As far as Meghan was concerned, Friday was the hump day in her whole hospital saga. After the doctors did their rounds that morning, her nurse, Julie, came in with some supplies.

“Today is the day!” Julie announced, setting down her supplies, sorting them, and reaching for some gloves before pulling the privacy curtain around Meghan’s bed.

“Huh?” Meghan just looked at her, puzzled.

“Today is the day you’ve been looking forward to,” Julie replied again. “This catheter is coming out!”

“Really?” Meghan got excited. Julie just laughed as she pulled down the covers on Meghan’s bed. “Let me deflate this balloon, and we’ll pull it out. It might hurt just a bit, but it’ll be over soon.” She deflated the catheter balloon using a syringe, and carefully removed the tape holding it to Meghan’s thigh. Using a foot, she scooted a trash can close to the bed. With a word of warning, she then pulled the tube out of Meghan’s bladder and disposed of the whole thing in the trash can.

Meghan felt discomfort as the tube was removed, but that quickly passed and she sighed in contentment. “Feels good to have that out!”

Julie stripped off her gloves and donned a new pair. “The next thing is that we can remove the nasal cannula and all of these telemetry patches.” Meghan removed the cannula herself and tossed it at the trash can. Julie removed wires from patches, and Meghan started pulling off the patches. Julie returned to her supplies and brought over some gauze and a roll of Coban self-adhesive tape.

“Let’s remove one of these IVs. Have a preference for which one stays and which one goes?” she asked.

Meghan thought for a moment. “Let’s keep the right one and get rid of the left.”

Julie nodded decisively and moved to Meghan’s right side. She removed the tape and Tegaderm bandages holding the IV catheter in place, put a piece of gauze over the insertion site, and removed the catheter. She wrapped Coban over the gauze and disposed of the catheter in the trash.

“There! That feels better, I bet, getting so many of those tubes and wires gone.” Julie busied herself with cleaning up the supplies.

“Yes. I think the cast is supposed to come off today, too. More steps towards freedom!”

Julie chuckled. “Yes, they are! Now just to be getting your strength up so you can walk out of here.”

Dr. Brant pushed into the room with a wheelchair. “Who’s walking where?”

“Dr. Rick!” Meghan was happy to see him. “Do I get the cast off today?”

“Absolutely!” he beamed. “What say we do it now?”

“Sure thing.” He assisted her from the bed to the wheelchair, and Julie settled a blanket over her lap.

Rick pushed Meghan out of her room and down the hall to the casting room. “I see you’ve gotten unhooked from a lot of stuff.”

“Yes, and it feels very freeing, believe me!”

Rick chuckled as he backed her into the casting room. “Well, let’s free you up a bit more. Janet, give me a hand.” They helped Meghan up onto the exam bed.

“I’ve been over your x-rays, and the fractures look to be healed. I’ve already put in orders for physical therapy to come by every day you’re still in the hospital, and then they’ll get you set up with PT appointments in the clinic after your discharge. You should be ready to head back to work in 3-4 weeks.”

Janet handed him a pair of safety glasses, which he put on. He picked up the cast saw and tested it. “Okay, Meghan. You’ll feel some vibrations, but the saw won’t cut skin,” he reassured. He set saw to cast and soon had a line cut all the way down the length of the cast. He handed the now-quiet saw to Janet and grasped the cast with both hands. He pulled it apart and eased her leg out of the fiberglass. He checked her incisions again, and helped wipe her leg down with bathing wipes.

“Good to go!” he declared, as she looked at her leg.

“It’s so skinny! I used to have a rather fat calf.”

Just like the rest of you, he thought. It was obvious, even in the hospital gown, that Meghan had lost a good deal of weight while in the hospital. “The physical therapy will help with that. Shall we head back to your room?” Janet helped Meghan back into the wheelchair, and Rick pushed her back to her room.

Her nurse’s assistant, Robert, met them there. “Hey there, Meghan! No cast! Bet that feels great, getting it off.”

“You have no idea,” she said, happily.

“Why don’t we start you in the chair, and I’ll see if Rita can come over to help you with your bath? I was just getting ready to change your bed linens.” Robert helped Meghan out of the wheelchair and into the recliner.

“Sounds like a nice plan,” Dr. Rick chuckled. “I’ll check on you later.” He pushed the wheelchair out of the room.

Robert left in search of Rita, and Meghan scooted down into the chair a bit, getting comfortable and relishing in the weightless feeling in her left leg, now that the cast was off. Robert soon returned, his arms full of linens. “Rita is finishing up with another patient, but then she’ll be in.”

“I’m in no hurry,” Meghan assured him. “After all, it’s not like I have much on my social calendar at the moment.”

Robert laughed as he set about changing the sheets on Meghan’s hospital bed. He asked Meghan about her work on the ambulance, and they were having a good conversation when Rita arrived. Robert excused himself, taking the dirty linen with him.

“Do you want to bed bathe, or would you like a shower?” Rita asked.

“I can shower?” Meghan asked excitedly.

Rita chuckled. “You no longer have a cast on. I’ll double-check with your nurse just to be sure, but I think you’d be allowed.”

“That would be heavenly! You have no idea,” Meghan replied.

Rita winked. “Be right back!” She returned a few minutes later with Julie.

“I hear someone wants to shower!” Julie said, pulling on a pair of gloves.

“Absolutely!”

“Rita and I will help you into the bathroom. There is a shower chair there for you to sit on, and we need you to stay sitting – you’re not strong enough to be standing up on your own yet. Rita will stay with you, and then I’ll come back after you’re done to help you back to bed. Sound like a plan?” Julie rounded up a gait belt and secured it around Meghan’s waist.

“Deal! I’m so excited,” Meghan bounced on the seat of the chair.

“Well, then, let’s get you up.” Julie came to one side, and Rita to the other side. They took hold of the gait belt, counted to three, and helped Meghan stand. They waited for a second for Meghan to get her balance, and then assisted Meghan into the bathroom. Meghan’s left leg was very weak and wanted to buckle on her, which they had anticipated. They got Meghan situated on the shower chair, and Julie exited.

Julie walked to the nurses’ station and rummaged through the supply area, but couldn’t find what she was after. She headed for an available phone and placed a call down to physical therapy.

By the time Meghan had finished her shower, Julie returned to her room with a new walker. She went to the room’s bathroom door and knocked. “How’s it going in here?”

“She’s just about done,” Rita replied. “Just trying to get the tangles brushed out.”

Julie stepped into the bathroom. “Feel better after your shower?”

Meghan continued to work her brush through her hair. “Oh, my, yes! I feel almost human again!”

Julie chuckled. “I’ve brought along a walker with me. I think that you need the extra balance assist at the moment until that leg decides to be strong again.” She had Meghan stand up after reapplying the gait belt and brought the walker over. Julie adjusted the height to fit Meghan and then helped Meghan back towards her bed. “Bed or chair?”

“Chair, please. I may still fall asleep, but I know the more time out of bed the better,” Meghan replied. Julie nodded approvingly, and they assisted Meghan in sitting down.

Rita fussed around the room, making sure Meghan’s water and the call bell were well within reach. “Call if you need us, or need to get up for anything,” Julie admonished Meghan. “You must have someone with you when you’re getting up and moving around. We don’t like falls on this floor.”

Meghan held up her hands in surrender. “I promise. I prefer to be standing, not lying on the floor.”

The two ladies left, and Meghan was by herself. As much as she was loathe to admit it, the shower, while wonderful, had left her exhausted. She flipped channels on the TV for a while before falling asleep.