Butterflies

Wakey Wakey

"Shawn, wakey wakey" I sang. "You are all done!" His eyes slowly opened and he turned to me. 

"Awlw domene?" he mumbled. 

"Yes, all done." I laughed. "You have lots of gauze in your mouth so try not to talk. I can take them out when the bleeding stops". He nodded his head and looked around the room. I couldn't help but laugh at his facial expressions. He opened and closed his eyes several times, still getting over the affects of the anesthesia.

I sat with him for a few minutes and cleaned up the room. After updating his file, I rolled back over to where he could see me.

"Want me to take the gauze out of your mouth now?" I asked. He nodded his head and I put on a pair of gloves. "Okay, open for me." After I took them out, he rubbed his cheeks in confusion. 

"I can't feel them?" he said.

"It's because you are numb. It should go away soon." I laughed. I handed him an icepack which he rested on his cheek. "I am going to go get Mr. Gertler now. I will be right back." I said. I walked to the waiting room and called him back. 

"How's he doing" he asked.

"The anesthesia hit him pretty hard. He's definitely going to be loopy for the next few hours." I said. "His surgery was successful though and we are getting ready to send him home."

As we walked back into the room Shawn's face lit up.

"Andrew! I missed you!" he yelled. 

"Shhh, you can't yell. I missed you too buddy." Mr. Gertler said between laughs. 

Dr. Stevens walked into the room and talked to Mr. Gertler as I got Shawn ready for discharge. One of the other hygienists brought in a wheelchair since Shawn was too loopy to walk. 

"Okay Shawn, stand up slowly for me." I said. He grabbed my hands as I pulled him to his feel. Once he was up, he leaned over, putting most of his weight on me. I quickly turned him and guided him into the chair. 

"Great job" I laughed. I pushed Shawn, alongside Mr. Gertler, into the parking lot and helped him into the car. 

"You are gonna come and visit me later, right?" Shawn asked, slurring most of his words. 

"Yes, I promise." I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "See you then!"

*** 

The rest of the day went by fast. Before I knew it, the office was closing and everyone was cleaning up their rooms. I did everything as quick as possible since I was in a rush to see Shawn. I kept wondering how he was feeling, probably in pain.

I got into my car and called my mom, putting her on speaker phone. 

"Hey honey! How was your day?" she asked.

"It was actually pretty good. Shawn's surgery went well and I'm on my way to see him now." I said. 

"Oh, thats wonderful." she said. We continued to talk until I pulled up to Shawn's house. As I ended the call, I walked up to the front door, knocking three times. A few seconds later, it opened and Shawn stepped into view.

"How's my favorite patient?" I sang. He laughed but immediately held his hand to the side of his mouth. 

"Don't make me laugh, it hurts." he grinned. 

"Fine, fine. I won't. I'm glad to see that you aren't loopy anymore." I said, walking inside. He laid down on the couch and I took a seat next to him. I could tell that he was in pain just by the way he walked. "I'll get you some ice. It will make the swelling go down." I said, walking into the kitchen. As I came back, I saw him scrolling through Netflix on his TV. 

"Thanks," he said as I handed him the icepacks. "Do you want to watch a movie." 

"Sure." I said, grabbing a blanket. I sat down and he set his head in my lap. He held the ice to his face as I ran my fingers through his hair. After he chose a movie, we both settled in and relaxed. Every once and awhile, I would hear him sign or moan due to the pain but I would just continue to run my fingers through his hair or rub his back. When the movie finished, he sat up and we began to talk.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, sympathetically.

"You never told me how much it hurts afterwards." he complained. 

I laughed for second before saying "At least it is over. All you need to do now is recover."

"Yeah, you say that like it's easy." he grunted. 

"Will you let me check your stitches real quick?" I asked. "I want to make sure they aren't loose." 

He laid down again as I turned on the flashlight on my phone. He scooched back and set his head in my lap. 

"Open for me?" I said. He did and I shined the light into his mouth. Each of the four sockets looked good and the stitches were right were they needed to be. "Looks great" I said, patting his chest. He didn't get up.

"You know, you look really cute when you are doing your job." he said.

"Aww thanks" I said sarcastically, patting his chest again. We continued to talk, his head still laying in my lap. I felt bad seeing him in so much pain. I held the ice to his face as he told me what exactly he remembered from the surgery, which wasn't much. Time passed and we both started to get tired. I stayed with him as he got ready for bed and made sure he was okay. I gave him some more pain meds before saying goodbye. 

"Hey Rach, thank you." he said. I walked over to the side of his bed and rubbed his arm. 

"Anytime" I smiled. I gave him a goodbye kiss before closing his door. I made my way to the front of his house and let myself out.