Matt's Accident Changed Everything

"Hello?"

"Dana, this is Jill from next door. I hate to ask you this, but I need to ask a huge favor. Is there any way you could come over and look at Matt for me?"

"Certainly Jill, what's wrong with him?"

"He said he fell out of a tree he was climbing and hurt his, um, how do I say this, ehm, his groin area? He's in a lot of pain but he won't let me look because I'm his mother. I don't know if I should to take him to the ER?"

"Fell out of a tree?"

"I know. He's 18, I don't know why he's climbing trees. He's in a lot of pain though and I'm worried he may have really hurt something, if you know what I mean."

"Jill, I'll be right over. I raised a son myself, so I understand how some boys can be. See you in a minute."

Jill and Matt moved in three years ago. She is a single mom and they keep to themselves. Jill is very quiet and reserved. Matt is a senior in high school, also very quiet. He's a sweet boy though but very shy. I've never seen him hang around with friends and he seems to always be home.

But, I have seen him in that tree before.

Many times.

...

"Dana, thank you so much for coming over. He's in his room." We walked down the hallway and she knocked on his door.

"Matt? I called Dana from next door. She's going to look at you."

"WHAT? Jill NO! I'm fine!" Jill opened the door and as soon as I saw him lying on the bed, knew he was in a lot of pain. I also thought it odd he called her Jill and not mom. I'd not picked up on that before.

"Matt, your mom told me you got hurt in a sensitive area. I've been a nurse for 30 years and have seen it all. To me it's like I'm looking at your arm or your leg.

I see you are in a lot of pain. There is a chance you may have ruptured a testicle or even twisted them. That's called torsion and isn't good. If that's the case, we will be heading to the ER immediately. It could cause permanent damage and you don't want that. This won't take but just a few minutes. Is it okay for me to examine you?" His face had turned red from embarrassment but he knew something wasn't right. He looked back at his mom and then asked,

"Will she be in here?" I looked at Jill and motioned for the door. She nodded and walked out, closing the door behind her. Most teenage boys are like this.

"Can you tell me what happened and where you got hurt?" He waited until the door was closed before he talked.

"I was bored and decided to climb the tree in the backyard. I slipped on one of the branches and fell about six feet, landing directly on the branch. It was so painful. I even threw up.

Do you really have to look at me?"

"How am I going to tell what's wrong if I don't? Not only look, but I'll have to feel around too. There is no need to be embarrassed. Okay? If you don't let me do it here, there will be several nurses and techs at the ER that will be looking and you won't have the level of privacy you do here in your bedroom. But I can't promise after I look we won't be taking you to the hospital anyway. Understand?" He nodded in fear.

"Can you stand up for me?" He lifted himself off the bed and stood, but was bent over in pain.

"It hurts that bad? Maybe we just need to take you to the ER now."

"No, please. I don't want to go to the hospital if I don't have to. What do I need to do?"

"Simple, just lower your pants and underwear. I'll need to look and feel around. Since you are already in pain, any touching I do is going to hurt. I'll be as gentle as I can, but that's the only way I can see if I can figure out what's wrong." He nodded and lowered his pants. He held his hand over his penis which was erect. I noticed the tenting in his underwear and is normal for a boy his age.

"I need your underwear down too." He looked at me and then down at his predicament trying to make it go down. Without hesitation, I added,

"Don't worry, I've seen an erection before. Boys your age get them all the time and it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Many men also get erections when examined. I see it happen frequently and it's normal. Now the sooner you let me examine you, the sooner this will be over."

He mumbled "this is so embarrassing" as he pulled his underwear down.

I've been a nurse long enough to not be surprised at anything I see. Fortunately, I maintained my composure as I looked.

"You

are

swollen. I know that hurts. My son got hit with a baseball once and his scrotum looked just like this. I'll be as gentle as I can but it's going to hurt. I'm sorry." I reached down and felt around his testicles. His scrotum was swollen and already turning purple from the bruising. He flinched several times from the pain and was almost in tears at one point. It didn't appear he ruptured anything and it felt like everything was where it was supposed to be.

"Have you been able to pee?"

"Yes"

"Did it hurt?"

"No."

"Did you notice any blood in the urine?"

Again, "No."

As I finished my exam, I held his penis and looked at the raw skin on the shaft. I pulled back his foreskin and noticed red splotches on the glans. He flinched again as I touched one of the raw areas. He then asked,

"Can I pull my pants back up now?"

"Matt?" I continued looking at the underside of his shaft, which was also raw.

"Yes ma'am?"

"What have you done here? I don't know what you are doing, but you need to be using lotion or lube when you masturbate." His face went blank and I thought he was going to faint from my observation.

"Matt, your testicles are fine. It's just contusion which is a fancy word for trauma, but you already knew that. And you'll need to ice them for a few days and wear tight underwear or a jock strap when you get up and move around. No ER though. No school tomorrow either. You may need to be out Friday too.

But your penis is raw. What are you doing when you masturbate? How did your penis get like this?"

His face had gone from red to white and I thought he may pass out from my question.

"Matt, look at me. All boys masturbate. All men masturbate. Believe me, I know. I was married for many years and raised my son. But I also taught him to use lotion or lube when he did his thing. Has your mom not told you this?" His eyes lit up as he shook his head no.

"N-n-no. She's never talked to me about anything like that before." He looked horrified.

"Lay back down on the bed. You can cover up with the sheet, but take your pants and underwear all the way off. I'll be back in a second."

"Why?" He asked as he sat back down on the bed.

"I'm going to get some ice for your scrotum and ointment to put on your penis. That looks awful and could get infected." I walked out and into the living room.

...

"Jill, we need to put some ice on it." I followed her into the kitchen to get a bag of ice.

"Also, do you have any antibiotic ointment?"

"Yes, why? How bad is it? Do we need to go to the hospital?" She reached into the pantry to fetch the ointment while I put ice in a zip-lock.

"No. It didn't feel like anything was ruptured or that he had torsion. It's just bruising and the ice will help. He'll be better in a day or two. But, when I was doing his exam, I noticed his penis is raw."

"Raw?" She asked.

"Yes, from masturbating. Have you not told him he needs to use lotion or lube?" She had the same look of shock on her face.

"What? NO! I could never have a conversation with him about that."

"Why not? You're his mother! All boys masturbate and he needs to understand it's normal and healthy to do so. But he needs to know that he could hurt himself if he's dry when he does it. I'm not sure how he's doing it or what he's using, but it doesn't look good and he's not doing it right. You should see it, Jill. I'm surprised it's not infected."

"I-I-I've never even talked with him about sex, much less

THAT

!" I was now the one in shock and my face showed it.

"Let me put this on him and then I want to talk. If that's alright?" She nodded. I walked back into Matts room.

"I have some ice and ointment. Lay back on the bed and spread your legs for me." His face was beet red but he spread his legs as I pulled the sheet back. His erection still sticking straight up. I gently lifted his scrotum and put the bag of ice underneath. He flinched at the ice.

"I know it's cold, but it will help the swelling." I then opened the ointment and looked further at his penis.

"This is going to sting but will help with the healing. There is another cream we have at the office and I'll bring a couple of samples tomorrow." I proceeded to rub the ointment into the raw spots. His penis jumped a few times while I was putting it on, but that's a natural reaction. Fortunately, he was hard, so covering all the raw spots was easier with his skin stretched out.

"It's small. Isn't it? The boys at school tease me about it."

I was expecting this question.

"Matt, I've seen many penises over my life and they come in all sizes. And I will tell you it doesn't matter. What matters is that you know how to use it." I then added and joked, "Most men don't. And I'll bet anything those boys that tease you don't either." I smiled, then walked into his bathroom to wipe the ointment off my fingers. As I walked back in, he started pulling the sheet back over him to cover his privates.

"Why don't you let that air out for a while? I'll close the door behind me, but I think it will be best uncovered." He nodded.

"Your mom said she has never had a conversation with you about sex. Is that true?"

He nodded again.

"Do you have questions?"

He sheepishly said, "Yes"

"I'm going to talk with your mom and see if maybe we can answer some of your questions. Would that be alright?" He nodded. Despite being 18, he looked like a little boy in that moment. He then started to say something but stopped.

"Yes? You can tell me anything Matt."

"I've, um, I've asked questions in the past and my grandmother always told me I shouldn't ask such things. Same with Jill." He looked down and ashamed. But relieved to have someone to talk to.

He continued.

"We lived with my grandmother until she died three years ago. I was home schooled until I started public school my sophomore year. All the boys had been through health class and knew things. I get made fun of because when they talk about girls, I have no idea what they are talking about. I mean, I think I know but I'm not sure. I'm also smaller than the other boys, so I get picked on in the locker room. And in the lunchroom. They've even told some of the girls about how small I am and they laugh at me too and make jokes about me. Well, most of them. At least I'm in AP classes and I only have to see those jerks for PE." He continued.

"I've asked Jill before, but she doesn't want to talk about it. At least she doesn't call me a pervert like my grandmother used to. Jill just avoids the questions." He had a sense of relief getting that off his chest.

"Well, let me chat with your mom and see if we can't get some of your questions answered." I started walking out of the room.

"Ms. Bennet?"

"Yes Matt?"

"Are you going to tell her I've been touching myself?"

"Sweetheart, she already knows. I told you all boys masturbate. There is nothing mysterious about that. And there's nothing wrong with it either. It's nothing to be ashamed of." He looked down and shook his head 'no'.

"You don't understand. My grandmother caught me one time before she died. I got the worst spanking of my life. She told me to never do it again. I'm sorry, I just can't help myself sometimes."

Poor boy, what have they done to him?

I walked back over and sat on the side of his bed beside him, my back to his groin area so he wouldn't be further embarrassed.

"Matt, it's completely natural and normal to masturbate. And healthy. Everyone does it. Even women, and that includes me." His eyes lit up.

"Yes. How about you rest and let me talk with your mom. Alright?" He nodded again.

"Also, you need to put that ointment on every few hours. And the longer you keep the sheet off and let it air out, the quicker the healing. Your mom will have to bring you more ice later, but I'll tell her to knock on the door so you can cover up. Deal?"

"Thank you." I shut his door behind me.

I walked back into her living room and she was already sitting on the edge of the sofa with a nervous look on her face.

"Jill, can we talk?" She looked horrified but nodded 'yes'. She was shaking, but I could tell she was holding something back and wanted to talk about it.

"Why don't you tell Matt you are coming over to my house for a while. But don't open the door without knocking first. I want him to air out with the ointment on. He doesn't have anything on below the waist. And he's quite embarrassed about it." She nodded and then I continued,

"While he's resting, I'll open a bottle of wine and we can talk. I'll also bring some ointment from my office tomorrow that will be better for him. You will need to replace the ice every few hours, but he's going to be fine. He needs to stay home from school tomorrow and if it were me, Friday too." She nodded and knocked on his door to tell him she was going to my house.

...

I poured two glasses of wine as we settled on the sofa in the living room. I then asked,

"Jill, we don't know each other that well and if I'm out of place here, tell me and I'll leave it alone. But what's going on? Why haven't you talked to him about sex? You are his mother. I understand not having a man around to have that talk is one thing, but I was single too when I sat my son down. And he was a lot younger, well before puberty. I know it may be embarrassing for him, and even you, but you are the one that needs to talk to him about his body and about sex. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm just not comfortable with it. My mom never even told me about sex. When I started my period, my mom put a box of pads on my dresser. She didn't tell me what to expect. Nothing. I had to figure it out on my own. My parents were older when they had me and always very strict and old school. We just didn't talk about things like that in our house. Ever." A tear ran down her cheek as she took a sip of wine.

"Still, you need to talk to him. He has questions and you need to answer them."

"You don't understand. I can't. I-I don't know what to tell him." She finished that glass and I poured another.

She began shaking, "When I was younger, I went to a friend's house after the last day of school. She was having a few girls over for a pool party. My mom was reluctant, but let me go anyway because the other girls were going. What my mom didn't know was her parents were out of town. Her older sister was there though. A few of her sister's friends came over and before long, it was a large party. One of the older boys started talking to me and made me feel good. We started kissing and he convinced me to sneak into my friend's bedroom while everyone was outside. I'd never done anything but kiss a boy before then." She started crying again. When she composed herself, she continued.

"I got pregnant with Matt that afternoon. I was 15. I was crying when my mom picked me up and she knew something happened. I told her and got into so much trouble. My father spanked me that night until I almost passed out in tears. And then every night for the next week." She started crying again and I gave her time.

"When I missed my period, my mom took me to the doctor and they confirmed I was pregnant. My parents were furious, but told me I was going to have the baby and learn to grow up.

They didn't enroll me in school the next year, so I stayed at home and was home-schooled. I rarely went out during my pregnancy, other than see the doctor. Even after I had him, they said the stigma of a young girl having a child so young was an embarrassment to them. We lived in a small town and that's how it was. When I finished high school, I wasn't allowed to go off to school, so I took online courses in accounting from a college.

My parents basically raised him and he was more like a little brother than my son when he was younger." She took a sip of wine and wiped her tears.

"I never graduated college, but my father did get me a bookkeeping job with the company he worked for. I worked from home and picked up a few more part-time jobs as well. I wanted to move out, but then my father got sick and I needed to help mom. Like I said, they were much older when they had me.

After he died, I told her I needed to move out and be on my own. She gave me a guilt trip about being there for me and all she had done raising my son. And that I should stay with her and Matt. I told her I wanted to start dating. But she said nobody would want to date me because I had a son. I was 'damaged goods'.

A few more years went by and then she got sick. I took care of her until she died three years ago. I sold her house and everything they had. I just needed a new start. I decided we would move into town and we bought this house. I needed to get away. I've kept my bookkeeping jobs and can work from anywhere. This is the first time I've ever been out on my own." She started crying again. I reached across the table and held her hand, giving her time.

"Turns out mom was right. Nobody wants to date a young woman with a teenage boy. I've been out with a handful of guys over the past few years, even when mom was still alive. But when I always got to the part about having a kid, they wanted no part of it.

There were two guys I dated that said they didn't mind me having a kid. After a few dates with the first one, I slept with him. He was rough with me and rushed. I wasn't sure what I was doing if I'm being honest. It hurt when he entered me but fortunately, he finished quickly. He never called me again after that.

After a few months, I met another man who was a few years older. It was almost the same thing that happened. He also pushed me down on him and made me take him into my mouth. I know what that is, but had never done it before. He got frustrated because I didn't know what I was doing. He pulled out of my mouth and had his way with me. He never called me again either."

She started crying again.

"Dana, I don't know much about men. I've only had three experiences and all three were horrible. And I certainly don't know anything about boys Matt's age. I don't know how to talk with him about it." Tears were still running as she took a long sip of wine, looking relieved to get that off her chest.

I reached across the table and took her hands into my hands. "Jill, you poor dear. I feel like such a horrible neighbor. I wished I would have known. I would have helped you. But, I know now and am going to help you."

She held back tears as she asked, "How?"

"For one, we are going to have a talk with your son. He's 18, Jill. Three years older than you were when you had him. And all he knows about sex is from whatever porn he watches and the stuff he's heard in the locker room at school. That's not good because those boys don't know anything about women. They just know where to put it and how to get off. Even the ones that have had sex don't know anything at that age. He needs to know how it really works."

"He doesn't watch porn. I've got filters on the Wi-Fi. That's something my parents did as soon as he started using a computer and I've kept them in place. But Dana, I can't talk to him about this stuff. I don't know enough myself."

I grinned and shook my head. "Nonsense. If you have questions, I'll answer anything you have. I've been a nurse for 30 years, 20 of which were with an OB/GYN. So, I'm quite familiar with the female body. I was also married for 12 years and Jacob was 8 when his father left. I raised him myself. I understand more about boys and men than they do." That brought a smile.