Tyronne was an athletically built young black man, about 22 years old. He was a university student who also worked as a tree trimmer. That's how we met. No, not in a tree but in a hospital.
It seems Tyronne fell out of a tree head first and managed to land on his arms. Now he was stuck in bed with both arms strung-up in casts from his shoulders to his fingers. I was called in to do private duty since he was pretty much helpless.
Actually, it turned out to be a fairly cushy insurance job. Although Tyronne needed total care with eating, bathing and toileting, he could move his body easily, so there wasn't a lot of lifting and turning to do. I arrived at supper time and got right to work setting up the tray and feeding him. He appreciated that we didn't have to rush through the meal like the hospital aides did. No sooner had he finished eating than he had to have a bowel movement. He said he hadn't gone in three days, it was so humiliating using a bedpan and having someone else in his shit and wiping his ass.
He lifted his hips and I slid the bedpan under him, noticing a musty, sour-sweet crotch odor wafting up on the warm air from under the covers. I then placed his penis in the urinal and balanced it with a folded towel. He told me it was less embarrassing having me hold his penis than the female nurses. I put the call button by his head and left the room.
When the light came on, I went back in the room and knew immediately that he was much relieved. I put on gloves, got paper and wet wipes, and had him roll to the side. As I started wiping he said "this is so degrading." I told him, "look, we all shit, and it stinks the same, so don't think about it." He laughed at that and seemed more at ease. Actually, compared to the saggy wrinkled butts I've had to clean, it was a relative pleasure to wipe between his firm round ass. Nice tight sphincters, and a smooth natal cleft made cleaning complete with one pass of paper and one wet wipe.
I asked if he'd had a bed bath since being there. He said one of the women had quickly wiped down his face, feet, and between his legs once. He said she seemed as embarrassed as him. I got a bath blanket and some towels, set up the basin with warm water, pulled the curtain around the bed and began cleaning his face and neck.
I pulled the top of the blanket down, exposing his smooth hairless chest, and began rubbing it with the soapy cloth. There was a pronounced underarm odor emanating from the dark curly bush of hair that went almost to the edge of the cast. It was a warm constricted area that took several rinse wipes to get all the odor and soap out.
