Halo Cast - Part 1

[Mary Beth Sanford]

Halo Cast



There is an image posted in the gallery for this story.



There was a mild dislocation and bruising at the mid point of Josh's cervical spine, a fractured left forearm, broken right forearm, sprained right knee and left ankle, including multiple bruises and an ego damaged beyond repair.  Witnesses, watching when Josh was hit by that large sedan, would swear he died on impact.  



Only he hadn't.  The impact had knocked him unconscious allowing his body to relax before impact and the bushes lining the parkway acted as cushions.  A very lucky young man the doctor told Abby shortly after she arrived.  Abby had grown very fond of her young freshman boarder and she had every intention of nursing him back to health.



What triggered another set of feelings, albeit some very odd feelings, was seeing her young man laying there already helpless and in diapers.  There was some bruising around Josh's genitals and a little swelling that made it necessary for disposables rather than a catheter.



Abby, a skilled nurse for almost three decades, had looked on with a practiced eye but she couldn't get the image of Josh in that thick white diaper out of her mind.  Something about the puffy diaper left her breathless.  Diapers she mused when she finally left the hospital that night.



Abby was beside herself as she pulled into the hospital supply store.  Six weeks minimum, eight would be even better the doctor had said and that was just for the cast on his arms.  His halo cast longer by four maybe six weeks beyond that.



Josh was being fitted with a very uncomfortable mechanical cast called a Halo by the nurse installing it, while two others fashioned plaster of Paris cast for each arm.  They also braced his knee and ankle, dressed a small contusion at the back of his leg and gave him something for the pain.



Meanwhile, Abby, watching with a skilled nurse's eye nodded in satisfaction as the halo cast was installed.  Abby unknowingly whispered the motto for nurses she learned right at the beginning of college, "mitera panta gia panta" or literally  "mother, always and forever".  



The Halo or a more modern version was an odd looking device but it kept the back and neck from moving separately and for now that was crucial if Josh was to recover.  The halo was more or less a cast of plastic, lined in sheep skin that was fitted to the shoulders and around the chest to which metal bars are added.  Those metal bars extend above the head to hold a metal halo that is held against the head by pins in the old days but now by a set of rigid straps.



Abby as Josh was being fitted that evening got his sizes from the nurse and would stop at the hospital supply that following day.  Caring for someone completely helpless required a number of things, Abby mused as she pushed the large glass door of the medical supply open.



She would need waterless soap, baby wipes and baby powder then a suction dinner plate not too unlike what a baby uses.  For eating Josh would also need a plastic coated spoon, a double handled mug and a special wrist pocket to hold that spoon.  That wrist pocket holds a spoon when you've lost the use of your fingers as Josh had.



Abby also would need a plastic cover for the guest bed mattress, an Alert Pad Monitor and a Baby Cry Signaler Kit.  Moreover, Abby noted happily and to her the absolute best part, Josh was about to become functionally incontinent. With his halo attached his mobility would be limited so he was going to need diapers.



Real Diapers, Abby mused, as she walked the isle of disposables and cloth.  No disposables for her baby, she noted to herself, as she walked towards the cloth section. Aby ran her hand over the cloth diaper she had picked deciding she would need at least five per day for at least eight weeks.  If she washed weekly that 35 five diapers and at least 10 pair of plastic snap-on panties.



She could have used a diaper service, the supply store had one, but Abby decided against that.  She was sure that by the time Josh no longer needed his diapers, he'd still wear them for her.  She smiled as she loaded her shopping cart.  The changing table would be delivered and set up late that afternoon the sales woman promised.



Josh was in and out of it for the next three days but awake on the forth when Abby made her visit.  An attorney for the well to do woman that had hit Josh promised everything would be taken care of and that included whatever Abby needed.  There would be some kind of settlement down the road but for now his bills were being paid.



"Abby,"  Josh said as she put the glass of ice water down.



"What honey,"  Abby said wiping his lips with a tissue.



"Doctor says I've got to wear these stupid diapers for awhile, because of the injuries to my groin.  You sure you want to go through this knowing that,"  Josh said sadly.  He could have a full time nurse in-house, the attorney had noted.



"Stop!  Of course I will take care of you.  I've taken care of a lot worse so I don't want to hear another word out of you about anything.  Oh, and I've talked with the counselor at school and they are going to arrange for your classes over the Internet,"  Abby said deflecting Josh's attention.



Everything was ready for Josh when it came time to release him.  Abby's spare room, the one between Josh's room and Abby's was ready for him when the doctor came in to sign his release.  It was hard going from the bed to the wheel chair, but with Rose's help he managed.  The nurse had changed him right before he left.



Abby drove as if she had a baby on board and in her eyes she did as she eased into traffic.  Josh sat in back cushioned with pillows in the center of Rose's back seat using seat belt entendres.  She would change him first thing, she decided, more to get him use to wearing his cloth diapers and baby pants.  Abby almost hummed on the drive home.



"Wow, what's all this," Josh asked walking painfully into the spare room Abby had ready.



"Your room till you can manage to get about on your own,"  Abby said helping Josh to the changing table first. It had been set up so Josh could sit without having to climb on the flat surface.  With his halo in place he wouldn't be able to lay down flat yet but Abby had thought of that.



"What's that,"  Josh asked knowing full well what he was walking towards.



"I want to give you a sponge bath and get you changed before I start your lunch," Abby said making it sound matter of fact.



"That's a cloth diaper,"  Josh said.



"It is.  I hate those disposables.  Don't like the chemicals they use in them or the fact they don't degrade in a land fill.  Now turn around slowly and I'll get you out of the one you are wearing,"  Abby said using her best command voice.  Being a nurse had taught her a great deal about handling patients when they didn't want to be handled.



"You're going to have to wash those.  A lot of those,"  Josh said remembering he went through almost five diapers a day at the hospital.



"You let me worry about that and don't move,"  Abby said bending down to untapped the disposable Josh was wearing.  It wasn't soaked yet, just damp but that didn't matter as Abby eased it from beneath and between Josh's legs.  Josh stood there red faced as Abby tugged at a large baby wipe.  She was very careful using it.



"Still a little sore," Josh said wincing a little.



"I know honey, I know,"  Abby said as she tugged another and began wiping Josh between his thighs then around his bottom. When that was done she reached for the baby powder and a large soft puffy pad to dab him with. She was careful around his genitals before she patted his bottom and inside thighs.



The diaper, super soft and twice the thickness of the ones for day use fit Josh perfectly after Abby covered Josh in baby powder.  Abby had decided to use the thicker nighttime diapers full time.  The thicker the better she'd decided and at night she would add a soaker.  



Josh's baby pants snapped on easily. Abby took more time to fuss with both his diaper and those snap-on plastic pants before she was done.  Josh wasn't sure how he felt about what had just happened but he did like the feel of the cloth over those disposable.  He wouldn't admit that obviously but he thought it.



Josh, with Abby's help, limped to the bed she rented.  She had cranked up the back so Josh would be sitting up rather than laying back.  He would have to sleep in that position for some time to come as Abby gently eased his legs onto the bed.  She turned the television on, found something he liked, before going off to fix him lunch.



Abby moved about the kitchen happier than she had been in a long time.  Josh had taken to his first diaper easily and she was sure that by the time she was done they would be permanent.  The rest of it would come over time, she mused, as she filled the baby bottle with juice.



"I've made the hole in the nipple a little larger so you can drink from it easier," Abby said when she came in with Josh's tray.



That was the first thing he noticed.  With Abby moving about the house she might not be nearby for him to drink and with his cast on both arms a baby's bottle made perfectly good sense.  Again she used her best nurse's voice to overcome Josh's objections.  



She fed Josh his grilled cheese sandwich and vegetable soup before she removed the adult size plastic bib.  It was white and void of decorations but it was still a bib and Abby delighted in the look as she dabbed his mouth after each spoon of soup.  



Abby changed Josh's diaper again before leaving the tray with his baby bottle sitting on it.  This time she used the method she'd learned for changing someone that can't get out of bed easing Josh over one way then the other.  She used two more wipes and far too much baby powder, happily.



Josh fell asleep not too long after that and Abby introduced him to his new baby blanket.  It was white, soft and edged in a pastel yellow satin.  Twice as large as what a baby might have but not as big as a normal blanket and adorable.  Truth was it was too cute to pass up when Abby had gone to the baby store for his bottles.

[Mary Beth Sanford]

Josh woke after a while and thirsty. He eyed the offensive baby bottle wearily before clasping it with both hands to tilt it up to drink.  As bad as it was using a baby's bottle, it worked as Josh nursed a third of the cool juice from it.  He'd never seen the blanket that covered him as he managed to turn the TV back on.

Rose, hearing Josh stir, switched her TV from the soap she was watching to the nanny cam she'd added in Josh's room and watched happily as her baby nursed his bottle. 

"That's it precious, nurse your bottle for mommy,"  Rose whispered as she watched with delighted satisfaction.  She switched the TV back to her soap, it wasn't her favorite, and eased up.  Josh needed to be changed, she mused, and it didn't matter if that was true on not.

It didn't matter to Josh suddenly as Abby came in because he began wetting slowly, carefully just in case.  She also replaced this nearly empty baby bottle with another that she had been chilling in the refrigerator as she readied another diaper.  In a small glass his medication as she moved the wheeled serving tray out of the way.

"I hate to say this, but I could get use to this,"  Josh said as Abby wiped him clean over the disposable changing pad.

"Oh, don't say you hate saying it because, truth be known, so could I,"  Abby said as she gently eased the wipe around his genitals.

Josh meant it as a joke although that wasn't exactly true as Abby eased him over far enough to set  his fresh diaper in place.  Abby was very serious as she closed the diaper around her baby before snapping the plastic panties closed.

Josh switched his TV to something else before he used both hands to nurse from his chilled bottle.  The juice tasted good but he wasn't drinking from that bottle for the sake of his thirst as he closed his eyes.  He wondered what it might be like being babied without the cast and his halo as the juice tricked down his throat.

"What's that,"  Josh asked as Abby came in an hour or so later. 

She had been cleaning when she noticed the chill.  She had fashioned the bed jacket from a white quilted fabric used for robes although mostly for girls.  It was fashioned from a pattern she'd had for years since she loved reading in bed.

"It will keep your shoulders warm till you can wear a shirt again,"  Abby said easing it around Josh's shoulders before tying it closed with a white ribbon. 

It was, to Abby, as close to a baby's top as she dared for now. Josh, somewhere in the deeper reaches of his thoughts imagined it as a baby's top after Abby tied a bow into the ribbon.  It was warm and the silky nylon lining felt nice against his skin.  A bit too girlish for his taste he decided then smiled mischievously. 

Josh couldn't say exactly when it happened although he knew it was near the beginning of yesterday.  He would admit, at least to himself that it had happened and of that there was no doubt.  Problem wasn't knowing what he knew, but in finding a way to understand it. 

Truth was he was being treated like a baby and, while he would only admit that to himself, he loved it.  Fortunately Abby felt the same way over her own role, promising happily that when Josh lost his halo, he'd still be her little angle.  They were approaching the center of this from two different directions.

Josh's school work took a while to get caught up on but after six weeks he could type again and while his arms still ached a little, it was good therapy.  Abby hated the thought of Josh getting the use of his hands back but was delighted to discover that Josh didn't mind his new adult size sippy cup.

Josh's back ached something fierce that first day but his medication helped and more importantly he was free of that halo once and for all.  It as almost three months since it went on and that said it all.  Three months of diapers as well and he was still wearing them when Abby helped him sit at the table for the first time.

Those diapers would soon end if it was anyone else but Abby and Josh and neither spoke of it as Abby sat Josh's plate down in front of him.  He would still not be allowed to do much at least not until his back grew stronger and Abby would make sure he would do his exercises.

"Josh," Abby said as she cut his meat.  He most likely could have done it himself but by this time he was use to her caring for him.

"What," Josh said.

"I'm thinking, at least until you can touch your toes again, that you stay in your diapers and plastic pants.  I'm worried about you bending too much till you're able,"  Abby said with her fingers crossed figuratively.

"Abby," Josh said softly as she finished cutting his meat.

"What hon,"  Abby said sensing his tone.

"Would it sound odd if I said I'd like that,"  Josh said blushing crimson.

"Only if it sounds odd me saying I'd love it,"  Abby said touching a finger to his cheek.

"It doesn't," Josh said bending his neck slightly to press his cheek against the finger still stroking him.

"Then that's the last we need to speak of it.  I'll give you your bath and change you right after dinner,"  Abby said moving off to sit at her place.

Josh's smile matched hers as he began to eat.  He was trying to find a way to mention the other stuff as well. 

"Can we add back a couple of things?  I miss them terribly,"  Abby said as she got up and moved to the counter.  Josh watched as she opened the cabinet and took out the sippy cup and the two baby bottles he'd used when his arms were in cast.

"Yes," Josh said as Abby moved to the refrigerator while opening the sippy cup.  Josh watched and added, "I sort of miss those as well."

It was the last time they said anything about Josh's baby things and dinner was mostly silent.  Josh drank from his sippy cup then happily took the baby bottle Abby filled when dinner had ended.

Abby cranked down the bed so it was flat and replaced the changing pad with a new one before guiding Josh to lay over it.  This time, for the first time in a lot of weeks, Josh was laying flat.  It felt wonderful as he tilted the baby bottle to his lips.

Abby unsnapped his baby pants and tugged his wet diaper open before easing them out from beneath him.  Josh eased himself up a little happily and with only a slight winch did so again for his diaper. 

Abby used three baby wipes and a lot of time to clean him before she rubbed the baby oil over his skin.  Josh meanwhile nursed noting as he did so that the nipples had to be pressed more to get the juice out.  Obviously, to Josh's great pleasure, Abby had changed them at some point.

Abby rubbed Josh with baby powder before pulling his diaper between his legs.  She closed it as she had done countless times before this then went for another pair of baby pants.  Josh was surprised to discover that the pair she held and was gathering didn't snap on.

Abby was thrilled when Josh, still nursing his bottle, lifted his feet so Abby could ease him into his baby panties.  Josh rose one last time so Abby could set them in place and with that done sat beside him after bringing the waterless soap wipes to his bedside. 

Abby was looking forward to his first real baby bath and finally using all of those things she had purchased. Baby bath bubbles, baby shampoo and baby lotion.  Josh had gotten use to the smell discover only after a few weeks in diapers that they were being washed in a baby powder smelling soap.

"This one has arms,"  Abby said easing Josh into what he thought was the bed jacket he'd been wearing.  While it looked the same it wasn't as Abby helped Josh into it. 

This one did have arms and wasn't just a wrap like the last.  He didn't need it, but he didn't object either and it was the last step Abby needed to verify Josh's willingness to be her baby.

Josh too didn't need any more proof that what had been evolving would continue as he turned to have the ribbon at the neck tied closed.  Of course he had no inkling that the bed jacket Abby was working on next would go over his head and close at the back. 

Not a baby dress per se, Abby mused happily, just something slightly so.  Just something a little more feminine to get Josh use to wearing such things.


The End
Hugs
Mary Beth