Two weeks later found Kurt sitting on the couch crying while Blaine was taking a nap. The phone held up to his ear in a shaking hand.
"Caring Hands Home Health this is Cathy speaking how may I help you today?"
"Hi, my name is Kurt and I was told to call you regarding my fiancé. He has a spinal injury and recently came home from rehab. I…I need some help".
"Kurt, we are here to help you both. Tell me who his ordering physician is and we will get the orders to see your fiancé today".
Kurt felt immediate comfort when he heard this. He will have help today. The nurse assigned to Blaine called an hour later letting Kurt know that she received the orders from Blaine's doctor and would be at their apartment no later than 2pm.
Karen is an amazing nurse. She handled Blaine with the same caring hands that Kurt would use and treated him like an adult instead of slipping into a placating voice that may work on a child but not a 23 year old man. Blaine and Karen got along great from the minute they met. She checked him all over for skin breakdown and pressure sores and let Kurt know that he must have been doing a great job because everything looked great. The only irritation she found was on his heels and she recommended that Kurt put Blaine's heel protectors on him every night to prevent ulcers. Since Blaine does not move himself at night, his heels can end up breaking down from digging into the mattress and become a big problem. She explained that it's common and not to beat themselves up about it but to just know that it's something they have to take care against.
She stayed for over 3 hours on that first visit. She checked their apartment to make sure there were no safety issues and that all the equipment was in working order. She went over Blaine's medication list and supply orders and created a chart that would stay at the apartment to document each visit. She explained that she would visit every Monday to manage Blaine's care and that a PCA would visit for 4 hours every weekday morning to get Blaine out of bed and ready and another PCA would come every evening Sunday through Thursday for 8 hours to get Blaine through his nightly regimen and reposition him throughout the night. This is what Kurt said he needed. He didn't want a nurse there 24 hours a day. He could still care for Blaine. He just couldn't do it all anymore. He needed to be able to work and sleep.
It was a little strange at first to have assistants in and out first thing in the morning and then another in their apartment while they slept but Kurt was glad to have someone there at night just incase. Kurt found it surprisingly easy to sleep through the Aid turning Blaine from side to side 4 times per night. It really made him wonder how deep of a sleeper he really was.
After a month of this schedule, They had found that things were going much smoother. Kurt was able to work from his home office during the day and sleep at night. Blaine was relieved not to have Kurt being his sole caregiver. It was just the two of them on the weekends but that's the way they both preferred it. Blaine no longer felt like such a burden to his fiancé and Kurt felt much more like a fiancé and less of a nurse to Blaine.
Blaine continued to thrive in therapy. The Physical and Occupational Therapists visited 3 times per week and worked on his arm and shoulder strength. Kurt would take a break during these sessions and practice with the therapists on different transferring techniques and learning new skills that would come in handy. He marveled at how easy the P.T. made things look. He would have Blaine out of his chair and onto the mat in the blink of an eye while Kurt would take 7 minutes and need a breather afterwards. The therapist always assured him that he will be a pro in no time and not to rush things.
Another part of therapy was Electronic Muscular Stimulation. It was electrodes that would be placed on rotating muscle groups and a little box would "zap" Blaine's muscles. It is designed to keep Blaine from becoming atrophied. The electronic pulses work the muscles since Blaine's brain cannot. Blaine laughed uncontrollably the first time a badly placed electrode on his stomach made his left leg fly off the footrest and into the air. Another thing that had recently been delivered was his very own exercise bike. He could wheel himself up to it and have an assistant strap his feet onto the pedals. He could watch TV while the bike moved his legs for him. It's all in an effort to keep the body limber and strong for the day that a cure for spinal damage is found.
The bad part was at night once they got into bed after these therapy sessions. Blaine would sometimes have muscle spasms that would almost knock him out of bed if it weren't for the bedrail. It took a lot of Baclofen and a Valium to calm his body on these nights. It took at least 2 cocktails to calm Kurt.
They also started attending a support group for spinal cord injury victims, families and caregivers. It was held at the YMCA up the street every Thursday night. There they met dozens of other couples and families going through the same thing they are to some degree. One man that came every week with his wife is actually dependent on a ventilator to breathe since his injury was so high on his spine. It really put things into perspective for them. Things could've been a lot worse. Kurt can't imagine if Blaine couldn't breathe on his own or talk to him. Blaine is still pretty much the same person he was before the accident in personality.
Obviously, he doesn't jump on furniture anymore or drag Kurt out into the middle of the sidewalk in Central Park for a private waltz but he still jokes and laughs and teases Kurt the way he has for 8 years. He still loves life and his eyes still show a man with a future he looks forward to. No more of the dark days from the hospital of self-pity and embarrassment. No, this is the Blaine he met on the steps at Dalton. The one who proposed to him on those very steps in grandiose style and the one that makes Kurt's heart flutter each and every time he enters a room.
