The Paramedic's Brother-In-Law

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Meghan entered the kitchen bright and early the next morning and started the coffeepot to brewing, which soon had Mitch walking out of his bedroom. “Do I smell coffee?”

“Absolutely!” Meghan replied as she started rummaging in the fridge. “I heard it calling my name when I woke up.” She pulled out eggs, peppers and an onion, and cheese. Turning around, she spied Kelsey coming. “Morning, sis. Do you have any ham?”

Kelsey yawned as she spoke. “Third drawer down. Making omelets?”

“Yes. I’m hungry!”

Mitch chuckled. “I’m glad to hear it. Need a hand?”

“I’ll let you do the toast.” Meghan set about chopping veggies while Mitch dug out bread, butter, and the toaster.

Meghan soon had steaming omelets on plates with buttered toast. Mitch poured coffee, and Kelsey sat and watched the proceedings with amusement. Meghan had always liked to cook, and Mitch had effectively become her sous chef for the meal.

As they ate, they chatted amicably. Meghan could tell she was getting a little tired but was determined to try to push through it. After all, the next several weeks were hers to garner strength and get ready to be back on duty, as far as she was concerned.

By mid-morning, though, Meghan lost the fight. She was watching TV with Kelsey, sitting on the couch, and the next thing she knew, she was lying on the couch, covered with a blanket, and two hours had passed by! Mitch, who was passing through the living room, noticed her eyes were open and came over. “Have a good nap?”

Meghan was disgusted with herself. “I guess so. I didn’t want to nap today!”

Mitch smiled kindly. “Go easy on yourself, Meghan. You’re home from the hospital, yes, but you have a lot of recovering still to do.”

She sighed and sat up. “You’re right, but I don’t like it. I want to be back 100%, not still struggling with the fatigue.”

“Would you like a sandwich?” Mitch asked, changing the subject. “Kelsey’s going to help me put together lunch.”

“Sure, I could eat. You said Kelsey’s helping you?”

“She is. We’re putting to use what she’s learned so far with occupational therapy.” Kelsey waved from the kitchen. Meghan got up and made her way to the kitchen bar area and sat down.

“So what are they having you do in therapy?” Meghan asked.

“I’m still doing a lot of passive range of motion exercises, but we are working on my grasping lightweight things with my thumb and index finger. So I’m getting to peel the deli meat apart and place it on the sandwich. Same thing with the individual slices of cheese,” she said, as she concentrated on separating two pieces that didn’t seem to want to separate. “Grr! Hon…”

Mitch winked at her. “You have to share the fun, there, Kelsey.” He wound up using a knife to separate the two pieces of cheese, then handed them to Kelsey, who placed them atop sandwiches. Chips completed the plates, and Mitch carried them to the table.

“Good sandwich,” Meghan remarked after the first bite. “But I think my cheese slice is on there crooked.” This got her an elbow in the ribs. “Hey!”

“Don’t you criticize my sandwich artistry,” Kelsey retorted.

Mitch rolled his eyes but kept eating.

**********

Later that afternoon, Mitch drove Meghan over to her apartment. She wanted to change out the clothes she’d been wearing for a few weeks for something different, plus needed to make sure everything was okay. Getting up the two flights of stairs was tough, and she collapsed in the easy chair in her living room as soon as she made it there. “Why did I agree to an apartment on the third floor?” she wondered out loud.

Mitch chuckled. “Almost makes you want to move, doesn’t it?”

Meghan chuckled too, but replied, “Actually, I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. It sure would have made things a lot easier if I was on a ground level, and this hasn’t been the most convenient location.”

“When is your lease up?” Mitch asked, curious.

“I’ve got another…” Meghan counted months in her head. “Five months. I just might start poking around about places. Maybe I can find something closer to both work and shopping.”

They chatted for a few more minutes before Meghan pushed herself out of her chair and headed towards the bedroom. She flipped on the light switch and opened her closet door. She pulled out a couple of pairs of jeans, a pair of khakis, a couple of pairs of baggy gym shorts, and a pair of EMS pants. She tossed her work boots and some socks into a suitcase, along with the pants she’d picked out. She dug out a couple of casual blouses before moving to her dresser. She pulled out some t-shirts she was fond of, including last year’s chili cook-off shirt, some PJs, and more underwear. She left the suitcase open and headed into her office. Mitch had picked up her laptop several weeks ago, but she needed to dig into the closet.

Meghan had turned her closet into yarn storage by adding shelves in the space. Her yarn was sorted by weight, then color. She selected a couple more skeins of sock-weight yarn and carried them into the bedroom, placing them in the suitcase. She added a couple of books and zipped up the bag, bringing it to the living room where Mitch waited.

Meghan gave her apartment a once-over, going into each room, checking for any broken windows, water damage, and checking the smoke alarms out of habit. She startled Mitch when she did the first one.

“Sorry,” she apologized, seeing him jump in surprise.

Last, she checked her refrigerator. She didn’t usually keep much on hand, but she was fairly certain she had bought some milk before her accident. She was relieved to see that Kelsey had apparently not only emptied the fridge of perishables but also took the trash out.

Satisfied the place was fine, she returned to the living room.

“All set?” Mitch asked, pushing up from the couch.

“Yes,” Meghan nodded. “I’m good for another couple of weeks.”

Mitch carried Meghan’s bag down to the car, staying close to her as she made her way down the stairs. He wasn’t surprised when she napped on the way back to the house. A day at a time, sis.

Later that evening, Meghan found Kelsey. “Sis, I need a favor.”

Kelsey looked up from the book she had been reading. “What’cha need?”

Meghan gestured to the department t-shirt she had changed into. She held out the hem away from her body, and then gathered it at her sides. “This shirt used to fit pretty well, but now…”

“It looks like a tent on you,” Kelsey finished, observing that the top was rather big on Meghan’s frame due to the weight she had lost. Kelsey got up and motioned for Meghan to join her in the bedroom. “Let’s see if I have something you can borrow. Is this for your breakfast tomorrow?”

Meghan nodded. “My EMS pants still fit, and those I can hold up with my belt, but the shirt looks like I’m swimming.”

“Do you have a preference as far as tops? I’ve got some polo shirts and some t-shirts that should fit.”

They debated clothes for a while, with Meghan ultimately choosing to go with an indigo blue polo shirt. “Thanks, sis. Who thought I’d ever be raiding your closet?”

“Yeah, I think we started differing in size in high school.” Kelsey turned off her closet light and shut the door. “I’ve been meaning to ask…”

“Yeah?” Meghan walked through the bedroom and out into the living room.

“Do you have any idea what your weight was before you went into the hospital? Do you know what it is now?” Kelsey sat down in her favorite armchair. Mitch was already sitting, reading a book, but he put the book aside to hear what Meghan had to say.

“I was somewhere around 135 pounds, I think. They weighed me Tuesday, and I was 104 pounds.”

Mitch whistled. “Thirty-one pounds is no joke. We need to put a little meat on those bones.”

Meghan smiled. “I plan to discuss that with the physical therapist next week. I know that crunches aren’t in my future for a few more weeks, but I can at least start working on my legs and arms, trying to get them stronger and ready for work.”

Mitch nodded, but warned her, “Just don’t be in too big of a hurry. You’ve got several weeks of recovery ahead.”

“Oh, I know, don’t worry. My biggest concern right now is getting in a position to return to light duty. The next round of EMT classes starts in a month, and while I may not be ready for the heavy lifting, I also don’t want to not be able to lift my Lifepack 15.” Meghan yawned and glanced at the clock. “Jerry’s coming to pick me up again tomorrow at 7.”

Mitch smiled. “You’ll have fun, I’m sure. Just please try to not work a wreck on the way this time.”

Meghan burst out laughing. “I told Jerry the same thing!”

**********

Jerry arrived bright and early a few minutes after 7 am. He knocked on the door and waited for Meghan to answer it. She left the house and locked the door, then headed to Jerry’s truck. “Thanks for picking me up.”

“Glad to, Squirt.” He gave her a critical look up and down but didn’t say anything until they were on their way to the café. “You lost a lot of weight,” he softly said.

“Yeah. We were figuring it up last night: 31 pounds.”

Jerry whistled. “Man, girl, we need to get some weight back on those bones! You’ll blow away under the rotor wash the first time you call for a chopper!”

Meghan laughed. “I need to rebuild strength if nothing else. This job will fatten me back up in no time, I’m sure!”

The trip to the café was short and thankfully non eventful. Meghan was welcomed with open arms back to the group and fielded questions about her recent hospital saga off and on throughout the meal.

The best part was that Fred was there, and she was able to arrange a time to meet with him the next week to discuss the upcoming classes.

Meghan was reluctant to leave when the meal was done. She really missed the camaraderie of the group and felt like she had missed out on a lot while being on medical leave. There had been some awkwardness when she’d first arrived, but she knew it was more from her current appearance than anything else. A couple of closer friends had forthrightly commented on her weight loss, expressing concern. She did get several offers for a helping hand if she needed it, and she knew from second-hand experience that those who offered were genuine.

Comments

Dragonflies369 3 years ago