Two - Second Daughter's Friend
It had been just about 6 weeks since I got the cast for my broken arm. I had fallen getting into the shower after answering a phone call. My daughters were the ones who found me when they had arrived for me to take them out for a family dinner that evening.
It was rather embarrassing that they had seen me naked, but it was good in that it was the catalyst that got me back out in circulation for the first time in the two years since my wife had died. I had adopted a plan of just hanging on to life to be there if my daughters needed their father; I had no real thought of actually living a life. But since they had seen me naked, my daughters had hatched a plan to take advantage of my respectable equipment and my fairly even temperament, to help out some of their friends and co-workers just as my wife had done for about 20 years until shortly before her death, although my daughters didn't know of my wife's more recent actions.
About 3 weeks ago, my oldest daughter, Barb, had set me up with one of her co-workers, an assistant named Janet, to help her get back into a productive life after her recent relationship, a real disaster, had ended. I had been with her to provide an expanded sexual education and as a big boost to her self-esteem. Although I had only provided that service at my wife's insistence previously, it indeed felt right and very comfortable to be back in that role even if it was at my daughters' instigations.
Well, like I said, I had been wearing that cast for about 6 weeks, and I was sure fed up with it. Luckily, or unluckily for me, my second daughter, Lexie, short for Alexandria, is an orthopedic nurse and she asked if I could participate in a training class so her newest nursing staff members could see the correct way to remove a cast. She knew I wouldn't turn her down; I just never could resist doing anything my daughters asked of me.
So Tuesday, after the doctor had reviewed the x-ray to make sure that everything was as it should be, and after he had offered to go ahead and remove the cast, I had told him that I was going to help out the nursing staff be being their guinea pig in the class on Thursday.
"Ah, so I guess your daughter talked you into that job? Be careful, and if they start asking for more practice, don't let them get your pants off. They talked me into helping when I first started my residency here and I ended up in a full body cast. It took them three hours to cut it off piece by piece so each could have a turn with the cast saw."
"Thanks for the warning, doc... I'll keep that in mind."
On Thursday, when I arrived at the hospital a few minutes before the class which was scheduled to start at 1:00, I discovered that they had two other people there as well. One had a cast from knee to toes, the other had a cast covering most of his upper body and with an arm rest contraption holding the shoulder immobile with the arm straight out to the side and the elbow bent at about a 45 degree angle to the front. Looking at that, I was so glad I hadn't had that on for 6 weeks, or more...
"Hey, Dad; thanks for showing up and letting my nurses practice getting the casts off. I don't know what the doctor said to the other two people that agreed to be available for the class, but they backed out after they saw that doctor for a final review. I guess I need to have a chat with him about scaring off our guinea pigs; ha, ha."
"Well, I can tell you that he told me to be careful to not let you talk me into putting on any extra casts so your nurses could get extra practice, and he mentioned an incident with a full body cast..."
"Oh, so he pulled that joke on you too, huh? Well, now I really need to have a talk to him about that. He really did scare off two people from coming around for our training. Why don't you throw your cap and jacket on those hooks over there? We'll be starting in just a minute, so if you'll go over to that table and chair on the left...
"Okay, everyone, I think we should get started about now. I hope that you two with the simple casts don't mind, and I'm sure you have a hint as to why we are going in this order. I believe that we will start with the more complex shoulder/arm cast to get that off as soon as possible. The doctor did report to me just after his review this morning that it could be removed. And I bet that Mr. Jackson will be a little more careful about playing tackle football with his two sons in the future."
There was a light round of giggles from several of the nursing students and even from both of us who would be waiting a little longer for our turn. Lexie had the first student cut from the end on the raised arm across to the neck opening along the top. Then had a second student cut from slightly below straight to the front, parallel until she reached the shoulder and then start angling slightly up to reach the neck about 4 inches in front of the first cut. The third did a cut mirroring the second but on the back side of the arm. They then peeled back the cast sections to release the arm for movement. The fourth cut was across the opposite shoulder to the neck. Then they had a final cut up the opposite side from the waist to just below the arm. And the rest of the cast was peeled off. The relief was visible in Mr. Jackson's face even when they put a sling on and told him to build up to using his arm gradually.
By the time that they had cut off Mrs. Davis' leg cast, all of the student nurses had had two tries with the cast saw except for the last girl who had only had the short cut on the off shoulder of Mr. Jackson. Lexie had told the students that after their second try, they could stay and watch the rest or they could leave since this was the last class session for the day. Naturally, only Lexie, and Gail, the last nursing student to make her second cut, and I were left still in the room.
"Okay Gail, I noticed that you were a little anxious about making the saw cuts in front of the whole crowd. That's why I thought you may feel better being last since I knew that they'd all take off as soon as they could. So only we three are here now and you can do this with just the one needed cut, or you can make an extra cut opposite to the normal cut also for a little extra practice. This gentleman happens to be my father so you don't have to worry about anything being said if you do want to do the extra cut.
"By the way, Gail, yes, this is my father, Jason Stroker, and Dad, this is Gail Townsend, our newest nursing student transferee to orthopedics. Please excuse me; I see someone I need to speak to for a moment. I'll be right back."
"Good afternoon, Ms. Townsend, it's nice to meet you."
"Thank you, Mr. Stroker, it's nice to meet you too, and what Nurse Stroker failed to say is that I have been a nurse for less than 6 months and in orthopedics barely over 1 month. So I have helped put on just 2 casts and this is the first time that I have helped in removing a cast. So please stop me if it starts to hurt at all or you feel any discomfort."
"Very tactfully stated, Gail... Oh, may I call you Gail? And, with just we two here, please call me Jason. Mr. Stroker, was my father and although I am old enough to be your father, I feel a little younger than he would be. We can go back to being more formal, as may be required, when others are around.
