frankherbert's Blog

17405827

[USE YOUR IMAGINATION], I need your advice on something, since you're probably the ones most qualified to give it.

I'm a nurse-orderly at a nursing home, been there for a year so far, I work the night shift on the west wing. It's not that tough, since most of the residents are so old and medicated that they sleep the night away, only rarely dying or stroking out or getting up to eat their own poop or something. I usually wind up playing with my DS or reading at the nurse's station for the full four hours I'm on watch alone, from 1 to 5.

However, a new patient arrived a month ago, which got my attention. A seven year old girl that was in a car crash that killed her parents, and took her legs, right arm, and right eye. As a ward of the state, and so messed up by all the trauma mentally that no foster parents would touch her, she got sent here when she got out of the hospital. God, she's so cute, she's half-japanese, but has blonde hair, and the rest of her body that didn't get cut away is just perfect, she used to be a gymnast, it seems. I've had to answer her call button several times so far, when she's had to use the restroom in the middle of the night, which meant carrying her from her bed to the toilet, then holding her as she used it, and she always looks away from me when she did so, blushing a little bit.

Anyway, what do you think, [USE YOUR IMAGINATION]? Picture somewhat related.

17396426

Well, I haven't taken any [pictures] yet (official policy is no photography by the staff for legal reasons, someone got busted in 2001 for taking pictures of the funny things senile old people do and posting them on the net), and I don't go back to work for another 10 hours. So I have no pictures of her to give you.

17396562

Uh, yeah...they keep orphans with extreme medical and physical care needs in all the orphanages, the ones on every street corner. The ones with qualified nurses and doctors to manage their constant care. And they totally just toss the one-armed girl a bedpan, and cut the cord on the call button.

Don't try and tell me how the system works, BLEEP, I'm part of the system, and it doesn't BLEEP work at all.

17396762

And for all those people telling me to adopt her, I'd love to, she seems like she was a really great kid, bright, outgoing, cheerful, before the accident. The problem is that people involved in the care of kids in the system often find it way harder to adopt them than someone with a less sterling record from OUTSIDE the system. It's BLEEP up, but that's the way it is.

17397471

Well, um...the problem is, if I'm nice to her, and treat her kindly, more as a friend or father-figure, she'd be likely, as a positive effect, to report it to the facility's psychiatrist during one of their sessions, in all innocence, who might then feel obligated to report that to the administrator. Who would then probably fire me for showing inappropriate affection, woo family services catch-22ism.

17397890

I've considered that, too. I mean, she's actually REALLY smart, like, she was in a school for the gifted before the accident, and her mother was a child psychologist, so they gave her a lot more freedom and choice than the average kid would get. And she was pretty gifted athletically, too, which just makes the whole thing all the more tragic.

Of course, she's also pretty broken now...extremely withdrawn, rare she says three words the whole day; at the same time, she lashes out at anyone that tries to get too close. She actually bit a psych intern who was trying some play therapy with her in the hospital hard enough to draw blood, before she was transferred here. The real problem is, if I were to try and form a bond with her, honestly, I'm afraid she'd do something to get me in trouble just to try and make me leave her alone, even if she really wants some affection.

This would be a lot easier if she was less traumatized.

17398333


And you know, the main reason I would have not to post pictures is that she's a pretty distinctive girl. I mean, how many half-japanese blonde green-eyed (singular) one-armed, no-legged seven year olds are there? That idiot I mentioned before got busted just for posting random old people, and there are millions of those.

17398890

Actually, she gets bussed to a rehab facility at the hospital almost every day, where she's learning to use prosthetic legs, and an arm. It's like it's the one thing she actually cares about anymore, I hear the staff there are amazed at the progress she's making.

It makes sense, though, because she really hates her wheelchair...the first time I answered one of her calls at night, I'd wheeled it out to put her in it, since that's standard procedure, but she asked me not to use it, so I carried her, instead.

Anyway, she wears the prosthetic arm during the day, but I'm not around then, so I've never actually seen her using it. I have seen it in her room, though; it's a nice model, probably the best in the whole facility. I guess her parents had a pretty responsible life insurance policy, so she doesn't have to deal with substandard prosthetics, at least...has a nice prosthetic eye, too, looks just like her real one, as much as a fake one can, anyway. Of course, the scarring over her eye kind of helps give it away.

17400270

I'll bring her something christmasy tonight...she's been getting especially depressed since the facility started putting up decorations a week ago, poor kid. Good way to see how receptive she is to interacting with me outside emergencies, too.

Not sure what'd be 'appropriate' or disposable enough, though...I know you're hardly the people to ask about 'appropriate' anything, but any ideas, [USE YOUR IMAGINATION]?

17401287

No, I'm still here, I was just grabbing something from the kitchen. Cute attempt at internet dramas with the flooding, though. And *I'm* the cancer that is killing [USE YOUR IMAGINATION]? Nigra, please.

And for the record, I had actually thought about the red prosthetic eye thing myself once, embarassed as I am to admit it. I'm not that big a Rozen BLEEP, though.

17402270

Sure they can. I mean, I've seen one myself (you know, in her room). Apparently, her father was almost stereotypically scandanavian, bright blonde hair, blue eyes, six foot+, etc. She's still got pretty clearly Japanese-y features, mostly, but most of her coloration is equally pretty clearly from his side of the family. Her skin is somewhere in between a pale japanese and a pale (rather than goldish) fjordish.

Frankly, I'd say she won the genetic lottery, too bad about the non-predetermined alterations.

17403691

I really wish I could get you guys a recording of her voice. She doesn't have an accent, because she was born and raised here in America, and her mother (the Japanese half) comes from a long line of Japanese-Americans (who disowned her, I guess, when she married Mr. Swedish Meatball, because little girl's relatives/contact information is nonexistent, just social workers), but her voice...well, it's just the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard, when she first spoke to me (about the wheelchair).

Even as flat and brusque as it was, it was like hearing an angel whisper hymns, and I still get goosebumps every time I've heard it since. I can't wait for tonight...I think I should bring her something else, maybe a tiny little keychain sized stuffed doll or something, or maybe a little wristband...any other ideas, guys?

17403984

She's not a robot, or animuishly designed to be the perfect cold-hearted Rei-clone. She's a real girl.

17404193

I'll bring it up at next week's meeting...perhaps a possibility of allowing individual gifts, with the potential that it could improve morale with the rest of the patients to grandparent her a bit (well, the non-racists, anyway).

This is just for tonight. Babysteps...

17407403

Note: This was in response to some BLEEP on [USE YOUR IMAGINATION] saying that her life was BLEEP and he would make it worse. Of course, one could theorize that he was just trolling, but it was kinda scathing. So, as you can see, the OP kicks major ass in a winning retort.


So, what's your solution?

Magically turn back time to make the accident not have happened? Magically heal her mind so that her body's imperfections alone are less likely to destroy her future? Maybe you could magically heal both of them, and she'd probably be adopted right away.

There is no magic. The world doesn't work like that. She has no future, not a future she deserves, anyway.

The fact of the matter is that I'm probably her best chance for a future worth living, one way or another. You may not want to admit it, but it's the truth. Go BLEEP the holes you cut in your son's dolls and cry yourself to sleep over the injustices of the world if you aren't strong enough to face them, BLEEP.

17408495

Note: This was posted in a seperate thread that was posted after the original thread went overboard.


OP here, I should clarify to whoever made the wiki entry that the last post was actually the last of a three-part post on my part, as a response to the same poster. So if they have a copy of the thread handy, they may want to correct that.

That said, I need to get ready for dinner, then hit the mall before heading in to work. Need to pick up that stuff for her that I'd mentioned...wish me luck, guys, and thanks for the productive advice I was given. Food for thought.

The rest of you BLEEP can go BLEEP yourselves.

[editors note: this is the first in the line of Nurse-Kun's story, I've changed some of the language so it will make sense to those outside of the Hive Mind)