Caring for Andy

Andy's new home

A few days passed, and it was finally the day Andy would get to leave the hospital. He was excited but also anxious about going to stay with Jeremy. He knew it would be better than going back to his mom. He didn't even want to think about how mad she would be about this whole situation. His arm had started bothering him over the last few days as the Dr's had the pain meds slowly lessened.

It still bothered him to think about it. He had been so scared the night it happened. He had never seen his mom that angry with him, and her boyfriend had tripped him when he tried to run from her angry tirade. He had tried to catch himself, but when he held his arm out, he felt a sharp pain as he impacted the floor. His mom had beat his backside with the belt.

She often missed and hit his legs, lower back, and arms as he curled into a ball on the floor. HE didn't blame her, though. If he was a better son and behaved, she wouldn't have to discipline him. That's what her boyfriend always told him. He said if Andy would just stay out of the way and quiet like a good boy, there wouldn't be any issue. It especially made her mad when Andy wet himself and needed help cleaning himself. That's what the punishment that night had been for.

He had stayed in his room all that weekend to avoid her. His arm had really bothered him, and he had struggled immensely to get ready for school that Monday. He couldn't wait til his arm was healed. Maybe then his mom would take him back, and things would be better this time. He really loved his momma no matter what she did.

The nurses knew this despite all she had put him through. He didn't know any different, though. They really hoped Jeremy would be able to provide him with a better home. They had grown to love this little boy over the weeks he had remained in their care. He was such a ball of joy once he had gotten to trust them. They didn't care that he struggled to talk. He smiled whenever they came into his room now rather than looking at them with wariness in his eyes.

Jeremy had spent nearly every waking hour in the room with the child. Even when he had to work, he would bring his laptop and sit with him. It was such a beautiful thing to the nurses. This man who didn't owe the child anything. Was of no relation to him, but wouldn't let the boy remain here alone and scared. It seemed to help Andy come further out of his shell, and by the last couple of days, he had tried to talk in halting and stuttering words.

The doctors claimed that with some time and therapy, he would most likely be able to communicate verbally without trouble. Jeremy was happy when they told him this as it meant that Andy would have one less struggle in his already complicated young life. Jeremy had planned out the next couple of weeks to make Andy as happy as possible and help him be more comfortable. He couldn't wait to take him out of the hospital at last. He had finished setting up the bedroom for him and hoped he loved it.

*****Andy*****

Andy was super excited to finally be getting to leave the hospital. The nurses had been really nice to him, but he really didn't like the food here, and he was insanely bored of sitting in bed all the time. At home, he rarely got to watch TV, so he enjoyed the novelty of that at first, but it had worn off after the second week straight.

Looking forward to being able to go home with Jeremy, he tried his best to get dressed. He found it was difficult with his arm in a cast. It went from halfway up his upper arm, all the way over his wrist to the bottom of his fingers. He couldn't bend his elbow or close his hand fully. This caused him to struggle with pulling a shirt down or securing his pants.

Finally, he gave up trying. He had his shirt over his right arm and over his head but couldn't figure out how to get his left arm in it. His pants were up, but he couldn't get the button secured without the use of both hands. The diaper didn't help as it made the jeans tighter than what he was used to.