Chapter Three: Homeward Bound
Eiji was alone when he woke the next morning. Even with the painkillers, he hardly slept through the night. It seemed every two hours the nurse came in to check on him or administer more medications or change the position of his leg. All he wanted now was to sleep, but his nurse was back and she was donning gloves so he knew it must be time for more medications. It was a different nurse from the one he had through the night, thankfully. His night nurse was loud when she entered his room each time. She was grumpy and brash and far too careless when she moved his throbbing leg. This nurse, however, came in so quietly that Eiji was certain he would have slept through it had he not already been awake.
"Good morning, Okumura-san," she said with a smile when she noticed him watching her gown up.
"Eiji," he said without hesitation. Okumura-san was his father, the name didn't seem to belong to him.
She nodded. "Well, Eiji, I'm here to change your bandages, alright?"
She gently slid his leg out of the stirrup that was keeping it suspended. Eiji turned his head to the side and squeezed his eyes shut. He had made the mistake of looking at wounds before, like when he stepped on glass a few years back. For some odd reason, he had watched as the doctor pulled the glass from his foot and stitched him up. Although he wasn't able to watch for long, a fainting spell made sure of that. That wound was far milder than whatever his ankle must look like now. He kept his eyes shut.
The nurse was gentle as she removed the old bandages, checked the drainage, applied antibiotic cream, and wrapped him back up. She noticed his tightly shut eyes. "It looks exactly how I would expect it to after what you went through. Nothing to worry about." She slid his foot back into the cloth stirrup, to Eiji's dismay. He knew it was necessary to keep his foot elevated, but it sure did make it difficult to sleep or even get comfortable.
"Are you in any pain Okumu— sorry— Eiji?"
He shook his head and slowly opened his eyes. "Not right now."
"Good. You're due for more meds in," she checked her chart, "two hours." She removed her gloves and gown, washed her hands, and then immediately slipped on a new pair. Eiji watched her curiously.
"Your surgeon decided to place a urinary catheter while you were in surgery," she began to explain. "It's common during surgeries since we can't control our bladders while under anesthesia. He decided not to remove it just yet, since getting to the bathroom is still quite difficult for you. I'm going to change the collection bag now."
Eiji stared at her, hardly able to process what she was telling him. He was grateful for the convenience but he couldn't help but also feel strangely violated. But Eiji was pleased to realize the collection bag hung off the foot of his bed and did not require him to remove his gown for the nurse to change it.
The nurse changed the collection bag and left shortly after. Eiji let out a long sigh when the door finally closed.
Maybe it was the medications, or maybe it wasn't, but tears streamed silently down his cheeks as he realized how helpless he was.
"The doctor says he will remove Eiji's drain tomorrow and he can be discharged after that," Aki told Shun as they both sat beside Eiji's hospital bed. She turned to Eiji who was staring blankly at the muted TV hanging on the wall. "Don't you think that's good news, Eiji?" She asked, trying her best to sound cheerful.
He nodded numbly. "Sure."
"Oh and Sato-san emailed me. He said he'll do whatever he can to make sure you graduate with the rest of your cl—-"
"Okay, Mom!" Eiji snapped. "Please, I can't think about that all right now." His thoughts were still blurred and his head burned from the lingering effects of his concussion. The doctor said he just needed time and rest. Eiji was far from satisfied with that answer. The last thing he wanted to think about was all the homework he'd be doing while he could hardly think straight.
There was a soft knock at the door and then it opened to reveal a small woman wearing scrubs different in color to the nurses. She announced herself as a physical therapist as she entered with a smile.
"Eiji, I was hoping we could go for a walk through the floor? To see how you're able to manage with the crutches and scooter?"
He nodded vaguely, unsure if he actually had any real choice in the matter.
It actually felt good to get out of bed after being stuck in the hospital for two days. Supported by a scooter under his knee and a crutch under his opposite arm, Eiji walked the halls of the floor slower than he could ever remember walking, surely a turtle could go faster. Behind him, he wheeled around an IV pole sporting a bag of IV fluids and a urine collection bag. He felt ancient. Decrepit. Helpless.
Walking after an ankle surgery was bad enough, but in combination with the pain meds and the lasting effects of his concussion, it was almost unbearable. After completing a lap around the floor, he arrived back to his room exhausted and short of breath. Just a few days ago he had been practicing back in Izumo. Just a few days ago he could run and jump high into the air, better than anyone else on his team. He inhaled deeply and fought against tears. The physical therapist his exhaustion and fetched him a bottle of water.
She logged a note in his chart, suggesting he take it easy for a few weeks walking once or twice a day but relying on the wheelchair was his future for at least the next few weeks.
The early March wind whipped through Eiji's hair as Shun pushed his wheelchair through the hospital's sliding doors. Aki fussed over him, zipping his coat further up his neck and pulling his scarf tighter.
"Mom, my arms are fine."
"Well, I don't see you doing it." She finished adjusting his clothes so that a minimal amount of skin was vulnerable to the wind. "Can't have you catching a cold, Ei-chan." She stood and pulled her own coat tighter to her body. "Dad got us a room just a few blocks down. Think you can handle it? I can hail a taxi if you're too cold."
With cheeks red from the cold wind, he shook his head. "It's fine, Mom."
She smiled and patted his good leg. "We'll walk as fast as we can."
Shun had reserved the room for three days, so they decided to stay the final day before heading back to Izumo the following morning.
Flying increased the risk of Eiji developing a blood clot following his surgery, meaning his surgeon recommended taking the train back to Izumo. Clocking in at over six hours, it was not a short trip by any means. Miyuki and Aki slept the majority of the trip, but Eiji couldn't seem to do the same. Instead, he stared numbly out the train window as they traveled, wishing he'd wake up and find this was all nothing but a bad dream. They ate lunch and dinner on the train and arrived back in Izumo around seven in the evening.
Once home, Aki wheeled Eiji's chair through the grass in order to get him up the three small stairs that sat before the front door. Fortunately, his chair fit through the door, but it was quite the tight fit.
"What's wrong, Eiji? Why are you crying?" Aki asked with genuine concern as she heard him sniff and wipe away tears.
"I can't even," his voice cracked as he tried to keep his tears inside, "get to my room."
Aki was silent in thought for a moment. She visualized the flight of stairs Eiji wouldn't be able to ascend for at least a few weeks. "You can have the guest room until you're well enough to use the stairs."
The guest room was nice, simply furnished but still comfortable. But it wasn't Eiji's room and it felt too cold and impersonal. All of his clothes and things were upstairs, but at least his mother was kind enough to bring down his own pillows and blankets.
Aki helped him out of his chair and into bed which proved to be an easier feat than either of them were expecting. "That wasn't so bad," she said with a smile as she spread Eiji's blanket over him and propped up his foot with pillows.
Eiji simply huffed sarcastically in response.
"I know right now, Eiji, it feels like the end of your world," Aki sympathized as she sat at the foot of his bed. "But you're strong and you'll get through this and I'll help you every step of the way." She gently patted his good leg. "I promise."
He nodded tearfully, unable to respond with actual words.
"Do you want me to sleep in here with you? So I can help you if you need anything during the night?"
Eiji knew what she meant without her saying it outright. He needed help getting to and from the bathroom and she was right, it would be easier to simply share the double bed. He squeezed his eyes shut, tears threatening to leak out, but said nothing in reply.
"But I understand, if you don't want that. You can always shout for me, okay, I'll hear you." She rubbed his good leg through the comforter, "Because that's what mothers are for. I haven't been able to sleep anyway, knowing my sweet Eiji is in pain."
She stood to leave. She opened her mouth to ask if he needed anything else, such as water or another blanket, but Eiji interrupted her, words finally springing forth.
"Wait," he choked out.
"Do you want me to stay?"
He nodded and felt hot tears stream down his cheeks.
"Okay, let me change, I'll be right back."
Aki left and returned in a pale pink set of pajamas, speckled with white polka dots. In one hand she held a glass of water and a bottle of pain pills and in the other, she held a laptop. She set the water and pills where Eiji could easily reach them. She then climbed in on the other side of the bed and set the laptop between them.
"I thought that watching something would help you feel better and help you sleep. Want to pick something? What's that show you and Daichi watch? Full Metal...Something or other?"
Aki knew the show's title, she'd heard him talk about it plenty of times, but her feigned ignorance made him smile for the first time that day. Well, the first time since his accident, not counting his loopy post-operative state.
"Alchemist," Eiji finished, "Full Metal Alchemist."
"Right, that one. Wanna watch it?"
"I'm not gonna make you watch that. I'm more than halfway through. You'll be lost."
"Well, I know that, Eiji. You can't make someone do something they offered to do. I will gladly watch it with you."
He considered her offer for a moment and then finally nodded in agreement. "Okay, if you really don't mind."
Aki flipped open the laptop and pulled up the show. "Take one of those pills before I start it, Ei-chan. You're due in twenty minutes and I don't want you falling asleep before then."
Eiji took a pill and Aki pressed play. Eiji was right, she hadn't a clue what was going on, but he seemed to be enjoying it, which was all that mattered. They made it through two episodes before his medicine kicked in and knocked him out. Slowly, Aki closed the laptop and set it aside. She turned off the bedside lamp, cringing at the loud click that thankfully didn't wake Eiji.
She couldn't fall asleep for a long while, and when she finally did, she slept lightly. So lightly, in fact, that Eiji shifting in his sleep woke her several times. In the middle of the night, Aki's phone alarm chimed, waking them both. Sleepily she fumbled into the kitchen to get him more water so he could take his next dose of medicine. And much to Eiji's dismay, she helped him to the bathroom. Once he was in the bathroom, he was able to use the toilet on his own, fortunately, but still, he was embarrassed he needed help getting there in the first place.
Aki helped him back into bed and reassured him that he had nothing to be embarrassed about. "You watch, in two weeks, maybe less, you'll be getting around much better. I bet you'll even be able to get up the stairs and sleep in your own bed."
She meant well, but the words only reminded him of how hard his life would be in the coming weeks. He had to finish school from home and work hard to walk and just do normal things again. Still uncertain if it was a side effect of his medication, he felt more tears stream down his face.
"Oh, Eiji, it's going to be alright." Aki ran a comforting hand through his hair, shushing him as one would a baby. She let him cry until he fell back asleep, exhausted from pain, tears, and anxiety. "It will all work out," she whispered more to herself than to him as he drifted to sleep.