One To Die For

I was swinging a double bitted axe, trying to knock the wedge I had just cut with my chainsaw out of a tree I was falling.

The trees had grown up tall enough that they were blocking off sunlight in the afternoons to my garden spot. Since they were Alder, several of them had taken a nasty lean. I knew that Alder that has the sap up in the spring likes to split when it starts to fall, and that can be dangerous. It's best to be quick and get the hell out of the way.

So I cut a wedge out of the downhill side, then a cut on the back side would get them started. That gave me time to get a good 20 feet or so away, gravity would take over and down they would come. I had a dozen of them down, no problems.

Then the largest one was all that was left, I would have sunlight for my garden and enough firewood to last the whole winter.

I made the cut but went just a bit too far, plus I was off slightly on the angle. The ground was steep, it was tough to stand and lean out with the saw at the same time. Plus the damn tree was big, it just took a tilt and bit down on the saw, trapping it.

Then it just hung there. I waited, sometimes they will break and go, no such luck though. After a solid 10 minutes I knew what I had to do.

So I grabbed the axe, trying to knock the wedge out. That would free my saw, and I figured a slight back cut on the other side and the tree would come down on it's own.

I was swinging with all of my might, then I felt a stab of pain in my chest. Suddenly I felt tired, way too tired. I laid the axe down, walked a few feet uphill and sat down to rest, try and catch my breath. I wiped my forehead, realized I was soaked in sweat.

Then there was a crack, I looked up as the tree gave up and fell with a groan. The saw came loose and flipped through the air, tumbling down the hillside, still running.

The next thing I saw was lights. They were bright, too bright, I had to squint to see. It took me a minute to realize I was on a cart, the lights were overheads and they seemed to be moving.

Then it hit me I was being rolled down a long hallway. Something covered my nose and mouth, I reached up and felt it. It was an oxygen mask.

The table rolled into a room and stopped. There was huge equipment of some kind overhead.

A face appeared, a man looked down at me.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I don't know, tired I guess."

"You have a blockage in the center artery in your heart, we are installing a stent in a few minutes."

"Oh. Well, is it serious?" I asked.

"Yes, I am afraid it is."

Several people came in, there was lots of activity. Someone gave me some pills and water. I lay back and relaxed, waiting for them to start.

I actually started to feel pretty good.

After what seemed to just be a couple of minutes, they rolled me out and back down the hallway into a side room.

"When will they start?" I asked the nurse.

"They are all done, honey. You came out just fine. Try to sleep and not move around for a few hours."

I lay there thinking, I was worried about my saw and all the trees I had down that needed to be cut up. Then I fell asleep.

I woke up and my son and his wife were sitting there.

"How are you doing, Dad?" He asked me.

"I feel fine, I guess. What happened?"

"You had a blockage, they took care of it. You need to take it easy."

"I feel just fine." I protested.

"Dad, you are 65 years old, you can't be out in the woods chopping stuff by yourself!"

"I need to get out of here, my saw is laying out there and I have to cut up those trees."

"That is all taken care of. The guy from the power company found you, he was reading the meter and spotted you, called 911."

"Oh. What about my saw?" It was the only thing I could think of.

"It's all handled, we hired a crew to cut up the trees and clear out the yard. They used that splitter you built to split and stack it, too. All handled. You shouldn't have been trying that all by yourself." He scolded me some more.

Then the same nurse came in, she was about 40 or so and all business.

"We need you to leave now, we have to take care of some things." She told the kids.

They left after some hugs and worried looks at me, then she checked my pulse and blood pressure.

"Hmmm...Pretty good, 120/78, 60 pulse."

"Oh? Then I'm not sick? Does that mean I get my money back?" I wisecracked.

She just smiled at me, she had probably heard that one a hundred times.

"Do you need to urinate?" She asked.

"Yes, I think so."

"OK. Here, let me help you."

She got a container, pulled the blanket and gown aside, reached in and steered my penis towards the jar. Nothing happened, I tried but laying on my back I just could not get the flow to start.

It didn't help at all that she was holding it, either.

"All right. Well, I will get a catheter." She left and was back in minutes. She poked a few times, I was so limp she was having troubles.

"Darn. Here, let's stiffen it up a bit, it will be easier." She reached out with a gloved hand and stroked me a few times, I started almost instantly to erect.

I felt my face flush at that, but she was so matter of fact about it I managed to keep from firing off a wisecrack.

"There! That's better." She slid the thing inside me, it was uncomfortable as hell, but flow started. It felt like I was pissing on myself.

Then she covered me up and left. I lay there thinking. I really didn't like the idea of being in a hospital at all. I had work to do and I felt just fine.

The Doctor came in and chatted with me, checked on a few things.

"Everything went well but we want to keep you here for a few days."

"I feel just fine, Doc. In fact, I feel great."

I did, too. There had been that nagging sensation for months now that something wasn't right, but I ignored it. After all, I had work to do. Besides, at barely 65 I felt healthy for the most part, I had figured I was just getting older.

"I can just imagine, the artery was completely blocked. I had a heck of a time getting through it, it has been mostly blocked off for years."

"Years?"

"Yes, probably. Completely calcified. But we got it, put in two stents."

I didn't really like the sound of that much, things inside me holding my veins open. Not much I could do about it, though.

So I decided to settle in and relax.

That nurse kept coming in every few minutes, checking on me. She did pull the gown aside and remove the dang hose out of me, that was a relief. I managed to keep a straight face as she held my penis and pulled it out.

Then she tucked me away like I was a baby or something, flashed me a sweet smile and left.

What the heck, she was kind of cute for an older gal. Now what was I thinking? She couldn't be more than 40 or so.

She brought in a plate with dinner a few hours later. I don't know what it was but it tasted so good I asked if there was any chance I could get some more. My own cooking skills were best described as lacking.

"I will go check and see if someone died." She retorted with a smile. She was back in a few minutes with another plate, she sat down in a nearby chair and watched me attack it with relish.

The fact is, I could have used a third helping.

"You actually like hospital food I see? Most people gripe about it."

"It's good, my compliments to the chef!" I mumbled between mouthfuls.

She cleared the tray away, checked my vitals.

"By the way, my name is Nora. I get off shift in a half hour, Maria will tend to you this evening."

"OK. When do you come back?" I actually was getting to like her.

"I am 12 on and 12 off, I will be back at 8 AM."

Maria turned out to be a heavyset little hispanic lady, her hair was streaked with gray. No nonsense about her, either.

She checked me like Nora did, then asked me if I needed to use the bathroom.

"Sure." I leaned back and waited, expecting her to steer me into the container.

"It's right there, you can get up now." She gave me a frown.

"Oh, ok." I blushed a little, got up and used the washroom. That wasn't easy since I was attached with wires and hose to this little portable roller stand.

The first evening was a series of finding myself being woken up with her checking on me, once there was a young woman that looked to be perhaps 18 or so with her.

"Training." Maria said, answering my question before I could ask it.

The young woman pulled the gown aside and checked the incision in my crotch where they had shoved the stents inside me. I had felt the spot myself, there was a large lump there.

"What is that big lump?" I asked her.

She gave me a strange look, then realized what I meant.

Damn, now I was blushing again. My privates were hanging there in space and...

Oh well.

"That is a clamp, the lump will go away as your body absorbs it."

"Oh." I pointedly kept my eyes averted, I was doing my best to stay limp, normal as her hands covered with latex gloves poked and prodded at me.

Then they went away and left me alone.

I woke up to find Nora standing there, she was checking my heartbeat. I glanced down and my gown was open, she just left it that way.

"Morning!" She smiled.

"I am just checking your vitals." She scribbled some notes on a clipboard, then set it down and reached for my crotch.

I still wasn't used to that.

She lifted my testicles and pushed them aside, leaned down to look at the incision. I got a great view of a magnificent pair of breasts down her smock.

"Looking good!" She glanced up and caught me sneaking a peek at the tops of her breasts. She just smiled at that and stood up.

I had started to erect again at her poking at me, plus the view, no way to stop that.

"You seem to be working just fine considering." She grinned at me.

"I'm sorry, it's been a long time. Since my wife Marty passed, I have been alone."

"Oh. I am sorry."

I was too, to be honest. My Marty was a good woman, we worked side by side on the farm every day for 30 years. Then one day she told me about a lump she had found in her breast. They tested it and it was malignant.

She was gone in just six short months, she was only 55. We had been sexually active right up until the last couple of months. None of this crazy wild stuff, just once a week or so, I suppose the best description would be normal.

Now four years later I still missed her. So I used work as my outlet.

One would think that hard work would keep me out of the hospital, but here I was. The one thing hard work did do to me was keep me in shape and feeling strong, though. My 180 pound frame was solid muscle, I could clench my stomach muscles and create one of those "six packs" just as nice as any kid on the beach.

I lay there with my thoughts. There had been a few of the local women that came around not long after Marty died. They always had an excuse, cookies, "checking" on me, one thing after another. It seemed for a couple of years that everybody I knew had a "friend" they wanted me to meet.

I wasn't interested, besides, white hair and chubby didn't do it for me. I liked my Marty, she was 5'2" and 110 pounds, her hair was every color of red and brown and gold there is. Her body was slender, lean, her bust exactly the right size for her frame.

Our life together was good, when our son Todd came along he filled the rest of our lives. He had the big farm to run around on, and he grew up in a way few get to do.

I guess the best description would be our son was half wild. Marty home schooled him, she was a teacher at one time and our boy got a good education.

Now he was gone too, off to his own life. He married a gal that was on the heavy side and bossy, but somehow he coped with it all. In short order they produced a couple of granddaughters, both pure mayhem. In the summer months they would send the girls out to stay on our farm for a week or so. They explored the trails and did all the things my son had done, life was fine.

But after Marty passed, that became less and less as they moved on into their own lives. I spent more days alone, just working.

I wiped a tear from all the memories. Now I was laying here. I felt myself becoming depressed.

Just then Nora came in to check on me.

"How are you feeling, honey?" She asked.

"Oh, just a little down."

"Want to chat?"

"I am sure you have other patients to tend to."

"Nope. Just you. You are still ICU, but we will move you to a room this afternoon."

Then she tugged the curtain around the cubicle, opened my gown and again lifted my penis and held the jar. I managed this time to urinate, she lifted it and looked at it.

"Good, nice volume!" Like she had a trophy or something.

Then she carefully tucked me away again, dumped the container and washed up in a nearby sink.

"I will bring you some breakfast, then later we will move you to a private room."

I read all sorts of things into that statement, then shook my head. Of course she was just being professional about all of this, still, it was affecting me.

Later that day she had me get up and push the roller stand down the hall to another room. I was trying to steer the stand and keep my bare behind covered, not an easy task. No one even bothered to look up, though, except for a white haired lady laying in one of the cubicles. I saw her turn her head away as I passed, nothing I could do about my bare fanny hanging out.

Nora got me settled, and I lay there bored watching daytime TV. The Doctor came by and read the chart looked at me and grinned.

"Well, looks like you will live!" He said.

"That's good news."

"No more swinging axes, OK?"

"OK." I lied. Exactly what I planned on doing as soon as I got home. I was still worried about my saw, the last thing I remembered was it flying through the air, still running. Sure as hell the bar was bent, that would piss me off.

It was about 6 O'clock when Nora stepped in, she shut the door behind her.

"Bath time!" She announced.

"OK." I swung my legs over the side of the bed, starting to get up.

"No, just stay there, I will take care of it." She said with that sweet smile.

She used some damp cloths, washed my upper body, lifting my arms to get at my armpits.

"You are sure in good shape." She smiled.

I just nodded, noting the odd catch in her voice. I looked at her closely, she was now washing my stomach and sides, then drying me with another towel. Then she tugged my gown open, washed around my groin. She took ahold of my penis which of course started to expand, then washed the sides of it. She even slid my foreskin back, carefully washing the head. The sensations made my head swim.

"Careful!" I told her, realizing I could easily ejaculate.

"OH. You need to....?" She grinned and grasped me, and in several quick well practiced strokes had me blasting off.

That was another surprise!

"There, that should make you feel better." She said, as she calmly went back to washing me up.

Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Is everything all right?" I heard another nurse ask through the door.

I realized I was still hooked up to the monitor and the nurse's station was reading my heartbeat.

"It's fine, just a bath."

"OH, ok." The other nurse said, and left.

"You hit 90 beats per minute." Nora said with a giggle.

"I didn't expect....."

"It's OK. We want you comfortable." She smiled that same wicked smile.

I was starting to like this nurse. She stayed with me for quite a long time, we chated about everything under the sun. Conversation was easy, as easy as it had been with my Marty.

I was a bit sad when she got off shift, she patted my shoulder and told me good night and that she would see me in the morning.

Later Maria came on shift, brought me some juice. She asked me if I needed a bath, I told her Nora had already done that earlier.

"I can just bet!" She answered with a sniff.

I was beginning to wonder about this hospital. I slept most of the night, it was well into the next day when I woke up.

Nora was standing there with a tray.

"Morning, sleepyhead." She smiled.

"Morning."

"Hungry?"

"I could eat a Horse."

"Well, no horse meat here but we have eggs and potatoes and some nice plums and toast."

I sat up and dug in, the food was good again. She sat and watched me as I ate and we chatted between mouthfuls.

We talked about everything under the Sun, she told me that she was divorced and had gone to medical school to become a nurse so she could support herself.

"You like the work?" I asked her.

"Yes, most of the time."

"Last night? That was unexpected, does that happen very often?" I had to ask.

"Just sometimes, with some cases. It depends on the risk, how ill the client is. It's really perfectly normal."

"I was thinking though, I just had a heart attack."

"No, you didn't have an attack, you had a blocked vein. That reduced the blood flow but there was no heart damage."

"Still, isn't that a risk?" I asked.

"Well, yes, it could be. But you are otherwise in excellent shape, your charts are fine, you go home tomorrow. I just wanted you comfortable, and you seemed to need....."

I nodded, set the empty plate on the tray. She cleared everything away and left me to my thoughts and the ever present TV.

The rest of the day was uneventful, Maria came on shift and tended to me, all the same as before.

The next morning I woke up, Nora was there a few minutes later.

"Morning, Dan." How are you feeling?"

"Fine actually. I guess I get released today?"

"Yes, in just a few hours. Your family brought in some clothes and will pick you up at noon."

I looked at my dufflebag tucked against the wall.

"Well, I am going to miss being here, I think."

"I think I will miss you, too."

"Hey, how about another....bath?"

Nora looked at me for a moment, then smiled.

"I can do that."

She closed the door, this time her touch was more sensual, she lifted my erection with both hands. I realized her hands were bare, too, no latex gloves this time. She took her time, stroking me until I reached a full erection, then she increased the pressure. I felt myself build up until there was no holding back. She placed the palm of her right hand over the end of my penis as she continued to stroke me with her left hand.

I felt myself release in a powerful series of waves. Then she washed me up, tucked the gown and blankets back into place and left.

She left the door open, I overheard the nurse outside, part of it anyway.

"Jesus, Nora! I thought you were going to kill the poor guy!" Then there were some giggles.

"He is a hunk for an older guy!"

"You should grab that one." The other voice said.

"I would if I thought I could." Then the voices faded as they went on down the hallway.

I lay there with my thoughts.

Just before noon Nora came in and got out my clothes, set them out for me. She took my final vitals, made some notes.

"You are fine, you will be all right." She actually leaned down and gave me a brief kiss on the forehead. Then I dressed, she made me sit in a wheelchair and started rolling me down the hall.

I took a chance.

"Nora, I was thinking. I wonder if you might like to share a dinner with me later?"

"I am not supposed to date clients."

"I'm not a client, I am being released."

"I guess you are, aren't you?" She stopped, looked at me with a nice smile.

"So what do you think? I like you and I we both are pretty much alone."

"You aren't falling in love with your nurse, are you?" She teased.

"Not yet, I don't think."

"OK then. Here is my number." She jotted down her phone number on a postit note, handed it to me.

"You better call me." She whispered in my ear.

"You can count on it."

Then she rolled me out the door, my son stood there with a grin. Nora leaned down and gave me a peck on the cheek, then went back inside.