Chapter 32
We work together tugging and pulling to remove his pants while leaving him decent, clad in just his boxers. I make my way to the young man’s head. I wrap my arm around his chest as I start to speak near his ear.
“I want you to try. I don’t want to cath you unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Can you.... help me.... sit up?”
“Absolutely. If that’s what you think will help.”
“Has Dr. Carter ever tried to change your position when he’s trying to get you to relieve yourself?”
I watch Cole shake his head at Angela's question.
“Always.... tied.... on my.... back.”
“Well that explains a lot.”
I mutter as I wrap my arms around the young man’s chest. He yelps lightly as my hug tightens around him.
“I’m sorry Cole. Move with me. I’m going to sit you up. Damian, can you lower the rail on your side?”
“Sure”
He finally starts moving around Cole comfortably since coming into the room with me, at eighteen years old he’s had limited exposure to abuse of this nature.
Damian gets the side down and without my instructions, instinctively helps Cole move his legs to the side of the bed allowing me to lift him comfortably into a sitting position.
Cole whines quietly as the new position places even more pressure on his bladder but he manages to get himself to the side of the bed by the time Angela gets there.
“Do you want to hold this and take care of your needs on your own or do you need help?”
“If you... can help.... keep me.... sitting.... I can.... do the..... rest.”
It’s difficult to listen to Cole being so breathless so many hours after we brought him into the hospital.
“I’ve got this Angela. If you could contact a helper to get a new bed in here that would be great. Do we have another heated blanket? He still feels cold to me.”
“Check his temperature when he’s done and cleaned up but I should have another.”
She hands Damian the container as she draws the curtain around the bed. I climb up on the bed kneeling behind Cole, I place my hands on his sides right in the middle at the bottom of his ribs. He yelps in surprise but settles before I say anything to him.
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m not used to giving forward knowledge of what I’m going to do before I do it.”
He slowly shuffles his weight off his hands, reaching for the container as he prepares himself to use it. Damian politely turns his back towards Cole as the groan of relief escapes. I can’t help but smile as I’m relieved that I don’t have to subject him to something as invasive as a catheter when he doesn’t need it.
“When you're finished I want you to lean back against me and hand me the container.”
It doesn’t take long before he settles back against me. He is breathing hard with a loud wheeze but at least he appears more comfortable.
“Damian, I’d like you to help keep him steady while I dump this and clean up, then we’re going to get him into a chair while we wait for a new bed.”
“I’m sorry.... alpha.”
I hear him wheeze through as Damian and I swap holding him up.
“It happens every month. I’m more worried about the dream that caused it than the bed itself. Do your dreams get easier when you’re on your medication?”
He nods silently as I walk by the bed. I can hear Damian talking quietly with him but I’m too far to understand anything. I spot the chair we brought him into the room and start wheeling it over to the bed.
Once I get there I notice Cole’s struggle to breathe has gotten worse. I lock the wheels on the chair before walking a few steps over to Cole.
“You’re not looking much better than you did this morning. I need to get you back on the nebulizer for a while.”
Damian slowly moves to the side allowing me to transition back to helping Cole. Once I’m in front of him again I notice that Angela has left a gown on the bed along with the catheter kit. With Cole having a firm grip on me I reach over and grab the gown.
“Shall we get you a little better covered up? Now that you’re without your pants it might be a bit more comfortable to be in the hospital gown. That, and easier to use the container while in bed.”
I unfold the gown and hold it up towards him. He slips his arms through the holes as I tie it behind his neck.
“Wrap your arms around me. On three I want you to stand with me. Then we will turn and I will line you up with the chair and have you sit. Ready?”
He nods silently as we position ourselves for the move.
“Now 1... 2... 3”
He groans as he pushes up and I pull him back into a standing position. I can feel his legs trembling under his weight, likely from the lack of oxygen he’s getting into his system.
He moves with me slowly as I get him lined up with the chair and get him sitting down in it. Just as he’s sitting down I hear Angela’s voice coming from down the hall. I let go of Cole and give Damian the instructions to stand behind him as I don’t like the way he’s struggling to hold his head.
I unlock the brakes on the bed so I can get it out of the way as Angela instructs the omegas on where the bed goes. I smile at the site of my son with Cole. His instincts on how to help others indiscriminately is kicking in well. He’s sitting behind Cole in a chair he’s adjusted high enough that he’s able to pull Cole back against the wheelchair and against his chest. He’s also laid one arm down Cole’s chest encouraging him to lean against him.
It only takes a moment to get the beds changed out but in that time I seemed to have lost track of Cole and Damian. I’m shocked but relieved when I find that Damian has moved Cole closer to the nebulizer hookup. Cole is still having a hard time accepting even the soft mask for his treatments but I’m marveling at the patience I see from Damian towards this stranger on our land. I look at Angela as the omegas set up the bed.
“You said you were able to catch up with Dr. Carter again. What else were you able to find out? He’s been in here four hours and I’ve seen no change in his breathing.”
“Yes, I had the chance to talk with him again. As I said earlier he said the reason for the catheter was because he couldn’t go when he was in the hospital. Apparently it was a position problem not a function problem. Which makes me wonder about the feeding tube. How necessary that really is. Him being restrained is an unfortunate mix of factors. Many nurses have seen him tear up the bed during the nightmares he has while sedated which has started a lot of nasty rumors at his home pack. He’s torn up multiple beds which come out of his budget and he’s hurt himself on several occasions. Most nurses refuse to work with him if he isn’t in a hard leather restraint system tying him to the bed. As he gets better, he gets stronger. Which is why they don’t let him out to eat or use the bathroom as it’s nearly impossible to get him restrained again. He has to be in really bad condition for him to come to the hospital as he ends up tied down from the time he gets there until about an hour before he leaves.”
“We need to change what is normally done during these attacks. The stress of being in the medical wing is enough to keep the cycle going but whatever nightmare he had when I walked in was quite nasty as well. Do we have any of the anti anxiety medication in a liquid form so we can get him started back on them? I don’t think he can handle pills right now.”
“I’ve got his list and Alex is sending what has already been filled to us via fedex. They should be here in a day or two but I can get the pharmacy to fill what he’s currently on. I will look into any liquid versions that might be available. Meanwhile, I’m going to double the nebulizer treatment and oxygen levels he gets in the mask but I’m cutting the Valium in half again. There’s no reason to have him at ten milligrams when he’s struggling to process two milligrams out of his body.”
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