Greg squinted his eyes shut, when the sun fell on his face. It was a nice sunny day, although the temperature wasn't very high. After 2 weeks of rain the park of the rehab center was crowded.
Greg was sitting in a wheelchair which was pushed by his father. He had been here for 4 days and already improved a lot.
Speaking was an easier thing for him now and he could better understand his surroundings.
For the moment his mother Anne Hojem Sanders was his legal guardian but she would most likely remain it for some time. The chance that Greg's mental capacity would improve was very small and not realistic. There would be another surgery in the next months but the doctors weren't too optimistic. But after all the brain was a mysterious organ and you never know.
When Carl noticed his son starting to shiver lightly in the chair, he stopped and waited for his wife to tuck the blanket tighter around Greg's thin body.
The young CSI had lost a lot of weight during his hospital stay and now they were trying to get some kilos on him again. However the medical staff made sure that he would remain slender so the nurture and care would be easier for all participants.
"Are you cold honey?" Anne asked her son. "A lii..ttle." Greg slurred. His speech still wasn't at an optimum but his parents were thrilled that he could at least communicate again and wouldn't stare at them like a vegetable like he had done a week before.
Greg was wearing a navy-blue hoodie and grey sweatpants. His feet were clad in knitted socks by Nana Olaf and some slippers his mum had bought for the rehab.
To his anger he had to wear a diaper and still got the IV Port in his hand though there was no tube in it at the moment. His hair had grown back and now nearly hid the huge scar on his former bald head.
The wheelchair was a modern one and was adjusted on the needs a patient like Greg would acquire.
It had a cushioned head-rest and the backrest could be regulated, so that Greg was slightly bent backwards. To make sure, that he couldn't harm himself the young male was strapped in with an elastic belt which went cross style over his chest. Between Greg's legs was a padded blockade that ensured that he couldn't slide out of the chair. His feet stood on a footrest.
Greg didn't like being in the chair. He wasn't completely paralyzed; he still could feel his limbs and was also able to move his legs and arms in limited ways. The main problem was that he couldn't coordinate his movements and was pretty helpless due to that. Trying to hold a bottle of water was nearly enough to wear him completely out. What Greg hated most still was the diaper. It is the most embarrassing thing to have your diapers changed by a nurse about your age. Being washed from someone else on his most intimate parts was absolute hell. Greg didn't think he needed the diapers anyways. The doctors never really gave him a chance to prove that he could control his bladder. For them it was just easier to put an immobile patient in a pampers instead of helping him on the toilet the whole time- so Greg thought.
Right now he felt that he needed to pee badly. As long as he could control it he would not pee while his parents were there. Even if they wouldn't notice- Greg didn't like the thought alone about peeing in company. And now his mom was also fumbling around with the blanket around his groin area. She would for sure notice it!"Jus..t le..le..leave the blan..blanket li..lii..liilike this, mom. S'kay, mom."
"No, Greg I can see you shivering. Carl maybe we should better bring our boy in. I don't want him to be sick in his condition. By the way he has therapy in one hour. Maybe he should rest some before."
Anne got up and gave her husband a meaningful look. Carl sighed and ruffled his son's short hair carefully avoiding the thick scar that ran across his head. He then turned the wheelchair around and the family slowly made their way back to the facility where Greg would stay for the next weeks.
The Desert flower Rehabilitation Center was located in a nice area in the suburbs of Las Vegas and was amongst others specialized on TBI patients. There were quite some younger people who worked on their health issues so Greg wasn't surrounded by grannys.
The Rehab Center was split into 4 buildings. One house featured a special pool and all the therapy rooms. The second building accommodated the station for TBI Patients and their different clinical pictures and in the third house they had a center for people with spine injuries. The last house featured a cafeteria and the dinner room. There were also some quarters for family members.
Greg's parents currently stayed at their sons Apartment in Vegas. It was a weird feeling for them. They also had to think about longtime arrangements. Anne and Carl didn't like the thought about Greg living in a special-care home. It was beyond all questions that Greg would return to a normal single living again.
It nearly broke Anne's heart when she thought about explaining to her son that they would most likely rent his apartment. It almost seemed that Greg sensed it, so he totally avoided the subject of the nearer future. His parents still weren't sure if they would take Greg back to California with them. They knew that Greg would not want that. Of course he still had some childhood friends at home and he had always enjoyed visiting his family on his holidays but this was something completely different.
Greg was living in Las Vegas for over 10 years and the crazy city was his home now. He had all his important friends here and Carl didn't know if it was good to just tear his son out of his loved surroundings. If it was alone Anne's decision she would just take her babyboy and cuddle him to death in their San Gabriel home but after a serious talk with Carl even Anne had accepted that it wasn't that easy.
These were quite stressful and exhausting days for the Sanders.
"Ca…n you g..gg..get mmme so..soomething t..tt..ttoo drink?" Greg asked tiredly. Even if he needed to pee like mad he was still thirsty. "Of course honey. We don't have anything with us right now, but we'll stop at the cafeteria to get you something that you like. Maybe a nice warm tea? "
"Mmmhh." Fuck. Greg needed to concentrate on his painfully full bladder more. Otherwise he felt he would explode right now. Why did he care? He couldn't avoid it forever.
When he was pushed into the cafeteria Greg saw some patients he knew from the water therapy sitting there with families and chatting happily. Most of them had a better diagnosis than him. At least that was how Greg felt. He really had fallen into a depression. He was so unlucky right now. His body and mind were a wreck. He would never be able to be on his own again and he wondered if Russel had already found a new CSI. Sara and Nick hadn't mentioned anything. Well, he hadn't really been able to talk a lot by then, too. When he thought about his career, Greg felt a tear make its way down his cheek. He swallowed; Not again. He was such a crybaby recently. Stop the self-pity! –A voice in his head demanded.
"Greg? Do you hear me?" his dad asked concerned. "Yeah, w..wwaaas j.. t...t…hinking."
"Okay, so what can I get you? You still have water in your room, don't you? So what about something a little more special?" His dad smiled. "Sure." Greg grinned, too. "N.. blue ha..haawaiian in here.. .. I st—st..stick wwwith cccoke." Carl already saw the unpleased look on his wife's face. Coke really wasn't the number one drink that Greg should have right now but still… He was an adult after all. Even if Anne was his legal guardian now and after all he had been trough. A coke would not kill him. So he went to pay fast before the disapproving Anne could interfere.
Carl opened the bottle for Greg: " You wanna hold it by yourself, Greg?" Greg looked unsure. He shrugged helplessly. His hands were shaking. So Carl just put the bottle to his son's lips and let him drink some sips. Then he looked at his watch. "Maybe we should bring you to your room now, in case you want to rest some before therapy starts." Greg just nodded. He really was tired. And he was absolutely in no mood to go to the water therapy now. Greg hated it. He always felt so exposed when he was made to move in the basin. On top of that he always felt like he would drown.
After all the feeling of the water wasn't too bad, but he always was with three elder people in there who he found slightly creepy.
Greg let his head fall back into the headrest and closed his eyes. He heart the elevator doors open with a bling and then was pushed inside. At the same time his bladder finally gave in and emptied itself into the diaper. A warm, wet feeling was soon spreading around his groin area. Greg whimpered slightly. Crap. Well at least he could relax now after relieving himself. And fortunately the diaper was compact and would not leak.
Greg opened his eyes again, when the elevator doors opened. An old man on crutches left and a middle-aged woman was wheeled in by her teenage daughter. The door closed again and the girl eyed Greg curiously. The young man felt ashamed and quickly looked away.
He heard the girl start talking about some school bitchfight and suddenly needed to grin. Soon the doors opened again and they had finally reached his floor. While Carl pushed Greg into his room, his mom went to get him a nurse who would help get him settled again.
It was the high-maintenance-floor and so there was more nursing staff than on the other corridors.
A couple minutes later Anne returned with a motherly dark haired nurse who was called Mary.
"Hey, there you are again. So I guess you want to rest some minutes before we make you suffer again?" she joked. Greg grinned as well. Mary was his favorite nurse. Somehow she made him feel safe. The dark haired woman opened Greg's security belt and with expertly moves and the help of Greg's dad, the young man was soon lying on his nursing bed. Mary gently removed his slippers.
"Do you need anything else Greg? Otherwise we would get you in 20 minutes and ready you for water training." "Mh, maybe I need … n..nnothing" Greg decided to lie about his diaper accident. He would be changed nevertheless in some minutes and even if he already felt uncomfortable he didn't want to be bothered right now. His mother put a fleece blanket over him and sat next to him, while Nurse Mary left the room. "Dad and I are going to leave for today in the next minutes unless you want us to stay longer? But I heart that some of your friends were planning to come by in the late afternoon as well, if you're up to this." Greg's eyes lit up. "No..oo s'kay. Y..you c..c…coming tttttomorrow?" "Yes sure. Maybe we can go to the park again, then. It is going to be sunny!"
After saying goodbye to his mom and dad Greg fell into a light slumber and was later awoken by nurse Mary, another younger nurse and a student apprentice who came by to get him.
Greg glared at them. Couldn't they just let him sleep?