I was restricted to bed rest for the next three days, and I thought I would go nuts. Mike had been really cool about it though and had rented me a small TV so that I could pass the time. Ann had brought me some crossword puzzles, fresh underwear - even though I couldn't wear any yet - and what I guessed were Patti's favorite nightgowns - and 'my' transistor radio.
This was so weird. The TV was black and white, and there were only three channels, two of which went off the air at midnight! The radio was a bit better, but it was strictly AM all the way. I could only listen to it with an earphone, but I did get a kick out of hearing them play "Golden Oldies."
The nurses were pretty cool. They treated me like an adult and stopped in often to tell me jokes or to ask about my boyfriends. They all knew that I had suffered from severe, long-term memory loss, and I don't think they were trying to see if I could remember anything as much as they were just trying to make a young girl feel comfortable. The sponge baths were the worst though.
Every night after visiting hours were through, two nurses would come in and wash me from head to toe. Now this was frustrating because these nurses, the ones with the least seniority, were also the youngest and best looking. Thank God I didn't have a boner to pop!
They wore miniskirt uniforms and white stockings, and the nylon uniforms displayed some great sets of boobs. They'd undress me, checking carefully to see how I was healing, and make lots of promises that soon I could have a shower or a bath. They changed the dressing every night, and pretty soon I got to see the size of the cut in my abdomen. I remembered from my male days in the same ward that the nurses were pretty abrupt with me and made me wash everything I could reach by myself.
Maybe it was the change in my attitude, or maybe it was just because I was a girl, but either way, I didn't have to do anything. They were gentle with me and always rubbed me down with lotion afterwards. It was on the third night that I finally dared to broach the subject of my appearance.
"I must look awful," I said. "My hair feels all greasy, and my face must look like I was run over by a truck."
One of the nurses looked at the other and winked. She picked up the chart and said, "You're supposed to be allowed out of bed tomorrow and into a wheel chair. How about we start after midnight? Can you stay awake that long?"
I gushed my thanks to the two nurses and promised I would be awake. This was a completely different level of nursing care than what awaited me in the future. Later healthcare 'guidelines' would have pushed me into a shower a long time ago.
I wasn't sure at this point what I wanted more - to shower, to see myself for the first time, or to be able to use the bathroom by myself. This whole bedpan ordeal was really aggravating. Unlike when I had a dick, I couldn't aim a stream if I wanted to. There was nothing to hold onto. Thankfully, I hadn't needed to empty my bowels yet because of the liquid diet. Hopefully that would change tomorrow as well.
True to their word, after the entire ward had settled down for the night, the nurses came back to get me. One was pushing a wheelchair; the other was carrying a small makeup case. I had been listening to the news on the transistor, something I really paid attention to now because I needed to rediscover 1974. I was pretty well caught up on current events and the day and month of the year, but I still needed to find my old body to get information from the mind of the person who had inherited it. I knew he was still here, I just had to get myself mobile and find him.
Mom and Dad had stopped coming twice a day secure in the knowledge that I was healing, and it's funny, but I had started to accept them as 'my' Mom and Dad. They seemed like really nice people.
Linda and Julie, the two nurses who had come to my rescue, were really good to me and very gentle. They helped me into the wheelchair - IV still attached - and wheeled me to a big bathroom complete with a whirlpool tub for those who needed muscle therapy. I know they had to have gotten permission from the head nurse because they had the key and didn't try to sneak around any corners.
As Julie started up the tub, she added some bubble bath, while Linda helped me get out of the chair. There was a large sink in the room complete with a large mirror above it.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
My heart was racing, and it wasn't from the physical exertion of standing on my own. I was finally going to see what I looked like.
I gasped when I saw my new body for the first time. Not only was I thin but I was tall as well. Five foot ten easy and I knew instantly I would be teased for that at school. But I also knew that in a few years, tall and thin would be in. I could handle any kind of cruel jokes at school when I went back, and there was no doubt that I would be going back. Mike and Ann were not going to let their daughter drop out at the start of ninth grade!
I was surprised with my face though. I wasn't pretty in the sense of raving beauty, but I had clear skin and a pleasant, friendly face. Not bad at all I thought. I had straight, light brown hair like Mom, but mine was parted in the middle. It hung limp now, but I could see promise there. I wasn't satisfied with just seeing my face, even though I had big blue eyes that sparkled. They hadn't filmed over or clouded up from alcohol and tobacco abuse. I wanted to see the rest of me and started to struggle out of the nightgown. Every night I had to go through this ordeal when the nurses bathed me. They could get it off over my head and then weave it over my arm and over the IV bag. I turned to Linda and begged her to pull the needle out of my arm.
"Please Linda? I've been real good drinking everything three times a day and even going double on that stuff the cafeteria calls soup."
Linda laughed and said she would see if they could take it out, leaving me in Julie's care while she went to get the head nurse.
Mrs. MacDonald, the night-shift head nurse, came back with Linda, concern on her face. "Are you sure you're strong enough to stand on your own Patti? You're scheduled to go on solid food tomorrow anyway, but I don't want you passing out on us."
I figured the best way to convince her was to do the equivalent of what cops would use in the future for roadside sobriety tests. I tilted my head back, closed my eyes, stretched my arms out, and then alternately took turns with each hand touching my nose with a fingertip.
Mrs. MacDonald laughed, which made me feel better, so I decided to take it one step further. I moved back till I was against the wall and then walked heel to toe in a straight line following the tiles in the floor, towing the IV stand with me. When I got to the other side of the room I stood on one foot while reciting the alphabet.
"Enough already!" Mrs. MacDonald said laughing. "You've proved your point. If you're sure you want it out, then let's take it out." From the emergency medical cabinet, she pulled out some cotton swabbing and a roll of tape. "I'll put a bit on now so that you don't bleed, but," she said turning to Julie and Linda, "after Patricia gets out of the tub, I want you to clean it and put on a fresh one."
Both girls nodded solemnly, and Mrs. MacDonald had me sit down while she gently withdrew the needle. "And I want to see a fresh dressing on her stitches before she goes to sleep for the night." With those last words she left, taking the IV bag and tubing with her.
I got back out of the wheelchair, slipped my nightgown off, and stood before the mirror again. It was as I had thought. My boobs weren't very big at all, and my nipples - though darker - were little more than pink erasers. I had no clue as to what size my bust was, but I was figuring they wouldn't even make a dent in a bra.
As I looked in the mirror, it began to sink in that the reflection showed me, a tall thin girl. I was a GIRL! The overweight, 43-year-old man was gone, erased from the world, and who I saw was me! I felt myself begin to tremble, and tears formed in the eyes before me.