Chapter 22

Back at the camp Dom and I discussed making the trapezes, I showed him the eye bolts and doweling.

"If I can get up into the crawlspace in the roof we can poke a hole through the ceiling and put a bit of timber across the joists to hold the bolts Tony, I think I saw a man hole over the shower stall."

Sure enough, there was the man hole, so we rustled up a ladder from the workshop and Dom climbed into the crawl space. "Just perfect mate, there's two joists running right over the dunny and the shower. All we need is a couple of bits of wood and she'll be apples."

We hunted around and came up with some scrap timber that had came from a packing case. Dom drilled a hole in each of them and another over the dunny and the shower stall. I poked the bolts through the ceiling and Dom put the washers and nuts on. Another scrounge around the workshop came up with a coil of rope. We soon had two trapezes hooked up and Ernie was happy he could be a bit more independent.

With that job out of the way I made a pot of tea and we sat back for a break. My bum had just hit the seat when a van pulled into the yard.

"Wonder who that is?" said Ernie.

"Dunno but we'll soon find out as she's coming this way ... ah ... I know her, she's the District Nurse. Looks like your first visitor Ernie."

I invited her in and offered her a cuppa and a piece of cake. "I take it you are here to see our invalid Sister."

"He's not too hard to miss with all that plaster on his legs is he? Mr Watson I presume."

"Ernie if you please Sister, yeah it's pretty obvious isn't it?"

"Are you coping alright Ernie?"

"Yes, thanks to these two I'm getting by. It's a bit of a struggle to go to the toilet, the boys have rigged up a couple of trapezes for me but the seat on the loo is a bit low when you can't bend your knees. We haven't tried to have a shower as yet."

"Right, I've got a few aids in the van that will help you with your ablutions. We use a seat riser for the toilet pan and I have a shower seat that you can sit on for your shower, we can remove the shower head and fit a hand held spray. I've also brought some plastic leggings to protect your casts while you are showering."

"That sounds great Sister, I'm looking forward to having a shower, no one has said it, but I know I'm a bit on the nose."

"I think that under the circumstance it's quite understandable. Can we have a look at your chest? The plaster can be very irritating I know but it does the job very well ... hmm you certainly had a bad blow there didn't you?"

"The chest is minor compared to my left leg Sister, it's pretty well had it, the right one's not too bad though."

"The doctor told me that the right one will heal OK, the left one is going to require a major reconstruction. They will more than likely use a steel pin and screws to hold it together. Doctor Ganze is a wizard with this sort of thing so keep your hopes up."

I helped the sister bring in the shower stool and seat riser and we set them up. Sitting Ernie on the dunny we adjusted the trapeze so he could pull himself up, after a bit of playing around we found the right length for him, we repeated the operation in the shower stall.

Sister checked Ernie over and told us she would be by in a couple of days to see how he was going. She gave us her phone number if we needed any help. Satisfied with his progress she departed.

"Right you two let me see if I can do this on my own, I'm going to have a shower if it kills me."

"OK, we'll stay here for the first time mate, Dom and I will help you get the plastic leggings on then you can go for it."

We covered the casts with the leggings and wheeled Ernie into the bathroom. Dom and I helped him into the shower stall and he removed his loin cloth.

"This plaster strapping is going to look a bit grotty by the time they remove it."

"It's no sense in trying to keep it dry mate, we'll just have to mop up the water when you get out."

Ernie adjusted the hand spray and set about enjoying his first shower since the accident. "Christ that feels great, I must have smelt like the crutch of an Afghan camel driver's underdaks."

We all had a bit of a chuckle. "That's putting it mildly mate" said Dom.

When he finished his shower Ernie asked us to step back and let him try to get out on his own, with a big struggle he made it. "I think I can shower on my own now boys, but I think it would be wise to let you know first in case I take a bit of a tumble."

That's good thinking Ernie, Tony and I will keep an ear open for you."

With him dried and dressed we wheeled him back out into the kitchen. I started to prepare the evening meal while Dom made us a pot of tea.

"Here, give me the peeler Tony, I can do the spuds son; I'm not entirely useless."

"Thanks mate, every bit helps. I'll need to go and pick Jess up from school soon."

Once we had most of the meal underway I hopped on the 'Beeza' and headed into Fish Creek to bring her home. She was full of questions.

"How is he? ... What did he do today? ... Did he say anything about last night?..."

"Slow down love, everything's OK. The District Nurse came out and set up the shower and toilet so he can use them on his own. He's had a shower, that's made him feel a whole lot better and he even offered to peel the spuds for tonight's tea."