She's Coming Home

Playdate

Next morning- Gabby POV
Some nurses came and got me up in the morning then one of them brought me up to speech. Antonio and Shay were just getting there.
Shay(signs)- mama
Antonio- hey sis
Gabby- hi
Antonio- here, we got you a few types of yogurt
He put the bag on my lap
Gabby- thanks Tonio
Lisa got me set up while Tonio and Shay's therapist tried to get her to focus.

Lisa- ready
Gabby- yes
She started slowly feeding me some of the yogurt. It was the same as yesterday, most of it just went back out of my mouth but I swallowed some. She gave me maybe half of a yogurt cup.
Lisa- that was really good, especially since it's only your second time eating.
Gabby- it's hard
Lisa- that's normal, hopefully it will get easier.
Then I noticed that Shay was still refusing to do anything because she wanted to be with me. I hadn't noticed earlier because it takes so much focus to eat. They finally gave up and brought her over and started getting her to show me which got her cooperating. I also practiced some sounds then Tonio took her to daycare and I went to OT. The rest of the week was the same routine.

Sunday- Antonio POV
I'm trying to get Shay ready for the day but she doesn't want to cooperate. I finally get her to eat, get her dressed and brush her hair. I don't even try putting her processors on, I just bring them.
Antonio(signs)- ready to go
Shay(signs)- shoes
She's right, she needs shoes. I find them and get her in the car. We head to Emily's, Gabby's taking a wheelchair cab and meeting us there. Of course now that Shay is in the car she's happily babbling and signing to herself. We pull up just as Maggie's finishing getting Gabby and all her stuff out of the cab. I grab Shay and go join them.
Shay(signs)- mama
Gabby smiles at her.
Antonio- ready to go in?
Gabby- I guess
Antonio- nervous?
Gabby- yes
I take Shay and knock on the door. Emily answers with Kara running to follow her. The girls immediately take off inside.
Emily- well they're excited, hi! Come in, do you need help with anything?
Antonio- I think we've got it
I go pick Gabby up and carry her up the few steps and into the house. I sit her in the corner of their couch and prop her up with some pillows.
Antonio- you good?
She answers by starting to slide off the couch. I reposition her
Antonio- better?
She looks at me so I go back outside to get her wheelchair with Maggie.

Gabby POV
He leaves me on the couch to go get my wheelchair. I almost immediately start sliding off again, which pulls my shirt up. And then of course Emily comes back into the room from checking on the girls so she sees me failing at sitting up and she can see my stomach with all my scars, great timing. I try to push myself back up but that just leads to being in an even more uncomfortable position and pulling my shirt up more.
Emily- do you need help?
I try to push myself up again but it doesn't work. I sigh and give up, what is taking Tonio so long? This is not how I wanted today to go, I don't want someone I've met twice having to help me sit. I give in and look at her and smile. She comes over and pulls me up so I'm sitting a bit more. I can tell she's unsure of how to move me but after my attempts there's nothing she could do that would make it worse. She doesn't fix my shirt which I understand but also I just want my stomach to be covered again. Finally Antonio and Maggie come in with my wheelchair. Tonio looks at me and laughs a bit.
Antonio- I thought you said you were getting good at sitting in PT!
I smack him as he comes to pick me up. It makes me slide even more but its worth it. He fixes my shirt and lifts me into my chair and gets me all strapped in. I look over at Emily
Gabby- sorry about that
Emily- its no problem, sorry I didn't know how to help.
Gabby- you did fine. And Tonio I'm getting good at sitting when 2 people are there holding my hips and balancing me and when I have more braces on
I hit him again
Antonio- ok, sorry, I was just teasing! Can you stop hitting me?
Gabby- no. One of the only things I can do plus you need to be smacked more often, its a sister's job
Emily- you two are hilarious! Who's older?
Antonio- I am but she thinks she's in charge
Emily- I'm the youngest too, we have to be in charge to survive! I have 2 older brothers
Gabby- yikes. It's just me and Tonio
We chat for a bit and the girls still haven't appeared.
Gabby- what trouble have the girls found
Emily- I'm not sure, want to come find them with me?
Gabby- sure
We find them playing in Kara's room and they come back to the living room with us, both carrying toys.
Gabby- Tonio where are her processors
Antonio- oh ya, I was going to put them on when we got here but she took off
He put them on her so she could hear her friend. They sit on the floor playing and Shay shows us all the toys, she's so excited.
Antonio- most of her stuff is still in Puerto Rico. I've gotten her some new stuff but she doesn't have a ton of toys, that's why she's so excited
Emily- are you from Puerto Rico?
Gabby- no. We're from Chicago but I moved there to be an aid worker then Tonio joined me. Shay was born there but her dad's here
Emily- so is that what brought you back?
Gabby- no, eventually it would have been but my TBI brought us back
Emily- what's that?
Gabby- traumatic brain injury
Emily- oh, I'm sorry for prying
Gabby- its fine
Emily- so you were an aid worker, are you a doctor or?
Gabby- paramedic then firefighter then paramedic again. I could do a lot there because I had training for both
Emily- what happened? If you don't want to talk about it that's fine
Gabby- I'm fine with it but I don't remember. Tonio
Antonio- I don't know a ton. A building collapsed while you were inside rescuing people. I'm not sure how long you were trapped for but when you got to the hospital they did surgery to stop internal bleeding
Gabby- then they looked at my brain and my medical history and sent me to med.
Maggie- fair, you have a very long chart
Emily- so are you staying in Chicago?
Antonio- we haven't talked about it
Gabby- hard to make decisions when you have no idea what you'll be able to do. Sorry that's something I don't like talking about, or thinking about. Brains are complicated, no one knows what recovery will look like.
Emily- of course, sorry I keep prying
It's awkward for a minute until Kara comes up to me.
Kara- Ga-i come play?
Gabby- Tonio can you put me on the floor?
Antonio- really? We don't have any of the positioning things you use in PT
Gabby- just lay me on the floor on my side and put a blanket behind me or something. I haven't played with Shay in so long
Antonio- you'll tell me if your uncomfortable?
Gabby- I'll be fine
Maggie- that's not a yes
Gabby- fine yes I'll tell you
Emily- do you want a yoga mat to lay on?
Antonio- that would be great
I glare at him, he's making this such a big deal, I'm perfectly capable of laying on the floor, it's about the only thing I'm capable of so I get lots of practice!
Gabby- can you take my AFOs off so I won't hurt them if I accidentally kick them
Maggie- I'll get them, they can be tricky
They get me wedged on my side on the floor and the girls are very excited. They quickly discover that if they put a ball in front of me it goes flying in a random direction and decide that's a really fun game. Then they start using me as the goal and trying to hit me with the ball
Maggie- and this is why we don't let you go out without a nurse or a doctor. Your g-tube and your scar are too new to be getting hit with a ball.
She puts a pillow in front of my stomach and the girls keep playing. I'm pretty good at blocking the ball, mostly by chance and because they're uncoordinated toddlers but I'm still calling it a win. All the other adults make them stop when I get hit in the face with the ball, I'm perfectly fine. Next they start playing with dolls
Shay(signs)- here mama
She puts a doll in front of me but I of course can't pick it up
Shay(signs)- I help you
She takes my hand and tries to open it but she isn't strong enough.
Shay(signs)- Kara help
She's given her friend a name sign, they are so cute. Kara comes over
Kara- need hold it
She tries explaining to me, not understanding the problem. She tries tucking it in my arm but it falls as I move. They decide to put me in charge of the stuffed dog instead while they play with dolls. I keep playing with them, now they're playing 'how high can we build a tower before I knock it over' the answer's not very high but they're having fun. Then I hear a door open and someone walk in. I see a man come into the room, I'm guessing Kara's dad.
Kara- hi daddy. Shay's here Ga-i playing with us
Chris- hi munchkin. Hi I'm Kara's dad Chris, nice to meet you.
Gabby- ha
I try to say hi with no more success than earlier in the week. Isn't this a great first impression, I'm laying on the floor flailing around and making weird noises.
Emily- hey your home early. This is Shay's mom Gabby, she's been entertaining the girls for quite a while. That's Gabby's brother Antonio and Maggie
Chris- hi, nice to meet everyone.
Tonio notices that I'm embarrassed about being on the floor and comes over
Antonio- hi, nice to meet you. Kara's Shay's first friend here, you have an amazing little girl
Chris- thanks
Antonio- Gabs you want to get up now?
I look at him. He picks me up which is awkward since I'm on the floor and gets me back in my chair.
Gabby- hi sorry. Nice to meet you
We stayed until Shay started getting fussy, she needed a nap, honestly I did too.