Crash- Station 19/Marina

Progress, breakdown and therapy

It's been 2 weeks since the crash. Maya's regained a bit more feeling in her shoulders and arms but still can't move them. She's started doing a bit of PT, she still has to stay laying flat in bed but they're doing some stretches with her arms and legs. Maya and Carina have just woken up and are talking when Amelia comes in.

"Good morning! Time for more scans"
"Oh yay, time to look at some different ceilings" Maya says sarcastically.

They took her to CT then back to her room while Amelia reviewed the scans, a while later Amelia came into the room again.
"I have good news!" She says as she walks in. "Your spine is doing well, the compression's improved a lot, fractures are looking ok. I'm going to switch you to a halo brace instead of the traction which means you'll be able to sit the bed up a bit and get up in a wheelchair, maybe even tomorrow"
"Really?" Maya asked
"Yep, I just need to measure you for the brace"

An hour later they were just finishing putting the brace on
"How does it feel?" Amelia asked Maya
"My neck hurts but not much more than usual" she says
"Probably because we moved your neck a little to get the brace on, it should go away in a few hours but let someone know if you need meds"
"Ok, can I sit up now?"
"I will tilt the bed up a bit, tell me if you feel light headed, after laying down for so long your blood pressure might drop when you sit up."
"Ok"
"Ok, ready?"
"Yes!"

Amelia adjusted the bed so Maya was up at a 45 degree angle.
"Are you ok?" Amelia asked her
"Umm, I think so. It's weird" she said
"Are you happy to be up?" Carina asked.
Maya didn't answer, she was staring at her legs.
"Bambina?" Carina said
"What?" She said, looking up "sorry... It's so weird seeing my legs and not feeling anything"
"You don't have to be sorry, this is hard" Carina told her
"If you're ok in this position, I'll leave you alone. You're allowed to move as much as the brace lets you, I want you to change positions about every hour but if you get uncomfortable you need to tell someone so you can move. I don't want you going up more than this for now, I'll be back later and you can try sitting up more then" Amelia says as she move Maya's arms to a better position.
"Ok" Maya says "can I eat yet?"
"I guess you can try, you might have some trouble swallowing but I think you'll be ok. I just didn't want you trying to swallow while you were laying flat and tube feeds were also easier on your intestines while they heal. You can try eating a little" Amelia replied
"Grazie Amelia" Carina said

Amelia left so it was just the two of them, a nurse brought some food in for Maya
"Do you want to try eating now" Carina asked her
"Sure. Wait, how? I can't use my arms" she replied
"I'll help you, you'll learn how to do it yourself eventually but for now I'll help you" Carina said
"I can't do anything! I don't know why I thought it would be better now that I can be more upright, I'm still useless!" Maya said, starting to yell. "I was a firefighter! I was a runner, I got a gold metal at the olympics and now I can't do anything!"
"Will you let me call Diane to make you an appointment? I think it would help" Carina asked, she'd asked this a few times over the past week but Maya always had a reason not to
"Fine" Maya said, now crying
"Ok" Carina kissed her before getting out her phone and calling Diane.

"Hello?"
"Hi, my name's Carina, Maya Bishop's wife"
"Oh, hi Carina. How are you doing?"
"I'm alright, I was hoping I could make an appointment for Maya"
"Ya, of course, when were you wanting"
"As soon as you're available, I've been trying to convince her to let me call you all week"
Maya glared at her when she said that
"I could actually come now if that works for you"
"Maya, can she come now?"
"I guess so"
"That would be great"
"Ok, she's at Grey Sloan right"
"Yes"
"Ok, I'll see you soon then"
"Bye"

"Sorry" Maya said when Carina put down her phone
"It's ok, do you still want to try eating"
"Ya" she said. "Maybe that's something I can do still, not feed myself but at least eat not through a tube"
"Ok, can I try sitting next to you?"
"Yes" she quickly replied, excited at the idea of being close to her wife again

Carina moved the little table so it was over the bed then put the rails down and carefully sat next to her on the bed
"Are you ok? Carina asked
"Ya. It's weird that I can't feel you next to me" she said
"Do you want me to get up?"
"No, stay. Can you just put your hand on my shoulder or something, where I can feel it"
"Of course, can I just do something first, I have an idea"
"Sure"
Carina moved some pillows to prop up one of Maya's arms, then she took the spoon from the tray, putting it in Maya's hand before wrapping her own hand around Maya's to hold it.
"What are you doing?" Maya asked her
"Helping you do it"
"You don't have to"
"Maya, I want to help you. Plus its not just to make you feel better, doing the movement will help your body learn how to do this again"
"Ok"
"Now, what do you want to eat?"
"I mean, I want a smoothie or something you cooked but I guess I'll try the applesauce"
"I'm sure Andy or anyone from 19 would be happy to bring you some better food later if this goes well" Carina said as she guided Maya's limp hand to scoop some of the applesauce and started bringing it to her mouth. "Ready?"
"Yep"

It went better than either of them were expecting, Maya didn't have any issues swallowing. They repeated the process a few more times before her arm starting spasming intensely. This had happened a few times already when her arms were being stretched for PT
"I don't think my body likes relearning how to move!" She said and they both laughed a bit
"I think that's a good sign" Carina said as she took the spoon out of her hand and moved some of the pillows to put her arm back down, where it continued to spasm

"Do you want to eat more, I can just feed you" Carina asked
"I'm fine for now, Diane will probably be here soon"
"Ok, do you want me to get up"
"No, just hold me"
"Of course" Carina said, sitting up to kiss her before turning to face her more so she could reach across her and put her hand on her neck without the brace getting in the way too much. "You need to tell me if this is making your neck hurt more"
"I will, I promise. As much as I love cuddling with you I want to recover as much as I can so I'm not going to do anything that could hurt my neck"
"Good"

They stayed like that until someone knocked on the door.
"Come in" Maya said but Carina had to repeat it because Maya still couldn't be very loud.
The door opened and Diane came in

"Hi, Maya nice to see you again. You must be Carina" Diane said as she walked in.
"Si, nice to meet you" Carina moved her hand from Maya's neck to shake hands with Diane when she walked over
"No, stay here" Maya protested when she couldn't feel Carina anymore
"Ok, I wasn't getting up, I'm still here" Carina told her as she returned to holding her. "It's her first time being up like this" Carina told Diane
"It's fine. Maya do you want Carina to stay while we talk?" Diane asked
"Yes. Sorry, hi."
"Hi, why were you nervous when Carina moved her hand?"
"Jumping right in" Maya mumbled
"You know that's how this goes, come on"
"I don't know, it's just comforting being able to feel her and knowing she's here. And its really weird being up like this when I can't really feel anything below my shoulders. I thought it would be better when I could sit up and move more but being able to see my body and still not being able to feel it makes this more real"

Maya talked to Diane for a while and they made another appointment for the next week. They didn't have any other visitors so they just had a quiet day together.

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I hope you liked the chapter

Happy new year!!