Copyright 2013 TG STONE
Sometimes in life, everything comes to a sudden halt, and all your choices are taken away. You don't plan it, something just comes along and puts you on your back. In Josh's case, that meant literally.
He stared up at the ceiling of his private room. His friends had visited him today, and stuck a big poster of a gleaming black motorbike up there, 'To give him something decent to look at.' Oh, and a hot blonde babe was draped over the bike too. He kinda guessed which nurse may well frown at its presence, and it might 'Accidentally' fall down in the night, never to be seen again.
At least now he knew it was coming up to night. Thanks to a slight infection in one of his many operation lesions, he was in a room on his own...with a window. He could see it was getting dark out there now; the constant electric light of the main ward wasn't screwing his timescale up anymore. Time is pretty meaningless in hospital - days yawn out identically, only punctuated by the routines. Same meal times, same drugs rounds, same cocky doctors dropping by for 2 minutes tops. Josh had been on his back in hospital so long, that before his fortunate move into here he didn't even know what the season was doing; whether it was sunny, or cold, or what time darkness really fell.
He'd started this hiatus in the middle of August, this putting his life into deep freeze. It was October now. He and a buddy were out on their bikes in the countryside, sweeping through the lush scenery. He was on his 1000cc Honda, his friend was out on his new Triumph. Josh was leading, aware he was on roads he had never ridden, so taking it pretty easy. A bend came up, and he leaned into it, eyes glued to where the turn would exit - that way you didn't even have to think about steering it. Half way round, the bend sharpened up meanly.....just to be safe Josh scrubbed off some speed by pressing on the back brake. Mistake. That set the Honda up straight, and on right into the front of the van coming round the other way.
His friend behind had to watch all this. He almost set his new bike on it's nose in stopping, and ran over to Josh lying in the road. Josh was wearing all the right stuff; full-face helmet, leather racing suit with body armour, Kevlar boots....but he wasn't moving. His friend got his phone out of his inner jacket pocket and tapped the emergency services number fast, trying to make sense to them. Then Josh moved his arm, and as his head cleared more, he started to try and get up. His friend held him down, screaming at him 'You might have broke your fucking neck dickhead, lie down still!!'
Ambulance, eventually police. Road closed to investigate the crash. Josh's expensive racing suit was cut off him by the paramedics. Flashing blue lights, phoning ahead to intensive care. Josh wasn't critical....but his body was clearly fucked up.
Quick run down of what was wrong – fractured C7 bone in his neck, dislocated right elbow, broken right forearm, 'open book' break of his pelvis, extensive knee damage including a bust cruciate ligament in both legs.
This basically adds up to a long stay in hospital. Josh was about as capable as a new born.
There was a knock at his door, and in came Lucy. Josh relaxed, and thought 'Ohh, thank god it's her tonight.' Smiling Lucy, a complete change to that sour dominatrix who'd sadly been on his night time watch for the last 3 days. Y'see, nurses are around 24/7, but you don't get the same one at the same time every day. It's shifts, they gotta vary the patterns to give people a break. And Lucy was back...at least he could have some fun with her, and no stern face or tedious lectures.
'Ok biker boy, let's check you over....caused yourself anymore dumb time-wasting accidents?' Lucy's bedside manner was tuned to each patient, and she knew that Josh - with his tattoos and stubble - didn't want to be babied.
Josh sighed. 'It was god's will Lucy, you know that. Otherwise, I wouldn't have met you, and you'd be sentenced to a life of only knowing shit men.'
'Ha! Tell that to my Dad, he'd kick your ass....which admittedly at the moment, would be pretty easy.' She walked up to the bed. 'My cat could kick your ass right now biker boy. How's the pain?'
Josh realised she had business to attend to. He'd not been good after they repaired his pelvis last week. He now had some more shiny titanium inside him, and he'd had to spend longer on morphine after that operation.
'It's better. It doesn't feel like someone's twisting a sword inside me today.'
'Good. You want the super strength pills, or just strong?'
'Strong,' he murmured, 'I kinda like being able to.....well, you know'
'Have A Movement!' she exclaimed. 'That's the medical term Josh, and us nurses think every guy that comes in here is just so damn hilarious. Football injury or crushed by a construction crane, at first we'll give you every painkilling drug we have available....and you're like kids, scooping up handfuls. Then 4 days later, you're crying like babies because you can't shit, yeah?'
As you can work out, Lucy really did tune her approach to each patient.
'Fair enough, you live and learn Lucy. It's just it was the first time I'd been offered free drugs, y'know.' They both laughed at that. 'So only the normal strong please....and can I get a sleeping pill? I just end up looking out the window all night now, wondering what's happening out there....'
Lucy picked up his notes and flicked through until she got to a detailed bit. 'Okay, that won't mess with any of your medicines. You sure Josh, they're pretty powerful?'
'Yeah....I wanna sleep Luce.'
She smiled. 'That's Miss Luce to you, biker boy.'
She stared down at him for a second, then picked up his control unit and dimmed the lights. 'You want to know the latest on what's going on out there? Your sister called earlier, and she's running your business as best she can, not doing too bad by the sound of it. She doesn't understand your accounts system, so you have lots of paperwork waiting for you. Your dog is with your mum; your Alsatian is in love with her Labrador it seems. It's all ok.'
Josh blew out his cheeks, exhaling for a long time. 'Zeus. Damn, I really miss him Lucy.'
She let a beat go. 'Er, that name for a dog. I know he's probably a big scary animal, but 'King of the Gods?' Come on boy, that's just a little too masculine. I always wanted to call a dog 'Woof,' cos then when they bark, you'd call their name! And people would get a bit confused......y'know?' Lucy grinned at him.
Josh chortled, and looked up into her pony-tailed face. 'You have a great take on the world Lucy....but Zeus is not scary at all. He'd probably lick a burglar's hand, then show them where all the good stuff was.'
Smiling, Lucy padded out to the locked drug trolley. After some key rattling and assorted admin sounds, she returned with his cup of pills. '3 Codeine and a knock out tab hun, you want some juice with that?'
'You got any 30 year old Scotch?'
'Yeah!' she snorted. 'But that's for when I get out of here. Sorry but you sad saps just get orange and mango.' She poured him a drink from the supplies on his bedside cabinet. 'Take the pills and sip up, I gotta record that you swallowed, not me.' Josh grinned wide and looked up into her eyes. 'Don't go there mister, grow up,' she chided, and lightly slapped his wrist. Nodding upwards she said 'Oh and Carmen The Barbarian is on at 5 am, so your lady up there on the bike may not make it through, sorry. You ok for a while, and I'll look in later?'
'Sure......thank you Lucy. Glad you're back. None of the other sour-faces like to talk much.' With his good arm, he threw the pills down his throat, and chased them with some juice.
'No problem hun, have a good night.' She started to leave, then Josh offered up 'Hey Miss Luce, do you wanna see my pelvis staples?'
She stopped and turned, silhouetted in the light from the hall. 'You know when you come back from an operation in a gown? But you wake up in your jogging shorts? I've already seen every inch of you Josh....Night.'
Slowly he drifted off, smiling.
If you prioritize, the main issue now was his legs. To go home, which is the only thing that kept Josh going, he needed to be mobile.
Josh had done such a good job wrecking his knees, that each of his legs were in 2 half casts; thigh to above the knee, and below the knee to his ankle. A pair of tough plastic struts joined the top cast to the bottom, designed to allow the knee to bend, but never be anything other than straight in line. Combined with the pelvis repair, his body hadn't been able to raise and take weight for a long while.
He slept right through til Carmen woke him, clattering and banging draws. She frowned a 'Good Morning' at him. He looked up at a bare ceiling.
The day dragged out, but eventually the sun dipped away, and Lucy knocked again. 'Hey gorgeous, how you doing? I got you normal strength again plus a sleeper, your usual.'
'A lot better now you're here Lucy.'
'Oh hush, you know I'm spoken for.' She hustled in.
