Don't Worry About It (Part 1/5)
Master Post | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
AJ sighed as he changed the channels on the TV, setting the remote on his stomach for a brief moment to adjust the pillow behind his head. He had caught up on his soaps earlier and was caught up on the daily news for the third-no fourth time, now. Thank God, because he wouldn’t have been able to sleep that night if he didn’t know the missing rare plant from the local university’s greenhouse had been found. He settled on a rerun of Friends and glanced at the clock on the wall. In just a few seconds-There was a knock on the open door. Like clockwork.
“How is my favorite patient doing on this fine Thursday evening?” the cheery female voice greeted as the petite figure it belonged to entered the room.
“Favorite? I bet you say that to all your patients,” he laughed, pushing himself higher on the bed.
“Of course I do. But you’re the only one I mean it with,” she winked, dangling a blood pressure cuff in her hand and pulling the machine it was connected to further into the room.
He raised his left arm for her to take. “How are you, Elaine?”
“I’m doing well.” She hooked a couple more things onto him. “Excited as always to be here for the next eight hours. Are you in any pain right now?”
“Not any more than the usual. Probably a 1 or 2. I don’t need any pain meds,” he returned, referring to the pain scale rating of 1-10, before she stuck a thermometer in his mouth.
The machine beeped, and Elaine recorded his temperature, heart rate, respirations, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation before freeing him of the probe in his mouth and cuff. “Everything looks good.”
“Great. So when do I get to leave this place?”
“I think you know the answer to that one,” she responded, lifting the blanket enough to examine the dressings on his left hip and legs, making sure they were still intact and not leaking.
AJ rolled his eyes. “When my wounds heal and I can successfully maneuver myself around to do my activities of daily living which include-“ he stopped when he caught Elaine staring. “You gotta give me credit for paying attention.”
“Oh, I do, believe me. Now if only we could get you to eat a little more. AJ, your weight’s been dropping for the last two weeks. Keep this up and you’ll never heal properly and you won’t get to go home.”
“Or maybe I just do it so I can stay here with you forever.” She raised an eyebrow at him, definitely far from amused, he could tell. He shrugged and turned his focus to the window. “I just haven’t had much of an appetite while being here. I try to eat, but it just…doesn’t work out for me.”
Elaine nodded sympathetically. “I know, I know.” She scribbled a couple things down on her clipboard. “Unfortunately you’re not my only patient tonight, but do you need anything before I go?”
He shook his head. “I’m fine. You’ll be back here soon enough anyway,” he said playfully, turning his head back to face her.
“You know how to call me if you need anything.” Elaine exited the room and left AJ to watch the sitcom in peace. He often thought of how lucky he had been to score a private room, especially during awkward times, such as the bed baths or when he tried to move around the room and the hospital gown didn’t cover enough of his backside. Not that there was much to see, his friends and exes could, and probably would, argue. Some nights he even got away with masturbating, though cleaning up was tricky. Kevin, his roommate, suggested he ask for an extra hand towel to keep nearby in case he “spilled when he was drinking water.” Just a little personal testimony from when he himself was hospitalized a few years ago after a snowboarding accident gone bad.
But there were other times when he thought of how he would enjoy the company of another patient in the room because even if he didn’t talk to or see him, sometimes just knowing someone else was there was all he needed. He’d always been this way; as a young child he had trouble sleeping when he was alone in his bedroom. He insisted his mother or grandmother, both if he was lucky, stayed with him until he fell asleep. High school was a little different. Being one of the more popular kids, he was always invited to the hottest parties when parents were out of town, always the one the girls wanted to be with and the guys wanted to be seen with. He never really made close friends with any of those people, but he found comfort in the large groups, he found safety in numbers. In his most recent relationships, he loved to be alone with the other person in a comfortable silence, just thinking, just being.
It’s not that the hospital staff ignored him. In fact, they’d been nothing but kind and generous. He made friends with his nurses: Pat-the middle-aged, soft-spoken woman who was often his day nurse-and Elaine-his usual new-grad, newlywed night nurse, the nurses who alternated as his evening nurse, the rest of the nurses that worked on the floor, CNAs, doctors, physical therapists, the kitchen and janitorial staffs, other patients. He was waited on hand and foot, his every need accommodated, including his nicotine addiction. While every health professional, including several members from the risk management team, that crossed his path discouraged the terrible habit, they always helped him into a wheelchair, handed him a cigarette or two with a lighter, and went outside of the hospital with him for a few minutes so he could smoke. It’s his only vice, he would tell them. At night, Elaine would sit and talk with him about anything until the prescribed sedative kicked in. AJ never asked her to, she just did. After all, she was the night nurse; she came on at 11pm, and all her other patients were old and passed out before he did.
He had nothing to complain about; he had it made. But sometimes…
The ringing phone snapped him out of his thoughts. He reached for it on the bedside table. “Hello?”
“Hi, Alex. How are you?” his mother’s voice greeted. He could feel her warmth radiating through the phone.
“Hey Mom, I’m doing all right. Just, you know, lying here.” He laughed softly. “What are you up to?”
“I was just calling to say goodnight in case I dozed off while channel surfing,” she chuckled a little. “I’ll stop by tomorrow for lunch.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then.” He wrapped the phone cord around his finger and added, “It’s good to hear from you.”
She smiled on her end of the line. “Rest up! I love you.”
“Love you too,” he said, ending their conversation. AJ set the phone down on the bed beside him and went back to his episode of Friends, only to have it end in two minutes. He turned the TV off and reached for his iPod and a small notebook from the table. He selected a playlist of calm instrumental music and started writing. He was never really the journal-keeping type. But being in the hospital limited what he could do so he took up writing. He made it a point to write every day. He usually wrote about what he did that day, if there were any significant events like when he stood up for the first time after the accident. Tonight he wrote about his random thoughts.
“Working on the next great American novel?” Elaine asked while knocking on the door and entering.
“Hardly,” AJ replied, finishing his last thought and closing the notebook with the pen inside. “Is time for the almighty sleeping pill already?” He nodded his head toward the medicine cup she held in her hand.
“Of course it is. Name please?” He stated his name while she took a look at his ID wristband. She handed him the pill and a cup of water, and he swallowed it with ease.
“So even though you’ve been taking care of me for weeks and you know I’m me, you still have to ask me my name and look at the ID band every time you give me medication?”
Elaine nodded and pulled up a chair up to the bedside. “It’s mainly for the patients’ safety. And it’s protocol so you can’t sue our asses and say we gave you the wrong meds.”
“Okay that makes sense,” he said with a laugh. “So how’s your day been? How’s the husband?”
“Day’s been good. Husband’s good. I got up just as he was coming home from work.”
He finished the rest of the water in the cup and tossed it into the trash beside his bed. “That’s rough, man. Waking up when your man’s coming home. You only get to see him for a couple hours, then you gotta go to work.”
“The life of the night nurse. It’s not bad once you get used to it. But after the honeymoon, I’m not doing this night shift business anymore. Time for some other unlucky new-grad to have their turn with not having a life,” she said, only half-jokingly. “How about you, how was your day?”
“Oh you know, the usual. Woke up, had some breakfast and meds, the CNA helped out with a bath, watched TV, rolled over, had some lunch, did a little physical therapy action, watched TV-please, stop me when I’ve exhausted you with my busy day.” She simply urged him to go on with a single hand gesture. “Kevin came to check up on me during dinner, but he wasn’t here too long. He was all dressed up because he had a hot date. He’s gotta be thrilled with all the alone time he’s getting at our place with me here. Hell I would be.”
“Hot date, huh? Is she his girlfriend?”
“Kristin? Yeah, I’m not sure. They’ve been going out on-and-off for a pretty long time so I never know when they’re a couple or just doing the casual sex thing.”
Elaine leaned forward in her seat. “What about you? Got anyone special?” she asked with a curious grin, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.
AJ laughed and shook his head. “If I did, you would’ve met them already.” He yawned widely and loudly. “Getting excited for the honeymoon? I can’t believe you waited so long after the wedding.”
“Oh come on, a couple months isn’t too bad. We’re still learning how to handle our finances together.”
“I understand that. But if it was me, I’d say let’s get married in city hall and spend all the money on the honeymoon.”
“Trust me, that was definitely an option.”
He yawned again. “I think your magic pill’s starting to kick in already.”
She stood up and moved the chair back to its previous spot. “I’ll leave you alone then. I’ll get the lights on my way out. Door closed too?” He nodded. “Sleep well.”
**
“Good morning, Mr. AJ,” the CNA for the day shift greeted bright and early in the morning. AJ mumbled a “good morning,” and attempted to stretch. He let her take his vitals. “Think you can get up on the scale today?”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I can try.”
“I’ll come back around with the scale.” She exited, leaving AJ alone with his thoughts. He looked to the window and smiled a little when he saw the sun shining. He immediately began looking forward to his cigarette break. He stared at the ceiling as he nervously waited to be weighed. No more than ten minutes passed when the CNA rolled the standing scale into the room. “Okay, let’s weigh you.”
She helped him out of bed and onto the scale. It was a slow process, but AJ was now holding onto the rails of the scale for support. They waited in silence until the scale beeped with a verdict. She sighed and read aloud, “67.7.”
The pounds to kilograms conversion was the only thing AJ hadn’t mastered yet. “How many pounds is that?” She reached over the scale to press a button and the display turned into a larger number: 149. “Oh.” Before the accident he normally weighed in the 165 neighborhood. The first week in the hospital he went down to 158. Just a few days ago he was barely pushing 154. Crap. “Crap,” he voiced.
**
After receiving report from the day shift nurses, Elaine went around to check up on her patients. “Hello, hello!” Elaine appeared from the behind the curtain that was slightly covering AJ’s bed.
“What are you doing here?” AJ groaned, having just woken up a couple minutes prior from a nap.
“I’m taking the evening shift today, remember?”
“Oh yeah. Today’s the big honeymoon day,” he recalled out loud.
“We leave tonight,” she stated excitedly, placing her clipboard and a small tray on the bedside table. “I’ve got a couple now orders from the doctor, a multivitamin and a diuretic. How do you want them?”
“Just put ‘em in that little cup like at night.” She did as such after asking for his name and checking his wristband, and he swallowed the two tablets followed by a mouthful of water.
“Expecting any visitors?”
“Kevin said he might stop by on his way to or from the gym.” Elaine lifted his sheets to check his legs. “My mom will probably stop by at some point too.”
She moved to the other side of the bed to examine the opposite leg. “I heard your weight’s still dropping.”
AJ let out a soft laugh. “Yeah, I don’t know what the hell’s going on. I’ve even started drinking those nutritional supplements. I like them. They’re like really thick milkshakes.”
“The Ensure?” He confirmed with a nod. “Wow, everyone hates those.”
“Hey, I’ll try everything once.”
“At least you’re putting something in that body. Are you letting anything out?"
“I peed a little today. No poop.” She made a couple notes on her clipboard. “You’re so not impressed, are you?”
“Not really, no. Lemme take a look at your stomach.” Elaine lifted his gown and inspected his stomach before putting her stethoscope to listen. For someone who wasn’t really eating, he had normal bowel sounds meaning his digestive system was still working. Just as she was about to cover him, she noticed a slight bulge over his pelvic area. She started to feel the area and he winced a little. “Does that hurt really badly?”
“Not badly, but it hurts.”
She bit her lip. “It looks like your bladder is a little distended. You probably have some urine that hasn’t come out yet. I’ll talk to your doctor about doing a bladder scan so we can see just how much urine’s in there, okay?” He nodded. “In the meantime though, don’t stay in the same position in bed, have something to drink, the hospitality cart will be around soon if you want a snack. Call if you need anything.” He nodded again and she gave him a smile before leaving his room. Once she was gone, he let out a big sigh. Another thing wrong with him, just what he needed.
**
Nick fastened the combination lock on his locker after securing his backpack and jacket. He glanced in the mirror of the staff room, straightened his attire, and exited. He flashed a smile to a couple patients and family members on his way to the nurses’ station. “I’m here!” he announced cheerfully.
A few of the nurses looked at him and just shook their heads with fake annoyance as they returned to their paperwork. Nick loved being the one of the few male nurses on a unit, if not the only one. He was always joking around with the doctors about their last golfing excursion, or he was being babied and teased by the older female nurses when they weren’t asking him to reach for gauze at the top shelf of the supply closet. Physical therapists loved him back because he had enough muscle power to aid in lifting or transporting patients.
“Who’s my lucky charge nurse tonight?” he asked, grinning and tapping his fingers on the counter.
“That would be me.” A short middle-aged, questionably natural blonde woman with her eyeglasses resting atop her head whizzed by, skillfully balancing a couple binders and folders full of patient charts and information in her arms. Nick quickly followed behind her and took the heavier binders from her. “Lemme help you with those, Bea.”
“Thank you, Nick.” She put the folders on another counter and turned to him with a piece of paper in her hand. She put her glasses on and read aloud: “Okay you’ve got rooms 655 to 658.”
“They’re all single rooms, yeah?” Nick put the binders in their proper places. “Yes. The patient printouts should be coming out soon.”
Bea scurried off to do something else, and Nick took it upon himself to tidy up the workplace. He donned a pair of gloves and grabbed a couple of antimicrobial wipes to clean off the counters, phones, and computer keyboards. He arranged loose sheets of paper into neat piles, put the stapler back in its rightful place, and wheeled swivel chairs back underneath the desks. A few nurses looked up from their paperwork and smiled approvingly. It’s not that he was anal or had a mild case of OCD (he got that one a lot); he just wanted everyone to have good, clean, germ-free fun. It’s a hospital, after all.
Nick retrieved his set of patient printouts which included the basic information about each patient: diagnosis, nursing orders, type of diet, medication schedule, labs to be drawn, etc. He got report on three patients from their respective nurses, now he was waiting on Elaine to tell him about a Mr. McLean in room 657.
“Miss Elaine!” Nick caught her attention as she almost completely walked by him. She raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Would you mind giving me report on 657?”
“Oh! Of course.” She shuffled through her self-made booklet of patient printouts. “Do you know Mr. McLean at all?” Nick shook his head and uncapped his pen. “All right, he prefers to be called AJ or Alex. He’s a 30-year old male, came to the unit post-op two weeks ago. Today is day #16 post-op. Alert and oriented times three.” She stopped and lowered her voice. “He was in a terrible motorcycle accident. An SUV ran a red light at about 45 miles an hour, T-boned him on his right side, he fell onto his left, was pushed along the asphalt about 20 feet while the car skidded to a stop. He had right hip surgery, those staples are intact, as is the dressing over it. He was wearing shorts so crazy road rash took the skin off the left lower leg and he’s got a dressing over that. There’s bruising up and down both legs, some on his arms but you can’t really see those because he’s got almost full-on tattoo sleeves.”
Wide-eyed, Nick jotted down some notes. “Was he wearing a helmet? How are the wounds?”
“Yes, thank God he was.” She checked her watch. “Just changed the dressing at 4pm. There’s not much progress, unfortunately. He has a really poor appetite so healing is going … slowly. He only eats 10-20% of his meals, if that. His fluid intake and output are low too, voiding per urinal when he can. Last bowel movement was two days ago. I noticed a bit of a distended bladder. His doctor has been notified, and we’ll keep monitoring that. The last post void residual was 100cc, but if it gets any higher, we’re probably gonna have to put in a catheter.”
Nick scribbled a couple more things down. “Can he walk at all?”
“With physical therapy twice a day. He needs to be pre-medicated for that. Sometimes we can get him up with the walker to walk around the hall with a CNA, if it’s not too painful for him. He tries to ambulate around the room with the walker.” Elaine scanned her sheet of paper, only to look back up suddenly. “Oh yeah! He’s been a smoker for about 10 years. Every couple hours during the day, and maybe just once during the night, we take him out to smoke.”
He stopped writing and raised a single eyebrow at her. “Are you kidding me?” She shook her head. “You know how the nicotine works, Nick.” He simply flipped his page. “So wounds, poor appetite, low intake and output, smoker, what else do I need to know?”
“His vital signs are stable, heart’s good, lungs are good, peripheral pulses are present, no edema, IV #20 gauge in his left forearm, takes meds well. He’s really an easy-going and pleasant guy. He knows how the hospital works. His visitors usually come in the daytime, though his roommate-what’s his name-Kevin, yes. He’s been known to stop by just before visiting hours are over.” She paused so Nick could catch up with his notes. “He has trouble sleeping, so sometimes I go into his room just to chat when my other patients have gone to bed. I don’t know if that’s something you’d wanna do,” she added.
A small laugh escaped from Nick’s mouth. “Let’s think about this, Elaine. He’s a 30-year old guy, you just turned, what? 25? I calculate about an iceberg’s chance in hell he’s gonna want me to sit with him.”
“Don’t be so sure about that. You’d be lonely if you were in his place.” Nick straightened out his stack of papers and set his pen on top of them so he could put an arm around his colleague’s shoulders to change the subject. “Have fun on your honeymoon! Take lots of pictures, and come back pregnant!” She responded by swatting him in the chest with her papers and laughing. “Take care of AJ, Nick. He’s a good guy.”
“He’ll be eating and peeing when you get back,” he assured. “Hell, he won’t even be here when you get back.” Elaine left him at the table to finish his notes and prioritizing his plan for patient care. After going over significant points with his trusty green highlighter, he folded his set of papers and stuck them in his back pocket. He socialized with the other nurses and doctors that loitered during the change of shift for a few minutes before telling himself it was time to get down to business. He washed and dried his hands thoroughly and started his routine of meeting patients briefly. Old Mr. Davis in 655 was already passed out. Mrs. Smith in 656 requested some apple juice, and since the kitchen was just across from 658, Nick went in briefly to check on Mr. Kang who was chatting with his wife and son. He delivered the apple juice to Mrs. Smith and was on his final stop of the meeting tour.
He dispensed some of the Purell, the antibacterial hand gel, that was outside every patient’s room into his hand and knocked on “AJ”’s open door. “Hey how’s it go-“ he paused upon noticing Elaine speaking with the patient. “Oh I’m sorry,” he immediately apologized and started backing out of the room. “I’ll come back in a sec.”
“No, it’s okay. Come on in, I was just saying bye to AJ,” she called after him. Nick walked back in slowly and stood halfway between the doorway and the bedside, still giving them their space. She motioned Nick to come closer. “Nick, this is AJ. AJ, Nick is one of the best nurses I’ve had the pleasure of working with. I told you I’m leaving you in good hands.”
“Nice to meet you.” Nick extended his hand to a weak, tattooed hand which shook it lightly. AJ eyed him suspiciously since he first appeared in the doorway. He was tall with blue eyes and blonde hair that seemed to spike out every direction it chose, but what caught his attention most was that he had never seen him before. He had been there for a bit over two weeks so he figured he knew every doctor, nurse, and staff member. Just when he thought he had the system figured out, this guy walks in wearing his blue scrubs and his stethoscope around his neck and-wait, did Elaine really refer to him as a nurse? AJ looked at the ID clipped to the pocket of his shirt. Nick Carter, RN, BSN. Definitely a nurse. Even got his Bachelor’s in Nursing. Nick cleared his throat. “I was just coming in to say hi, introduce myself, see how you’re doing, if you need anything.”
“Actually, I’m good right now. Um, I’ll call if something comes up?” he spoke slowly.
“All right. Um, well I’ll be back in a couple minutes to take your vitals.” Nick quickly, but calmly exited the room. He wasn’t an idiot; he felt the dynamic in the room change the second he walked in the room. It’s not like it was the first time it happened. He made a mental note to return to him last so he could address any anxiety AJ might have. Maybe.
Nick took vital signs and performed his beginning of shift assessments on his other patients. He stood against a counter in the nurse’s station making notes in a patient’s chart but was interrupted when Elaine touched his shoulder from behind. “Shouldn’t you be on a plane to Hawaii soon?” Nick asked without looking up.
“Oh I’m on my way out. I just wanted to tell you that AJ was just a little caught off-guard because he’s never seen you before.”
Nick put his pen down and looked up at her. “I got it under control, missy. I’m on my way into his room right now.”
“I just wanted you to know. I’ll see you in a couple weeks!” She squeezed his shoulder before she slipped into her jacket and left the unit. Nick checked a few more boxes on the sheet of paper in front of him before he closed the binder and put it back in its rightful place. He took a deep breath as he rubbed more Purell on his hands and walked into AJ’s room.
“How are you feeling tonight, uh, Alex? AJ?” Nick wheeled the vitals machine closer to him.
“AJ. And I’m doing okay, no pain for once,” he replied, still a little hesitant toward his new night nurse.
“Always good to hear.” Nick attached the blood pressure cuff to his arm, pulse oximetry on his finger, and thermometer in his mouth. He recorded the final results and relieved him of the machine.
“So are you new on the unit?”
Nick put his stethoscope in place to listen to AJ’s heart. “Nah, I just took a couple weeks off for vacation because apparently I was working too much. At least that’s what everyone said.” He shrugged and moved the stethoscope lower to the stomach. “What can I say? I love what I do.”
AJ shifted uncomfortably, trying to keep his lower half covered with the blankets while his hospital gown was lifted so another man could feel his stomach. Nick could hear a distant increase in his heart rate through his stethoscope. He replaced AJ’s gown and removed the device from his ears. “Are you feeling okay?” AJ cleared his throat as he fixed the gown underneath the blanket. “Yeah, I’m fine. You know, I’m actually kind of tired so you can hold the sleeping pill tonight.”
“Okay I’ll do that. Do you have any concerns that I can address before I leave?”
“No, I’m fine.” His response was awfully quick.
The nurse nodded. “I’ll be in and out during the night to check up on you.”
“Would you mind closing the door too?”
“Good night, AJ,” Nick said before granting his request.
**
“Dude, I don’t think you’re getting it. He’s a dude. He’s a nurse,” AJ complained, taking a sip of his Ensure.
Kevin shrugged. “So what? There’s tons of murses around here.” He snickered lightly at his joke. Murses.
“Okay yeah, but the murses I’ve met are all older and not my age.”
“He’s really your age?” he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“Probably younger, but there’s no way this kid’s older than me.”
“Yeah man. I don’t get why you’re freaking out. As long as he’s qualified for the job,” Kevin paused. “He is qualified, right?” AJ nodded and took another sip. “Well then it shouldn’t matter. Plus he’s the night nurse so how often do you have to see him anyway?”
“Night nurses come in pretty often. They gotta make sure the patients are breathing. And I don’t know, Kev. It just seems weird for some dude to be checking up on me, asking me if I’ve peed or taken a crap, checking every inch of my body, touching me in some awkward places.”
“You’re overreacting. Shut up, and drink your Ensure, old man.”
AJ flipped him the bird as he drank some more of his beverage. “So how’s your girlfriend? Not-girlfriend, whatever.”
**
That night Nick was AJ’s nurse again. After Nick performed his usual assessment, AJ requested that he be left alone again. Hours passed and he was still awake, staring at the ceiling in the dark. He wrote in his journal, listened to his iPod, watched infomercials on TV, but nothing helped. He decided that he needed to get up and walk down the hall in hopes of tiring his body so he could sleep. He switched on the light and looked for the call button. He also decided it would be the polite thing to ask his nurse if it was okay for him to go for a walk.
There was a knock on the door before it opened. “What can I help you with?” Nick asked.
“I can’t sleep and I was wondering if it was cool if I just walked up and down the hall a couple times. Make myself tired, you know?”
“Yeah that’s no problem at all. But you do have an order for a pill if you’d rather have that.”
AJ shook his head. “Not tonight.”
Nick helped AJ up out of bed and to his walker. “Do you need me or someone else to walk with you?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
Nick followed AJ out of the room. “Don’t overexert yourself. Take a break if you need to, and if you need help getting back into bed, just call.”
AJ forced a smile and went on his way. He was still uncomfortable with another man so close in his age telling him what to do, like he was a little kid or something. Sure AJ would’ve liked some company while he walked, but this was fine. He needed to practice walking alone anyway. He made it halfway down the hall and turned back around toward the unit his room was on. He was turning the corner when he heard a familiar voice coming out of one of the patient’s rooms. Curious, he maneuvered himself so he was just outside the room without making himself visible.
“Dear Grandpa, I hope you get better soon because I like when you take me to the park,” Nick read aloud. He was in Mr. Davis’ room, AJ recognized. Everyone knew he was an easily irritable man who usually woke the patients up in the middle of the night with his confused blabber that lasted for at least an hour. There was never a consistent method of soothing him.
But somehow, this guy, this guy nurse tamed the beast before it got too bad. AJ continued to listen as Nick read from other drawings Mr. Davis’ grandchildren had left for him, as well as a note left by his wife. His voice was gentle and he was very patient with him when his patient repeated questions. And was that-yeah, he got Mr. Davis to laugh with a joke. Nick sat with him until he fell asleep, which wasn’t long after he started reading letters to him again.
As Nick left the room, he noticed AJ lingering outside the door. “Oh hey, how was your walk? Here let me help you back into your room.” Surprisingly, AJ allowed Nick to assist him back into his room and into bed. Maybe he wasn’t that bad after all.
Master Post | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
AJ sighed as he changed the channels on the TV, setting the remote on his stomach for a brief moment to adjust the pillow behind his head. He had caught up on his soaps earlier and was caught up on the daily news for the third-no fourth time, now. Thank God, because he wouldn’t have been able to sleep that night if he didn’t know the missing rare plant from the local university’s greenhouse had been found. He settled on a rerun of Friends and glanced at the clock on the wall. In just a few seconds-There was a knock on the open door. Like clockwork.
“How is my favorite patient doing on this fine Thursday evening?” the cheery female voice greeted as the petite figure it belonged to entered the room.
“Favorite? I bet you say that to all your patients,” he laughed, pushing himself higher on the bed.
“Of course I do. But you’re the only one I mean it with,” she winked, dangling a blood pressure cuff in her hand and pulling the machine it was connected to further into the room.
He raised his left arm for her to take. “How are you, Elaine?”
“I’m doing well.” She hooked a couple more things onto him. “Excited as always to be here for the next eight hours. Are you in any pain right now?”
“Not any more than the usual. Probably a 1 or 2. I don’t need any pain meds,” he returned, referring to the pain scale rating of 1-10, before she stuck a thermometer in his mouth.
The machine beeped, and Elaine recorded his temperature, heart rate, respirations, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation before freeing him of the probe in his mouth and cuff. “Everything looks good.”
“Great. So when do I get to leave this place?”
“I think you know the answer to that one,” she responded, lifting the blanket enough to examine the dressings on his left hip and legs, making sure they were still intact and not leaking.
AJ rolled his eyes. “When my wounds heal and I can successfully maneuver myself around to do my activities of daily living which include-“ he stopped when he caught Elaine staring. “You gotta give me credit for paying attention.”
“Oh, I do, believe me. Now if only we could get you to eat a little more. AJ, your weight’s been dropping for the last two weeks. Keep this up and you’ll never heal properly and you won’t get to go home.”
“Or maybe I just do it so I can stay here with you forever.” She raised an eyebrow at him, definitely far from amused, he could tell. He shrugged and turned his focus to the window. “I just haven’t had much of an appetite while being here. I try to eat, but it just…doesn’t work out for me.”
Elaine nodded sympathetically. “I know, I know.” She scribbled a couple things down on her clipboard. “Unfortunately you’re not my only patient tonight, but do you need anything before I go?”
He shook his head. “I’m fine. You’ll be back here soon enough anyway,” he said playfully, turning his head back to face her.
“You know how to call me if you need anything.” Elaine exited the room and left AJ to watch the sitcom in peace. He often thought of how lucky he had been to score a private room, especially during awkward times, such as the bed baths or when he tried to move around the room and the hospital gown didn’t cover enough of his backside. Not that there was much to see, his friends and exes could, and probably would, argue. Some nights he even got away with masturbating, though cleaning up was tricky. Kevin, his roommate, suggested he ask for an extra hand towel to keep nearby in case he “spilled when he was drinking water.” Just a little personal testimony from when he himself was hospitalized a few years ago after a snowboarding accident gone bad.
But there were other times when he thought of how he would enjoy the company of another patient in the room because even if he didn’t talk to or see him, sometimes just knowing someone else was there was all he needed. He’d always been this way; as a young child he had trouble sleeping when he was alone in his bedroom. He insisted his mother or grandmother, both if he was lucky, stayed with him until he fell asleep. High school was a little different. Being one of the more popular kids, he was always invited to the hottest parties when parents were out of town, always the one the girls wanted to be with and the guys wanted to be seen with. He never really made close friends with any of those people, but he found comfort in the large groups, he found safety in numbers. In his most recent relationships, he loved to be alone with the other person in a comfortable silence, just thinking, just being.
It’s not that the hospital staff ignored him. In fact, they’d been nothing but kind and generous. He made friends with his nurses: Pat-the middle-aged, soft-spoken woman who was often his day nurse-and Elaine-his usual new-grad, newlywed night nurse, the nurses who alternated as his evening nurse, the rest of the nurses that worked on the floor, CNAs, doctors, physical therapists, the kitchen and janitorial staffs, other patients. He was waited on hand and foot, his every need accommodated, including his nicotine addiction. While every health professional, including several members from the risk management team, that crossed his path discouraged the terrible habit, they always helped him into a wheelchair, handed him a cigarette or two with a lighter, and went outside of the hospital with him for a few minutes so he could smoke. It’s his only vice, he would tell them. At night, Elaine would sit and talk with him about anything until the prescribed sedative kicked in. AJ never asked her to, she just did. After all, she was the night nurse; she came on at 11pm, and all her other patients were old and passed out before he did.
He had nothing to complain about; he had it made. But sometimes…
The ringing phone snapped him out of his thoughts. He reached for it on the bedside table. “Hello?”
“Hi, Alex. How are you?” his mother’s voice greeted. He could feel her warmth radiating through the phone.
“Hey Mom, I’m doing all right. Just, you know, lying here.” He laughed softly. “What are you up to?”
“I was just calling to say goodnight in case I dozed off while channel surfing,” she chuckled a little. “I’ll stop by tomorrow for lunch.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then.” He wrapped the phone cord around his finger and added, “It’s good to hear from you.”
She smiled on her end of the line. “Rest up! I love you.”
“Love you too,” he said, ending their conversation. AJ set the phone down on the bed beside him and went back to his episode of Friends, only to have it end in two minutes. He turned the TV off and reached for his iPod and a small notebook from the table. He selected a playlist of calm instrumental music and started writing. He was never really the journal-keeping type. But being in the hospital limited what he could do so he took up writing. He made it a point to write every day. He usually wrote about what he did that day, if there were any significant events like when he stood up for the first time after the accident. Tonight he wrote about his random thoughts.
“Working on the next great American novel?” Elaine asked while knocking on the door and entering.
“Hardly,” AJ replied, finishing his last thought and closing the notebook with the pen inside. “Is time for the almighty sleeping pill already?” He nodded his head toward the medicine cup she held in her hand.
“Of course it is. Name please?” He stated his name while she took a look at his ID wristband. She handed him the pill and a cup of water, and he swallowed it with ease.
“So even though you’ve been taking care of me for weeks and you know I’m me, you still have to ask me my name and look at the ID band every time you give me medication?”
Elaine nodded and pulled up a chair up to the bedside. “It’s mainly for the patients’ safety. And it’s protocol so you can’t sue our asses and say we gave you the wrong meds.”
“Okay that makes sense,” he said with a laugh. “So how’s your day been? How’s the husband?”
“Day’s been good. Husband’s good. I got up just as he was coming home from work.”
He finished the rest of the water in the cup and tossed it into the trash beside his bed. “That’s rough, man. Waking up when your man’s coming home. You only get to see him for a couple hours, then you gotta go to work.”
“The life of the night nurse. It’s not bad once you get used to it. But after the honeymoon, I’m not doing this night shift business anymore. Time for some other unlucky new-grad to have their turn with not having a life,” she said, only half-jokingly. “How about you, how was your day?”
“Oh you know, the usual. Woke up, had some breakfast and meds, the CNA helped out with a bath, watched TV, rolled over, had some lunch, did a little physical therapy action, watched TV-please, stop me when I’ve exhausted you with my busy day.” She simply urged him to go on with a single hand gesture. “Kevin came to check up on me during dinner, but he wasn’t here too long. He was all dressed up because he had a hot date. He’s gotta be thrilled with all the alone time he’s getting at our place with me here. Hell I would be.”
“Hot date, huh? Is she his girlfriend?”
“Kristin? Yeah, I’m not sure. They’ve been going out on-and-off for a pretty long time so I never know when they’re a couple or just doing the casual sex thing.”
Elaine leaned forward in her seat. “What about you? Got anyone special?” she asked with a curious grin, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.
AJ laughed and shook his head. “If I did, you would’ve met them already.” He yawned widely and loudly. “Getting excited for the honeymoon? I can’t believe you waited so long after the wedding.”
“Oh come on, a couple months isn’t too bad. We’re still learning how to handle our finances together.”
“I understand that. But if it was me, I’d say let’s get married in city hall and spend all the money on the honeymoon.”
“Trust me, that was definitely an option.”
He yawned again. “I think your magic pill’s starting to kick in already.”
She stood up and moved the chair back to its previous spot. “I’ll leave you alone then. I’ll get the lights on my way out. Door closed too?” He nodded. “Sleep well.”
**
“Good morning, Mr. AJ,” the CNA for the day shift greeted bright and early in the morning. AJ mumbled a “good morning,” and attempted to stretch. He let her take his vitals. “Think you can get up on the scale today?”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I can try.”
“I’ll come back around with the scale.” She exited, leaving AJ alone with his thoughts. He looked to the window and smiled a little when he saw the sun shining. He immediately began looking forward to his cigarette break. He stared at the ceiling as he nervously waited to be weighed. No more than ten minutes passed when the CNA rolled the standing scale into the room. “Okay, let’s weigh you.”
She helped him out of bed and onto the scale. It was a slow process, but AJ was now holding onto the rails of the scale for support. They waited in silence until the scale beeped with a verdict. She sighed and read aloud, “67.7.”
The pounds to kilograms conversion was the only thing AJ hadn’t mastered yet. “How many pounds is that?” She reached over the scale to press a button and the display turned into a larger number: 149. “Oh.” Before the accident he normally weighed in the 165 neighborhood. The first week in the hospital he went down to 158. Just a few days ago he was barely pushing 154. Crap. “Crap,” he voiced.
**
After receiving report from the day shift nurses, Elaine went around to check up on her patients. “Hello, hello!” Elaine appeared from the behind the curtain that was slightly covering AJ’s bed.
“What are you doing here?” AJ groaned, having just woken up a couple minutes prior from a nap.
“I’m taking the evening shift today, remember?”
“Oh yeah. Today’s the big honeymoon day,” he recalled out loud.
“We leave tonight,” she stated excitedly, placing her clipboard and a small tray on the bedside table. “I’ve got a couple now orders from the doctor, a multivitamin and a diuretic. How do you want them?”
“Just put ‘em in that little cup like at night.” She did as such after asking for his name and checking his wristband, and he swallowed the two tablets followed by a mouthful of water.
“Expecting any visitors?”
“Kevin said he might stop by on his way to or from the gym.” Elaine lifted his sheets to check his legs. “My mom will probably stop by at some point too.”
She moved to the other side of the bed to examine the opposite leg. “I heard your weight’s still dropping.”
AJ let out a soft laugh. “Yeah, I don’t know what the hell’s going on. I’ve even started drinking those nutritional supplements. I like them. They’re like really thick milkshakes.”
“The Ensure?” He confirmed with a nod. “Wow, everyone hates those.”
“Hey, I’ll try everything once.”
“At least you’re putting something in that body. Are you letting anything out?"
“I peed a little today. No poop.” She made a couple notes on her clipboard. “You’re so not impressed, are you?”
“Not really, no. Lemme take a look at your stomach.” Elaine lifted his gown and inspected his stomach before putting her stethoscope to listen. For someone who wasn’t really eating, he had normal bowel sounds meaning his digestive system was still working. Just as she was about to cover him, she noticed a slight bulge over his pelvic area. She started to feel the area and he winced a little. “Does that hurt really badly?”
“Not badly, but it hurts.”
She bit her lip. “It looks like your bladder is a little distended. You probably have some urine that hasn’t come out yet. I’ll talk to your doctor about doing a bladder scan so we can see just how much urine’s in there, okay?” He nodded. “In the meantime though, don’t stay in the same position in bed, have something to drink, the hospitality cart will be around soon if you want a snack. Call if you need anything.” He nodded again and she gave him a smile before leaving his room. Once she was gone, he let out a big sigh. Another thing wrong with him, just what he needed.
**
Nick fastened the combination lock on his locker after securing his backpack and jacket. He glanced in the mirror of the staff room, straightened his attire, and exited. He flashed a smile to a couple patients and family members on his way to the nurses’ station. “I’m here!” he announced cheerfully.
A few of the nurses looked at him and just shook their heads with fake annoyance as they returned to their paperwork. Nick loved being the one of the few male nurses on a unit, if not the only one. He was always joking around with the doctors about their last golfing excursion, or he was being babied and teased by the older female nurses when they weren’t asking him to reach for gauze at the top shelf of the supply closet. Physical therapists loved him back because he had enough muscle power to aid in lifting or transporting patients.
“Who’s my lucky charge nurse tonight?” he asked, grinning and tapping his fingers on the counter.
“That would be me.” A short middle-aged, questionably natural blonde woman with her eyeglasses resting atop her head whizzed by, skillfully balancing a couple binders and folders full of patient charts and information in her arms. Nick quickly followed behind her and took the heavier binders from her. “Lemme help you with those, Bea.”
“Thank you, Nick.” She put the folders on another counter and turned to him with a piece of paper in her hand. She put her glasses on and read aloud: “Okay you’ve got rooms 655 to 658.”
“They’re all single rooms, yeah?” Nick put the binders in their proper places. “Yes. The patient printouts should be coming out soon.”
Bea scurried off to do something else, and Nick took it upon himself to tidy up the workplace. He donned a pair of gloves and grabbed a couple of antimicrobial wipes to clean off the counters, phones, and computer keyboards. He arranged loose sheets of paper into neat piles, put the stapler back in its rightful place, and wheeled swivel chairs back underneath the desks. A few nurses looked up from their paperwork and smiled approvingly. It’s not that he was anal or had a mild case of OCD (he got that one a lot); he just wanted everyone to have good, clean, germ-free fun. It’s a hospital, after all.
Nick retrieved his set of patient printouts which included the basic information about each patient: diagnosis, nursing orders, type of diet, medication schedule, labs to be drawn, etc. He got report on three patients from their respective nurses, now he was waiting on Elaine to tell him about a Mr. McLean in room 657.
“Miss Elaine!” Nick caught her attention as she almost completely walked by him. She raised her eyebrows questioningly. “Would you mind giving me report on 657?”
“Oh! Of course.” She shuffled through her self-made booklet of patient printouts. “Do you know Mr. McLean at all?” Nick shook his head and uncapped his pen. “All right, he prefers to be called AJ or Alex. He’s a 30-year old male, came to the unit post-op two weeks ago. Today is day #16 post-op. Alert and oriented times three.” She stopped and lowered her voice. “He was in a terrible motorcycle accident. An SUV ran a red light at about 45 miles an hour, T-boned him on his right side, he fell onto his left, was pushed along the asphalt about 20 feet while the car skidded to a stop. He had right hip surgery, those staples are intact, as is the dressing over it. He was wearing shorts so crazy road rash took the skin off the left lower leg and he’s got a dressing over that. There’s bruising up and down both legs, some on his arms but you can’t really see those because he’s got almost full-on tattoo sleeves.”
Wide-eyed, Nick jotted down some notes. “Was he wearing a helmet? How are the wounds?”
“Yes, thank God he was.” She checked her watch. “Just changed the dressing at 4pm. There’s not much progress, unfortunately. He has a really poor appetite so healing is going … slowly. He only eats 10-20% of his meals, if that. His fluid intake and output are low too, voiding per urinal when he can. Last bowel movement was two days ago. I noticed a bit of a distended bladder. His doctor has been notified, and we’ll keep monitoring that. The last post void residual was 100cc, but if it gets any higher, we’re probably gonna have to put in a catheter.”
Nick scribbled a couple more things down. “Can he walk at all?”
“With physical therapy twice a day. He needs to be pre-medicated for that. Sometimes we can get him up with the walker to walk around the hall with a CNA, if it’s not too painful for him. He tries to ambulate around the room with the walker.” Elaine scanned her sheet of paper, only to look back up suddenly. “Oh yeah! He’s been a smoker for about 10 years. Every couple hours during the day, and maybe just once during the night, we take him out to smoke.”
He stopped writing and raised a single eyebrow at her. “Are you kidding me?” She shook her head. “You know how the nicotine works, Nick.” He simply flipped his page. “So wounds, poor appetite, low intake and output, smoker, what else do I need to know?”
“His vital signs are stable, heart’s good, lungs are good, peripheral pulses are present, no edema, IV #20 gauge in his left forearm, takes meds well. He’s really an easy-going and pleasant guy. He knows how the hospital works. His visitors usually come in the daytime, though his roommate-what’s his name-Kevin, yes. He’s been known to stop by just before visiting hours are over.” She paused so Nick could catch up with his notes. “He has trouble sleeping, so sometimes I go into his room just to chat when my other patients have gone to bed. I don’t know if that’s something you’d wanna do,” she added.
A small laugh escaped from Nick’s mouth. “Let’s think about this, Elaine. He’s a 30-year old guy, you just turned, what? 25? I calculate about an iceberg’s chance in hell he’s gonna want me to sit with him.”
“Don’t be so sure about that. You’d be lonely if you were in his place.” Nick straightened out his stack of papers and set his pen on top of them so he could put an arm around his colleague’s shoulders to change the subject. “Have fun on your honeymoon! Take lots of pictures, and come back pregnant!” She responded by swatting him in the chest with her papers and laughing. “Take care of AJ, Nick. He’s a good guy.”
“He’ll be eating and peeing when you get back,” he assured. “Hell, he won’t even be here when you get back.” Elaine left him at the table to finish his notes and prioritizing his plan for patient care. After going over significant points with his trusty green highlighter, he folded his set of papers and stuck them in his back pocket. He socialized with the other nurses and doctors that loitered during the change of shift for a few minutes before telling himself it was time to get down to business. He washed and dried his hands thoroughly and started his routine of meeting patients briefly. Old Mr. Davis in 655 was already passed out. Mrs. Smith in 656 requested some apple juice, and since the kitchen was just across from 658, Nick went in briefly to check on Mr. Kang who was chatting with his wife and son. He delivered the apple juice to Mrs. Smith and was on his final stop of the meeting tour.
He dispensed some of the Purell, the antibacterial hand gel, that was outside every patient’s room into his hand and knocked on “AJ”’s open door. “Hey how’s it go-“ he paused upon noticing Elaine speaking with the patient. “Oh I’m sorry,” he immediately apologized and started backing out of the room. “I’ll come back in a sec.”
“No, it’s okay. Come on in, I was just saying bye to AJ,” she called after him. Nick walked back in slowly and stood halfway between the doorway and the bedside, still giving them their space. She motioned Nick to come closer. “Nick, this is AJ. AJ, Nick is one of the best nurses I’ve had the pleasure of working with. I told you I’m leaving you in good hands.”
“Nice to meet you.” Nick extended his hand to a weak, tattooed hand which shook it lightly. AJ eyed him suspiciously since he first appeared in the doorway. He was tall with blue eyes and blonde hair that seemed to spike out every direction it chose, but what caught his attention most was that he had never seen him before. He had been there for a bit over two weeks so he figured he knew every doctor, nurse, and staff member. Just when he thought he had the system figured out, this guy walks in wearing his blue scrubs and his stethoscope around his neck and-wait, did Elaine really refer to him as a nurse? AJ looked at the ID clipped to the pocket of his shirt. Nick Carter, RN, BSN. Definitely a nurse. Even got his Bachelor’s in Nursing. Nick cleared his throat. “I was just coming in to say hi, introduce myself, see how you’re doing, if you need anything.”
“Actually, I’m good right now. Um, I’ll call if something comes up?” he spoke slowly.
“All right. Um, well I’ll be back in a couple minutes to take your vitals.” Nick quickly, but calmly exited the room. He wasn’t an idiot; he felt the dynamic in the room change the second he walked in the room. It’s not like it was the first time it happened. He made a mental note to return to him last so he could address any anxiety AJ might have. Maybe.
Nick took vital signs and performed his beginning of shift assessments on his other patients. He stood against a counter in the nurse’s station making notes in a patient’s chart but was interrupted when Elaine touched his shoulder from behind. “Shouldn’t you be on a plane to Hawaii soon?” Nick asked without looking up.
“Oh I’m on my way out. I just wanted to tell you that AJ was just a little caught off-guard because he’s never seen you before.”
Nick put his pen down and looked up at her. “I got it under control, missy. I’m on my way into his room right now.”
“I just wanted you to know. I’ll see you in a couple weeks!” She squeezed his shoulder before she slipped into her jacket and left the unit. Nick checked a few more boxes on the sheet of paper in front of him before he closed the binder and put it back in its rightful place. He took a deep breath as he rubbed more Purell on his hands and walked into AJ’s room.
“How are you feeling tonight, uh, Alex? AJ?” Nick wheeled the vitals machine closer to him.
“AJ. And I’m doing okay, no pain for once,” he replied, still a little hesitant toward his new night nurse.
“Always good to hear.” Nick attached the blood pressure cuff to his arm, pulse oximetry on his finger, and thermometer in his mouth. He recorded the final results and relieved him of the machine.
“So are you new on the unit?”
Nick put his stethoscope in place to listen to AJ’s heart. “Nah, I just took a couple weeks off for vacation because apparently I was working too much. At least that’s what everyone said.” He shrugged and moved the stethoscope lower to the stomach. “What can I say? I love what I do.”
AJ shifted uncomfortably, trying to keep his lower half covered with the blankets while his hospital gown was lifted so another man could feel his stomach. Nick could hear a distant increase in his heart rate through his stethoscope. He replaced AJ’s gown and removed the device from his ears. “Are you feeling okay?” AJ cleared his throat as he fixed the gown underneath the blanket. “Yeah, I’m fine. You know, I’m actually kind of tired so you can hold the sleeping pill tonight.”
“Okay I’ll do that. Do you have any concerns that I can address before I leave?”
“No, I’m fine.” His response was awfully quick.
The nurse nodded. “I’ll be in and out during the night to check up on you.”
“Would you mind closing the door too?”
“Good night, AJ,” Nick said before granting his request.
**
“Dude, I don’t think you’re getting it. He’s a dude. He’s a nurse,” AJ complained, taking a sip of his Ensure.
Kevin shrugged. “So what? There’s tons of murses around here.” He snickered lightly at his joke. Murses.
“Okay yeah, but the murses I’ve met are all older and not my age.”
“He’s really your age?” he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“Probably younger, but there’s no way this kid’s older than me.”
“Yeah man. I don’t get why you’re freaking out. As long as he’s qualified for the job,” Kevin paused. “He is qualified, right?” AJ nodded and took another sip. “Well then it shouldn’t matter. Plus he’s the night nurse so how often do you have to see him anyway?”
“Night nurses come in pretty often. They gotta make sure the patients are breathing. And I don’t know, Kev. It just seems weird for some dude to be checking up on me, asking me if I’ve peed or taken a crap, checking every inch of my body, touching me in some awkward places.”
“You’re overreacting. Shut up, and drink your Ensure, old man.”
AJ flipped him the bird as he drank some more of his beverage. “So how’s your girlfriend? Not-girlfriend, whatever.”
**
That night Nick was AJ’s nurse again. After Nick performed his usual assessment, AJ requested that he be left alone again. Hours passed and he was still awake, staring at the ceiling in the dark. He wrote in his journal, listened to his iPod, watched infomercials on TV, but nothing helped. He decided that he needed to get up and walk down the hall in hopes of tiring his body so he could sleep. He switched on the light and looked for the call button. He also decided it would be the polite thing to ask his nurse if it was okay for him to go for a walk.
There was a knock on the door before it opened. “What can I help you with?” Nick asked.
“I can’t sleep and I was wondering if it was cool if I just walked up and down the hall a couple times. Make myself tired, you know?”
“Yeah that’s no problem at all. But you do have an order for a pill if you’d rather have that.”
AJ shook his head. “Not tonight.”
Nick helped AJ up out of bed and to his walker. “Do you need me or someone else to walk with you?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
Nick followed AJ out of the room. “Don’t overexert yourself. Take a break if you need to, and if you need help getting back into bed, just call.”
AJ forced a smile and went on his way. He was still uncomfortable with another man so close in his age telling him what to do, like he was a little kid or something. Sure AJ would’ve liked some company while he walked, but this was fine. He needed to practice walking alone anyway. He made it halfway down the hall and turned back around toward the unit his room was on. He was turning the corner when he heard a familiar voice coming out of one of the patient’s rooms. Curious, he maneuvered himself so he was just outside the room without making himself visible.
“Dear Grandpa, I hope you get better soon because I like when you take me to the park,” Nick read aloud. He was in Mr. Davis’ room, AJ recognized. Everyone knew he was an easily irritable man who usually woke the patients up in the middle of the night with his confused blabber that lasted for at least an hour. There was never a consistent method of soothing him.
But somehow, this guy, this guy nurse tamed the beast before it got too bad. AJ continued to listen as Nick read from other drawings Mr. Davis’ grandchildren had left for him, as well as a note left by his wife. His voice was gentle and he was very patient with him when his patient repeated questions. And was that-yeah, he got Mr. Davis to laugh with a joke. Nick sat with him until he fell asleep, which wasn’t long after he started reading letters to him again.
As Nick left the room, he noticed AJ lingering outside the door. “Oh hey, how was your walk? Here let me help you back into your room.” Surprisingly, AJ allowed Nick to assist him back into his room and into bed. Maybe he wasn’t that bad after all.
Master Post | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5