Josie's Journey

From One Plot-Filling Disease to Another

Josie watched as Dr. Richards came into the room with a small booklet. "Hey Josie." He said "I have answers to your seizures. You do have epilepsy, but it can be managed." He said as he explained the risks.

Josie sighed and nodded as she thought about it, trying to relax, breathing deeply. "So... now I have to wear a band..." she murmured.

The doctor sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry Josie." He said as he patted her back and got up. "I have to go get your discharge papers so that I can send you back to the ward. You're going to be discharged on Monday." He said.

Josie nodded and waited for the nurses to come in to remove the electrodes and glue from her hair. They managed to wash her hair with one of those shampoo caps. She felt the moisture in her hair and felt how tangled her hair was. "I don't think I can brush this." She said.

A nurse looked at her. "We're going to help get the knots out so just relax. It'll take a bit of time." He said, his name was Jeffrey. It reminded her of her uncle and her cousins.

Josie sighed and sat up as her hair was brushed with a comb, bunches of her hair coming out. She hated losing her hair so she began to cry softly. I can't lose my hair. I love it too much. She spoke in her mind.

You don't need hair. Carter said.

Yes I do. She replied.

Josie groaned and laid her head back as they kept brushing it. She tried to ground herself before she had a panic attack. She mumbled a bit while she waited.

The nurses left the room when they were finished and the door opened. Nurse Jackie was there with the wheelchair. Nurse Jackie hooked up her bag of fluids and feeds bag on the IV hook on the wheelchair.

They pushed her in the wheelchair to the ambulance and drove her back to the psychiatric hospital.

She really wanted to go home. That's all she could think of. She missed her room and her art supplies and the freedom to do and wear what she wanted. She wanted to watch television at home and sleep on a comfy bed. She couldn't wait.

The urges grew strong and she gulped. Carter was fronting again, but so was Alice. She was confused and wasn't aware of what she was doing. She got up from the wheelchair and walked into her room, pulling out the notebook. She began to read it all, wondering how to connect the pieces together.

A lot of time passed by and she was completely oblivious. It was now evening and she was getting her new meds today. She had her usual meds plus the lorazepam and Keppra. She really hoped they would work and actually let her be a teenager.

Her life had changed before her eyes and she had no control of it. Everything was falling apart but falling into place at the same time. It was too overwhelming for her. She just shut down completely and curled into a ball.