that it may be fatal. His parents thought that him knowing the end result and it not being fatal was the lesser of the two evils.

Either way, I think that there is pros and cons on how to handle the situation best.

 

[dmavn]

sigh, This would actually be a dream come true for me..