Page 9 of Kaya's King
I can’t help the snort that escapes me because I showed Noah a picture I found of what it was going to look like and to say he was less than impressed would be an understatement. “Yeah, it’s going to be a bumpy road for sure based on his reaction this morning. Right now, I’m hoping the pancakes I promised for breakfast will turn his sourpuss attitude around.”
“Good luck with that! Guess we’ll see you some time tomorrow?”
“Yeah, looks like it,” I confirm.
“Great! We’ll have y’all all sorted out by then. Later, Kaya!” she yelps out as I hear a low growl in the background that’s undoubtedly Loki, before the line goes dead.
I shake my head because I’ve noticed the few times I’ve spoken to Loki by phone, he says what he needs to say then hastily hangs up. Must be a biker thing, who knows? “You ready, monkey?” I call out at the bathroom door. Noah wanted privacy to brush his teeth this morning, which I gave him since the counter is low enough for him to reach the faucet without stretching across the basin.
“Yeah, Mommy,” he calls out.
Opening the door, I see him quickly swipe under his eyes before he turns to me with the fakest smile I’ve ever seen in my life covering his little face. Instead of addressing it since I had my own meltdown the night before, I give him some dignity then gently dab at a spot where he missed some toothpaste, kiss him on the head then wheel him out of the bathroom. “It’s pancake time!” I exclaim with a clap of my hands before grabbing my purse and the room key.
“We still have time to get some?” His eyes alight in excitement as he swipes his tongue across his bottom lip while rubbing his belly with his open palm.
“Absolutely, monkey. There’s always time for pancakes.” I don’t make mention of the fact he already has his stuffy seated next to him. If he needs his comfort toy, so be it. He’s a little boy facing some huge changes and making sacrifices, so he’s entitled to his security blanket.
“I’m glad to hear you’ll have access to a pool,” Dr. Young says as we go over everything he wants us to do right now after he’s examined the MRI results. “When you come back in four weeks, we’ll redo his X-rays and get another MRI to see if there’s been any progress. Worst case scenario, we might have to put him in a petrie cast which will significantly limit his mobility.”
“What on earth is that?” I question. While I’ve done my fair share of research, I don’t quite understand the benefit of the cast that looks like an ‘A’.
“It’s called a petrie cast and believe it or not, it actually helps increase hip mobility while decreasing inflammation,” Dr. Young imparts.
My mouth drops open in alarm. Noah’s not going to like being stuck in that device in the least. I foresee many meltdowns in the future if it comes to that. “Do you think he’s going to need one of those?”
“I can’t honestly say right now, Kaya, simply because each case of Perthes is different. All cases are unique, and no one can say for sure one way or the other until time progresses. He might, but again, he may not. It’s a possibility that he might do well with non-weight bearing, physical therapy, and aquatic therapy. It’s one of the reasons why we’ll have you coming in roughly once a month, so we can monitor his progress.”
“So, basically, cross that bridge if and when we come to it,” I huff, grinning at the doctor because none of this is his fault andhe’s doing everything he can to help my boy. If I need to roll with the punches, well, I’ve had a lifetime of doing just that very thing.
“Exactly! Now, since a lot of the anti-inflammatory medications can be hard on the liver and kidneys, I recommend using them sparingly. That’s not to say we want him in any sort of pain by any means, but try massaging the affected area with a topical lotion first and also have him go through some of his physical therapy stretches. Sometimes, the pain is due to tightness in the area, so we’ve found starting there seems to help. Should it not relieve it or if it gets worse, by all means, give him some pain reliever. Anti-inflammatories work best, of course, but again, I can’t stress this enough, they can be hard on the liver and cause stress to the kidneys, so we’ll be monitoring that as well with blood draws at every visit.”
“He’s going to start calling you guys vampires,” I warn, snickering a little bit.
“We’ve been called worse,” he jokingly advises. “Alrighty, Noah, are you ready to get out of here? Your mom has all the instructions and stuff you’re going to need to start feeling better. Your only job is to listen to her, your physical therapist, and of course, your great-grandmother.”
“Can I ask a question?” Noah inquires. When Dr. Young nods, he asks, “Will I ever get to play soccer like the other kids?”
“Eventually, yes. Unfortunately, right now, we have to fix your hip bone and make it strong so it can withstand the running and kicking,” Dr. Young answers. Rather than overload Noah with all the technical terms, we both felt it was easier just to say he had a sick hip bone.
“I’ll do my best, Dr. Young,” Noah confirms with an emphatic nod of his head. “But I don’t like peeing sitting down.”
Dr. Young’s laughter rings out as I roll my eyes. “I don’t imagine you do. Just remember, it’s not forever.”
Specks
“What’s going on?” I ask, walking into the main area and seeing everyone bustling about. There’s a mile-high stack of boxes that Tessie is placing on a floor dolly, while Chelsea is helping an older woman push what appears to be a huge loom toward one of the downstairs suites.
“Glad you decided to join us,” Poseidon snarks. “I sent out a text hours ago, brother. Where’ve you been?”
“Went out for a ride to clear my head, Pres,” I reply. A sleepless night filled with the relentless nightmares of my childhood plagued me, so at dawn, unable to take any more, I got up, showered off the sweat from my horrid dreams, then hit the road for some wind therapy.
“As for what’s happening, we’re moving Kaya, Noah, and her grandmother into the clubhouse,” he says, his tone loud and booming.
“Why?” I’m boggled. Did something happen to the little guy? Is he okay? Is Kaya? My heart is pounding in my chest, worry for the woman and child has all of my other concerns taking a backseat. Damn, they’ve both crawled under my skin and don’t seem to be leaving there any time soon. I’m fucked. I’ll rectify that problem later, for now, I want to know what the hell’s going on.
“Because he’s going to be in a wheelchair, bound to it for the foreseeable future and their rental house wasn’t set up to accommodate his needs,” Loki remarks, his arms full of jam-packed boxes. Every single box in his arms is bulging and his arms are straining. But he’d take offense if I tried to help, so I ignore it and turn my attention back to Poseidon.
“So, they’re moving in here,” I mutter. While most of the brothers who have old ladies either took one of the houses that dot the property or built one instead, the few of us who are single, as well as Chelsea and Tessie, still live in the clubhouse. “What do you need me to do?”