It had been about four years after I met and moved in with my two girlfriends, Sasha and Kathy. Over that time, Kathy and I had graduated college, Sasha -- who had graduated a year before us -- landed an accounting job in the city financial district, I found a job as a 3D designer, and we all moved into a bigger house. The three of us are still just as tight as ever, enjoying sexual threesomes and group showers & baths together. But when it looked like nothing could mess up our world, something did.
One rainy September afternoon, I was riding home in an Uber as my car was in for service. While idling at a red light, another car suddenly t-boned the passenger side of my Uber. The Uber then slid into oncoming traffic where a pickup truck rear-ended it. I lost consciousness sometime after the second impact, I probably hit my head on the seat in front of me, but I remember thinking: "That's it, I'm dead!" before blacking out. I woke up in the hospital hooked up to the machines with an oxygen mask on my face. Kathy and a teary-eyed Sasha were at my side; they threw themselves on me as soon as they saw my eyes open.
"Oh, we're so glad you're awake," Sasha said as her tears dripped onto my face.
"When the doctors said your vitals were weak," Kathy added, "we thought we would lose you tonight."
My head doctor and a nurse came in at that point to go over what had happened. They explained the first impact from the accident burst my appendix, which had to be removed immediately. After my appendix was out, the doctors discovered a large amount of scar tissue that had to be removed too. This is where things got dark for me. The doctor told me the scar tissue was very close to my groin and thus, close to my bladder.
"The operation aggravated your bladder," the doctor said. "And a side effect of that is urinary incontinence. You'll need a catheter for at least a week and then incontinence underwear [i.e. diapers] for some time after that."
In short, I was leakier than my grandfather was in the last year of his life; most fluids I would drink were gonna come right back out without much warning. After the doctor said that, Sasha, Kathy and I all concluded that for the moment, our sexual relationship was over. I was crushed and thought: "How could this happen to me?" The doctor did say it could've been worse because if my appendix hadn't been removed when it was, I could've developed an infection. I also could've broken some bones, but that thankfully didn't happen. Still, knowing I was essentially gonna be wetting myself for a while did a number on me.
I was discharged from the hospital two days after the operation. Sasha & Kathy picked me up and we went to the pharmacy to pick up my diapers and extra catheters. Sasha said she would run in to get them and I could just wait in the car with Kathy; in other words, she didn't want me to be embarrassed at getting the diapers & catheters myself. I was in the backseat while Kathy was riding shotgun and she could tell I was down in the dumps. As we waited, she told me that she and Sasha were gonna be the best nurses to me as they could.
"Nothing you confess could make us love you less," she said, quoting The Pretenders song "I'll Stand by You."
I appreciated that, but it still did little to ease my depression about the situation. Sasha returned to the car with my supplies and put them in the trunk as Kathy got out of the car and slid into the backseat next to me.
"I think you could use someone to lean on," she told me, "do you agree?"
"It sure would help," I replied.
With that, Kathy buckled her seatbelt, put her arms around me and rested my head on her shoulder as Sasha drove home; Kathy kissed my forehead the whole way. When we got home, I was flattered by the "Welcome Home" sign in the living room. Kathy and Sasha brought everything in from the car and we sat on the couch to talk. After we talked for a few minutes, I felt a wet sensation around my feet. I looked down and saw a puddle forming around my feet. My first pants wetting and it happened right in front of my girls; to say I was a bit embarrassed would've been like saying McDonald's sells a few Big Macs every day.
What happened was the tube from my catheter slipped out of my urethra and I began peeing freely with no bladder control. I couldn't feel anything because the operation numbed my detrusor muscle (which controls the bladder; lets it know when and when not to open the floodgates.) Despondent, I stepped into the hallway to collect myself. Sasha followed me out to offer some reassurance.
"Accidents are gonna happen," she reassured me, "but Kathy and I are ready to help you, sweetie."
She gave me a big hug and said she was gonna empty & change my catheter while Kathy cleaned the couch. We went into the bathroom where Sasha emptied my catheter down the shower drain and then gently detached it from my leg to replace it with a new one. After I was redressed, Sasha threw my wet pants & underwear in the washing machine and we rejoined Kathy in the living room, where she had finished cleaning my pee off the couch. Sasha said she and Kathy were gonna talk alone for a minute, but I could call them if I needed anything. The girls went into the kitchen where Sasha told Kathy about my self-consciousness.
"He's down in the dumps about this," she said, "What can we do?"
"I have an idea," Kathy replied, "but we'll have to wait until he doesn't need the catheter anymore. Until then, you probably should stay home with him so he won't be alone in this. I'd love to stay with him, but I can't get off work now." Sasha immediately went into the office down the hall and called her boss, Mr. Haney, to let him know of the situation. Kathy and I heard the conversation from the living room, thanks to Sasha putting Mr. Haney on speakerphone:
Sasha: "Hi Mr. Haney!"
Mr. Haney: "Hey Sasha, I heard about your boyfriend, how is he?"
Sasha: "Well, he just got out of the hospital and he's resting here at home, but I have a bit of a situation on my hands. He had a major operation and needs someone to tend to him for some time."
Mr. Haney: "Oh is that right?"
Sasha: "Yup, and our roommate can't get off work. Can I work from home until he's well again?"
Mr. Haney: "Absolutely Sasha, everyone in a situation like his needs someone to lean on; my wife needed me after a hip operation last year. So go ahead and take care of him, he needs you more than we do now. And don't worry about pay, you'll be on paid leave."