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Chapter 11

The morning light filtering through the drapes woke Annie, as Nate slept beside her. She lay propped up slightly on her side with pillows under her elbows and between her knees as well as her head. Nate stirred a little as she whispered to him. He had taken such loving care of her after their lovemaking, that she felt privileged to be with him. The way that he had cleaned her up, dressed her for bed and tucked her in had been so sweet and endearing, even setting himself an alarm at 3am to turn her. Now though she was ready for the day ahead and wanted Nate to get on with helping her up.

He woke and kissed her first before beginning their morning routine of toileting, washing and dressing before breakfast. They had an eleven o’clock appointment at the mobility specialists and didn’t want to be late. Nate had her ready quite quickly and in her chair for breakfast. She adored the sip’n’puff controls, but was still a little unsure about which type would be best. Money was no object of course and so she determined to follow the advice from the experts. Blowing into the straw she followed Nate into the kitchen. Her now slightly mobile arms still lay unused in the troughs where he had placed them. Unlike before she made no attempts to help herself when Nate gave her juice to drink, sticking to the feeding bottle and straw. Even her coffee came the same way that morning. When they had finished, Nate checked his watch. Despite the early rise, it was already ten.

“We should start to get you loaded in the van.” Nate gathered up their things, including the brochures they had poured over and ran out to the van to get things arranged. Annie followed along, having to pause occasionally to adjust the direction the chair travelled in as she navigated the hallway, door and ramp.

Fifteen minutes later, the couple were pulling away from the house and on their way. They arrived with about ten minutes to spare at the single storey building at one end of the high street. Annie recognised the town as the one where they had visited the market on previous visits. Nate got the ramp sorted and waited patiently for Annie to back the chair down the ramp. At the bottom, he adjusted her position as the vibration had affected her during their ride over. As they made their way to the door, a middle-aged salesman appeared to hold it open for them. He welcomed them and led them to his desk for a chat.

“How have you found this chair?” he asked Annie.

“I like the controls, they’re really easy to get a hang of,” she paused. “I’m still not sure which type are the best for me though.”

“Well there are obviously lots of different models of control and you don’t need to just have the one type. I notice you have some arm function so it may be possible to have a modified joystick mounted to the chair you choose. Shall we have a look at some more options and you can try out the various types?”

“What would you recommend from experience?” Nate asked him.

“Well if I just confirm some details with you, I can work it out a little easier.” He turned to face Annie and his ease with disabled people showed as he asked about her injury.

“I’m a C-4 quadriplegic. I don’t have any use of my body from here,” she attempted to flick her arm, unsuccessfully, towards the line where sensation began above her breasts. “I have no movement or sensation from my collar bones down and my hands and wrists are completely paralyzed as well. I can flex my elbows a little but I have no triceps either so I can’t push down with my arms to adjust position.”

“Okay, what about your upper chest muscles?”

“No pecs either,” she replied.

“Do you suffer from spasms?”

“Not really, but I have very poor sitting balance as well.”

He made a few more notes and observations, asking about how much energy she had during the day, how much she was able to do with her arms, etc. Eventually, he left them and gave a list to a technician who was hovering nearby to help. The tech went around the showroom and began to bring an assortment of powerchairs over to the desk. They studied the various chairs and controls recommended. Annie decided she would like to try one with a joystick so Nate unstrapped her and lifted her into the seat. It wasn’t as supportive as the demo model and Nate had to hold her shoulders in place whilst the tech strapped her in. She dragged her hand to the small joystick by repeatedly shrugging her shoulders and tried to manipulate the control, but her fingers kept sliding off it. The tech brought over a different type and fitted it for her, her hand resting on what looked like a miniature football goal. This was easier than the previous one; moving forwards and backwards proved easy enough, but she found changing direction a little more awkward with no wrist control. Nate fished around in her bag for a wrist splint and fitted it for her. Although it was a little better her actions weren’t smooth, but rather jerky.
“My arm is really aching now,” she shrugged her shoulder in protest.

“Its not used to that amount of work,” Nate added. “Maybe the straw is a better option. You used that with no problems.”

“The straw is also more accessible,” the salesman suggested. “Could you lift your arm up if it fell from the rest?”

Annie shrugged. “Take it off so I can see,” she asked Nate.

Carefully, he took her arm and let it dangle freely. She tried to lift it back in place but her arm wasn’t able to lift her hand high enough. She shrugged her shoulders away to add extra lift, but was still way sort of getting her hand back to the controls.

She sighed. “This could leave me stranded, couldn’t it?”

The salesman nodded. “I suspected it could be difficult. You could use a strap to secure it to the rest, but I would suggest dual controls might be a better idea if you experienced discomfort.”

“Fit both you mean?” Nate queried.

The salesmen nodded and turned back to Annie. “You could also have head controls or a joystick mounted at you chin.”
“I prefer the straw to head controls, which we had on trial for a while. I think the joystick might be useful when I’ve practised more though so maybe we can have both.”

The decision about controls made, Annie tried out several chairs, with different levels of adjustment and power. In the end she ordered one that had very long lasting batteries so was able to go long distances between charges; she would be at work and constantly moving around during the day. It was an upgraded version of the one she had had on loan. Like the loaner, it had tilt and recline, lots of padding and support and would help to prevent sores as a result. It took them a couple of hours to sort out all the paperwork and measuring. Once that was over, they looked at a number of other things to make quad life easier, many of which were in stock so they bought them immediately. The chair and other items would be delivered to the beach house as soon as they arrived.

Amongst the items they brought away with them was a hoist to get Annie from bed to chair and vice versa, a mount for both tablet and cell phone and a selection of mouth-sticks. When Nate realised she would now be able to use her cell phone and laptop, however, he wondered whether he should confiscate the mouth-sticks for her own good. She looked at him and promised she would only use them to practice with and not work so he decided against it.

It made life easier now that they had the hoist. Nate hadn’t minded lifting Annie, but he worried about dropping her or tripping. The hoist had a sling which fitted under her body and legs, supporting her completely, even her head. Nate had to pump a handle on the frame to lift the sling around Annie and it gradually pulled her into a semi-reclined seated position, perfect for lowering her into the waiting, already tilted wheelchair. Nate had needed to change Annie’s diaper when they had returned from the appointment and used that as an excuse to use the hoist.

They had trialled it in the showroom and were keen to use it as soon as possible on return. As they pulled up outside and Nate began unloading everything, including Annie, their neighbours were just leaving for a walk to the grocery store. David and Ellen wandered over to the van to say hello. Between getting their newly acquired items and Annie out of the van, Nate had his hands full so the couple offered to lend a hand.

Nate thanked them, gave them both something to carry in, dropped the box of mouth-sticks in Annie’s lap and led the way to the front door with the largest of the boxes. After he opened the door, Annie led their neighbours through as Nate went back to collect the last of the stuff and close up the van. David and Ellen followed Annie through the house to the spare bedroom to deposit the stuff. Annie thanked them before they left, but before they went out the couple invited them to a barbecue later. Leaving as Nate returned, they bid each other farewell and told Nate to ask Annie about arrangements for that evening.

They chatted about the barbecue as Nate assembled the hoist from the various boxes that he had just brought in. It didn’t take him long to have the frame assembled and ready for use, in fact, it took him longer to get the sling under Annie’s uncooperative body. Eventually, he had the sling in place and proceeded to lift her up out of the chair, remove her shoes, then wheel the hoist over the bed to lower Annie down safely. Nate moved the hoist out of the way and proceeded to remove Annie’s clothing on her lower body. He pulled her pants down over her hips first, making sure the absorbent pad on the bed was underneath her, then finished removing them carefully so as not to dislodge the catheter and leg bag. The pants were quite baggy, deliberately a size too big to accommodate Annie’s diaper and to make it easier to dress her limp body. Annie’s thin legs were then revealed, the rubber tube snaking from out the top of the diaper, down her thigh to the nearly full leg bag strapped to her calf. Her feet lay splayed, toes pointing down and curled under slightly. Nate glanced down at Annie’s body. No one would guess that she was in fact completely able-bodied, she looked so obviously paralyzed in her present state.

He went to the bathroom to collect a fresh diaper and something to clean her up with. Donning a pair of latex gloves, he lifted Annie’s legs to pull the diaper from under her. Balling up the diaper, he left briefly to put it straight in the trash and returned to clean her up with an assortment of wipes. Annie blushed, though she no longer worried about his having to clean her up, as he removed the soiled items and set about fitting a fresh diaper.

Nate explained that they could now make life easier for her with the hoist. She looked at him quizzically. “You can be hoisted over the toilet and a suppository inserted to make you poop. The hoist allows you to be supported where it was impossible before.”

“If it means no more messy diapers, that has to be a good thing.”

“I know you don’t like that, so it’s a relief for me too. You should still wear them just in case, but accidents should be a rarity rather than the norm.” Nate busied himself re-dressing Annie’s lower body, before hoisting her back into the chair. He rolled her from side to side to fit the harness and then connected the straps to the hooks on the hoist. After a few pumps, she was in the air and being wheeled back over her chair. As he lowered her, Nate was careful to keep her hips as close to the back of the chair as possible. It was safer to have the chair tilted backwards when using the hoist so that as her weight landed on the chair, Annie wasn’t likely to tip or slide forwards and onto the floor. When her body was settled into the seat, he carefully lifted each leg to release the harness, pulling the straps to the side. Then he pulled her upper body forwards until her chest rested on her thighs, allowing him to free the rest of the harness from her hips and back. While she was helpless to move in this position, it allowed Nate to pull her hips as far back as possible so that her body was not slumped when she was unable to adjust her own position. When he had finished getting her backside in the correct place, he pulled her shoulders back. As she was moved, Annie grunted from the release of her own body pinning her down. In order to keep her stable, Nate pushed the lateral supports in place, lifting her arms out of the way and dropping them into the troughs that were there to keep her arms from falling. He pushed the pad tightly up against her ribs, so she would remain straight and stable whenever she turned. Finally came the adjustments to her clothes and replacement of her shoes. When all that was done, Nate placed the straw at her mouth so she could head into the living area. He tidied up and followed her a minute later.

Keen to practice her driving skills, they headed out for an afternoon stroll to the village shops, which were only ten minutes down the road. Picking up a couple of bottles of wine and some beer for the barbecue, the couple drew attention as always. Annie was now keen to strike up a conversation with those she came across. It was bizarre how she became so much more sociable in her paralyzed state. In the city, during the week, she rarely took time to make idle conversation with anyone, let alone random strangers. At the weekend she took pleasure in her social interactions. It was strange to think of herself in that way, as two different people almost. One physically perfect but socially limited, the other the complete opposite. Annie knew which of her two lifestyles she wanted on a permanent basis and now simply needed to work out how this could happen.

The barbecue was huge fun, giving Annie and Nate the chance to meet a few more of their weekend neighbours. Some looked a little nervous when they first saw Annie, but between the introductions made by their hosts and Annie’s good humoured conversation, they established new acquaintances amongst the friendly community. Her lack of embarrassment about being fed in front of others was a thing of the past as she accepted a hot dog and beer from Scotty, who was seemingly unfazed by her disability.

“How much ketchup do you like?”

“Plenty,” she replied, “but no mustard.”

“I hate it too,” he squirted a long wavy line of ketchup along the top and then proudly presented it to her. Nate was busy chatting to David, both engrossed in barbecue etiquette at the grill. Nate, halfway through eating his own, looked up at his fiancé. “You need me to take over now?” He noticed yet again that she made no attempt to use her arms at all in front of their neighbors even though he had given some function back. He suspected she had deliberately made it look harder than it really was to use the joystick on the chair at the showroom earlier as well.

“Nah, I got it,” Scotty answered him, then looked down a little embarrassed as he hadn’t asked Annie if she minded.

“Its fine, go ahead.” She opened her mouth to take a bite as Scotty lifted it up for her. She ended up with ketchup on the end of her nose, which Scotty just looked at momentarily as she tried to lick it off, squinting with cross-eyes as she attempted to look down at it. Her young companion just laughed at her attempt to look at the offending ketchup and offered to wipe it off with a napkin. It was a funny moment and everyone looked around at the pair giggling together. Ellen came over moments later and ruffled her sons hair.

“Getting up to mischief as usual?”

“Mom,” he replied in exasperation, pulling his head out from under her hand as teenage sons are inclined to do.

Annie and Ellen both laughed at Scotty’s whine and said at the same time, “teenagers!”

It was a tired but happy couple who wandered back to the beach house late that night. Nate immediately set about getting Annie ready for bed with their now usual routine, except for the use of the hoist instead of having to lift her from bed to wheelchair and vice versa.

As he helped her to brush her teeth and clean up afterwards, they discussed their evening and the people they had met. Their neighbours had all been friendly and sociable, making the experience a most pleasant one. Nate suggested that maybe they should offer to host a party for the neighbours in the not too distant future.

Nate lowered Annie onto the bed a few minutes later, removed the sling and wheeled the hoist away to the corner of the room.

Annie lay awake for quite a long time thinking about the future. She needed a way of making sure she stayed like this forever, but it was going to take some creative storytelling on her part afterwards. She wondered if she could fake a fall and have Nate paralyse her as a result. She would need to find a suitable place for it to happen, somewhere where there would be no witnesses.