    Life with Accidents

    Summary: The story of a fourth grade boy with severe arthritis. The
    first part is his background and the next is his first trip to Walt
    Disney World. How it involves diapers will be shown to those who
    read...

    Part 1

    So, you are wondering all about me, right. Well, I really am not that
    interesting, but I suppose I can tell you my story. My name is Josh,
    I'm in fourth grade, which makes me ten years old. I love riding my
    bike, doing extreme sports kind of stuff, but sometimes that isn't so
    easy. See, I have arthritis and there are times where it gets so bad I
    can barely walk. I have this real nifty wheelchair-type thing, except
    it really doesn't look like a wheelchair; it's more like a stroller,
    but it's for bigger kids like me. A lot of people think I am a baby
    because I have it. My parents tell me I'm not, but a lot of times I
    feel like it. See, when my arthritis starts to get bad I sometimes have
    a hard time making it to the bathroom, so nearly all of the time.

    A good example would be one time this year I had to go really, really
    badly and the teacher wouldn't let me go until the other boy came back.
    It took him a long time and when it was my turn I walked as fast as I
    could, but it hurt really badly and the pain got so intense I had to
    stop. At that time the floodgates opened and I was really embarrassed.
    I quickly tied my sweatshirt around the front and went to the nurse.
    The nurse is really nice. She understands why I have accidents and does
    everything to help. Although she is nice and I am not a rookie to
    accidents I still get upset and cry when I have them. My parents came
    up with a good system for this, though. I have extra clothes in the
    nurse's office and a Pull-Up. I wear the Pull-Up and hopefully avoid
    any more accidents, but a lot of times that doesn't happen. If it does,
    I usually go in it on purpose, but only sometimes. I really don't mind
    the Pull-Ups and having them on makes it easy for me to go when I have
    to.

    Anyway, back to my life story. I have a mom, a dad, and no siblings. I
    am an only child, which is nice. I also have a few other babyish
    habits, I guess. I suck my thumb. Its so calming and helps me deal with
    everything and I have a blankie. I also wet the bed. I was never
    trained at night. I tried and tried, but it never happened.

    Part One:

    "Josh are you ready for bed?" Mom asked.

    "Yes, Mom," said Josh.

    "Do you have your Pull-Up on?"

    "Yes."

    "Did you brush your teeth?"

    "Yes."

    "Did you find your blankie?" (Pause)

    "Nooo," said a teary-eyed Josh.

    For the past two hours he had been searching for his beloved blankie.
    It was nowhere to be found. He ripped his bedroom to shreds and had
    even resorted to taking everything out of it, but his blankie just
    wasn't there.

    "Check the laundry room," said Mom. Josh had looked in there earlier,
    but only briefly. This time he was going to check it out completely. He
    trudged down the stairs in his footie pajamas.

    "How do you like those new jimmies?" said Mom.

    "I like them," he sighed. "They are really warm and I sleep better."

    His eyes started to well up with tears and his thumb instinctively
    popped in.

    "Aww, honey, you'll find blankie. I washed it this afternoon so it has
    to be in the house somewhere."

    Josh hurried to the laundry room. He dug through the laundry basket,
    checked the washer, looked under the stairs and the table in the
    corner. No blankie.

    "Wait, the dryer." He opened the dryer and was sure it would be there,
    but it wasn't.

    "NOOOO! Where could you be, blankie? I have to find you. How am I going
    to survive a trip over 1,000 miles away without you?"

    Just then he got an idea. He quickly ran up the stairs and didn't slip
    like he normally did.

    "Must be those new jimmies," he thought. His mom smiled and thought he
    must have found it. This brought a little happy tear to her eye. She
    was so lucky to still have her little baby around and she had the
    luxury of being able to cuddle all she wanted without having to do a
    lot of work. Josh ran into his room and unzipped his suitcase. He found
    his blankie neatly folded up in his suitcase, right where he told mom
    to put it last week after she was going to wash it. He had forgotten
    that he would need it that night and mom was too busy getting her
    husband's suitcase packed that she didn't remember where it was.

    "Mom, I found it."

    "That's great, honey. Go potty and then come down here so we can get
    you ready for bed. You have an early morning and it's late."

    She was right. It was late for him as he usually went to bed at about
    8:30 PM and had to get up at six, but tomorrow he was supposed to be up
    at three. It was nearly 9:00.

    "Dad's home, so hurry." Josh did the happy dance. It was just hours
    before he was getting to go on the biggest vacation he had ever been
    on. DISNEY WORLD! It was just him and his dad. He was a little sad
    because mom wouldn't be there, but she assured him he would survive. He
    knew he would because he was his daddy's little boy. He and his dad had
    their nighttime ritual of reading a Disney story together. During the
    story Josh and his blankie would curl up on dad's lap. Josh would suck
    his thumb and become groggy. falling asleep just as "The End" was said.
    Tonight, though, he thought he'd never get to sleep. Of course the
    three Cokes he drank at their school party was definitely part of the
    reason. Josh ran down the stairs and jumped into his father's arms.

    "Are you ready for the big day?"

    "Yes."

    "Well, let's get you to bed. How are you doing?"

    "Okay, I guess. It hurts a little bit to walk and I didn't have any
    accidents today."

    "That's good to hear. Well, mom has your stuff packed, and your chair
    is ready to go. You found your blankie, too. Good."

    "How did you know it was missing?"

    "Mom called me. She asked if I had come home from lunch while she was
    out getting some stuff and saw it laying around. I didn't as I was at
    work confirming our stuff on my lunch hour."

    "Oh." Dad sat down on the chair and Josh climbed into his lap. As he
    climbed in he turned ghostly white.

    "Whats the matter, honey?" Dad asked. Tears began to flow and
    incomprehensible words started to flood out.

    "I..I...I...weafyawa...I...I...wet"

    "Shhh, it's all right. It's just an accident."

    Josh continued to cry and Dad became concerned.

    "Did you go potty before now?"

    "Uh huh," said Josh.
    "Did you feel you had to go?"

    *Shakes head no*

    "It's okay, it's past your bedtime. Your bladder isn't used to this
    late of nights. After our story we'll get you changed. No more tears.
    We will be in the happiest place on earth soon."

    With that said dad picked up Peter Pan, Josh's thumb went in and
    blankie was clutched tightly. Within seconds he was out. Josh's dad
    carried him up the stairs to his bedroom. He flipped on the spinning
    projector lamp he had and then went to grab a dry Pull-Up. As he shut
    the closet door, Misty, his wife looked up from her book she was
    reading in their bedroom.

    "What's the matter, dear?"

    "Josh had an accident."

    "Aww, poor thing. He said he drank three Cokes at their party."

    "Oh, I was getting worried for a second. Caffeine irritates his bladder
    pretty bad. I'm going to change him and I'll be in in a second."

    "All right."

    Ron walked into his sleeping son's room. He looked like an angel and he
    felt himself well up with pride.

    "I can't believe I get to show him Disney World."

    He carefully unzipped his son's pajamas and lovingly changed him. About
    halfway through pulling his feet out of the PJ's Ron noticed that his
    son was soaked entirely. From his chest down he was flooded.

    "Misty, can you come here and help?"

    "What's the matter?" she said as she hurried into the room.

    "He's soaked himself entirely."

    "I think we need to get him into those diapers I bought. He's really
    been wetting a lot lately. We'll use Pull-Ups for daytime."

    Misty went and got a diaper from the closet, grabbed some soap, a bowl
    of water, and a washcloth. She went back into Josh's room and washed
    off. She pulled off his jammies and got him a clean pair. Her husband
    stripped his bed as she put the diaper on and the pjs. In order to get
    his arm in the hole she had to take his thumb out of his mouth. As soon
    as she pulled it out Josh jerked and began crying softly.

    "Mommy, Mommy!" he wailed.

    "Shh, shhh, it's okay, I'm here. We need to get some new jammies on
    you. Shhh."

    Misty pulled her son off the bed and sat down in the rocking chair in
    the hall. Her husband brought the sheets to the laundry room and handed
    Josh his blankie. As soon as the cloth was against his face, Josh
    cuddled up and fell asleep. He was placed in his bed and slept
    peacefully.
    .......................................................................

    "Wake up. Come on wake up."

    "No, I don't want to."

    As soon as the light was flicked on Josh turned over. Hot tears wanted
    to press their way out and his thumb popped into place. Getting up was
    always hard for Josh and to make matters worse he really wet.

    "Come on. It's Disney World today!" After hearing this Josh decided to
    get up. "Daddy, I'm really wet."

    "You shouldnt be. Mom put some diapers on you last night after you
    flooded your bed."

    "Is that why I feel soaked."

    "You shouldn't."

    His Dad pulled the covers off and he shivered a ton. His cheeks started
    to burn and he sneezed a bit.

    "Aww Joshy you have a fever."

    "No, I want to go to Disney World."

    "We'll still go. You just need to wear cooler pj's. Come on, you are
    soaked in sweat and need to get dressed. Put on a Pull-Up, too."

    That was just the thing Josh was hoping for. Lately, he had really
    liked the feel of the Pull-Ups. They made hi, feel so secure and it
    made his accidents less embarrassing. As soon as Josh was fully dressed
    he grabbed his blankie off the bed and plugged his thumb back in and
    lay down. His Mom brought him a sippy cup of orange juice and a Pop
    Tart. She always did this for some reason. He was kind of messy and it
    gave him a chance to relax. He was grateful she brought him his food
    because he hurt everywhere that day. Thankfully, his Dad brought his
    chair or he didn't think he'd make it around Disney World.

    Part 2

    As soon as he forced down as much orange juice and Pop Tart as he could
    Josh decided that he wanted to try and go potty just in case. He didn't
    want to have an accident in front of all the people at the airport.
    Josh tried to get up and he hurt. Normally, all that hurt was his legs,
    but he had slept really funny and his back hurt too.

    "Mommy!" he wailed.

    "Yes honey, what do you want?" she replied.

    "Can you help me go potty?"

    "Yes!"

    She came into his room and carried him to the bathroom.

    "How come you need help today? Are your legs hurting really bad?" she
    asked.

    "Yes, and I think I slept wrong on my back too cause it hurts."

    "That's okay if you stretch out a bit before you go and take it easy
    today you will be okay."

    "Okay."

    Josh tried to go potty and was not very successful.

    "Mommy, what do I do if I have an accident?"

    "Well, you have Pull-Ups on, but maybe you better wear a diaper because
    your Pull-Up is pretty wet just by looking at it."

    "WET, WHAT!?!?! But I didn't wet."

    "Yes you did. Your Pull-Up is soaked."

    "But but I I I...didn't know." he sobbed.

    "Shhh shh, it's okay. You're tired. After all it's only 4:00 A.M. and
    you've been napping here and there for the past hour."

    "Okay," he replied.

    Josh's mom changed him into a diaper. The whole time he clutched his
    blankie tightly and sucked his thumb. They would be leaving soon...and
    although he was excited, he was also a little nervous about flying. He
    had never been on an airplane before and he was a bit scared about what
    would happen. His thoughts were disrupted by mom saying something about
    putting his flannel lounge pants on so he would be comfortable. She
    slid his pants on and picked him up and rocked him.

    "I'm going to miss you so much. You have a good time. Dad has
    everything ready, so you will be leaving now."

    "Yay...bye mommy I am going to miss you a lot, too. I'll have fun!"

    Dad pulled pushed his chair in the front door. His chair really wasn't
    a wheelchair they just called it a chair as it was so much easier to
    say than stroller. It pretty much resembled a stroller in about every
    way. It leaned back so he could sleep and was padded and decorated in
    babyish patterns. The only real difference was the fact that he was 10
    years old and not 2 anymore. He was still small for his age and fit a
    baby stroller pretty nicely. He was still able to recline and sleep as
    fell as rest his feet on the rest below. To him it was just like a
    wheelchair because he was old enough not to need a stroller, but had a
    medical condition that required it. Also, some of his friends secretly
    told him that they had to ride in strollers while they were there
    because they had to walk so much during the day. Josh climbed into his
    stroller and immediately laid back, started to suck his thumb, and then
    wailed.

    "Blankie, blankie!"

    He looked back to see his mom holding on to his blankie. She was
    clutching it and holding back tears. This was the first time her baby
    was going somewhere without her and she was a bit sad. Of course, she
    wanted to go with, but circumstances at work held her back so she was
    going to instead spend her extra time with her sisters and her mom.
    After Josh had received his blankie back, Misty went into the kitchen
    and retrieved a sippy cup filled with juice and handed it to him. Dad
    then strolled him to the car and put the seat back so he could sleep.
    Their flight was due to leave at 6:45 A.M and it was now approaching
    4:30 A.M. They drove away and arrived at the airport in about 10
    minutes. Josh climbed back into his stroller, but dad told him not to
    sleep as he was going to have to get out right away anyway so they
    could check the stroller. Between the two of them they managed to have
    one very large suitcase containing their clothes and some water and
    extra snacks for their trip. They also had one backpack which had
    Josh's extra diapers, some snacks, two sippy cups, stuff for Josh to do
    and a book and the newspaper for his dad amongst other small things.
    They arrived at the ticket area and got their tickets and checked their
    bag and the stroller. Josh's dad then picked him up and carried him. He
    felt a wonderful feeling because he saw all the other smaller kids
    there being carried while they contentedly sucked their thumbs and
    cuddled with their blankies. Josh decided to do the same and ended up
    drifting off only to be suddenly startled by his dad telling him to
    stand up. He groggily obliged the request and moved forward when his
    dad pulled his hand. They arrived at the x-ray machine and Josh had to
    put his blankie through. He spent 2 minutes tearing up and thinking it
    would never come out again. He reluctantly put it in and walked through
    the machine. He made it through and his blankie was awaiting him at the
    end. Dad suggested a stop at the bathroom for a quick change. They went
    in and headed straight for the handicapped stall. Josh's dad quickly
    changed him so not to embarrass him. Of course, Josh had been
    completely soaked and had not noticed he went. He stood up and waited
    for his dad to finish his business. As soon as Ron turned around and
    saw his son appearing ghostly white and tears streaming down his eyes
    he got a little worried.

    "What's wrong?" asked dad.

    "I'm afraid...and...I had a accident," he said around his thumb.

    "It's okay, son...you'll be just fine. I know the accidents are no fun.
    I used to have them when I was your age, too. They'll go away. If it
    happens, you know that no one but yourself will know. You have
    protection." With that said, Ron picked up his shaking son and carried
    him out.

    "Would some hash browns at McDonald's make you better?"

    "Yes!" Josh said excitedly.

    They ordered hash browns as well as some sandwiches and went to their
    gate to eat. Josh ate most of his and picked at the sandwich. Of course
    ordering a sandwich for Josh meant eating two sandwiches plus your own
    hash browns. So, Ron was filled up as he hadn't had breakfast. The
    coffee soon circulated in his veins and he realized that Josh had to be
    thirsty. He pulled out one of the sippy cups and handed it to him. Josh
    grabbed it and began to drink. The whole time a nearby lady stared at
    them in disbelief.

    "How old is your son?" She asked.

    "He's four," Ron replied.

    "Oh, I thought so. He is really very mature and handsome for his age. I
    guess those traits must come from you and your wife. He seems very
    happy."

    "He is," Ron answered. As it was 6:00 in the morning and he'd been up
    since two and had had only a few hours of sleep he didn't feel like
    explaining why his ten year old still sucked his thumb, carried his
    blankie, and drank from a sippy cup. He could have given her the real
    reason, but some people just didn't understand. The real reason was
    that he felt emotionally content with being nurtured as if he were four
    and as his parents had no problem with it then the public didn't need
    to put its nose in either so he just left his sons age at four. Josh
    began to nod off and soon wanted to curl up in his fathers lap so he
    decided that it would be best if they walk around a bit. Ron didn't
    want his son to sleep through his first airplane ride and Josh really
    needed a solid nap that wasn't constantly interrupted as he became
    really crabby. They decided to go and look out the windows, which
    warranted about 100 questions about why airplanes look the way they do.
    They began boarding at 6:15 A.M. and about that time Josh began really
    shaking. He whimpered as they got closer and as soon as they were going
    to give their tickets Josh really began to suck his thumb. Ron looked
    down to notice his son in distress and picked him up just before they
    handed over their tickets. The lady at the counter looked at him and
    asked why he was crying.

    "I think he is a little scared. This is his first flight and he has no
    idea what to expect."

    "Aaawww, poor dear. Hopefully this might make him feel a bit better,"
    She replied and handed over a certificate saying that it was his first
    flight and she gave him a soft dog to cuddle. They walked down the ramp
    and made their way to their seat. They had a pretty good sized airplane
    and had two seats together right by the window. No one else was in
    their row so that would make for an easier flight. As soon as everyone
    was seated they showed the safety demonstrations and the plane began to
    taxi to the runway. Josh really began to cry.

    "Whatever you do, just keep sucking your thumb. It will make the
    takeoff easier. What's going to happen is they are going to stop and
    then start to go really fast. We will be in the air before you know
    it."

    Josh began to vigorously suck his thumb and he started to shake really
    bad. A bit of panic spread through his body when he realized he didn't
    have his blankie. Noticing his sons fear and his shaking, Ron covered
    his son up and put his arm around him and tried his best to rock him.
    Then the plane began to go faster and faster and after a bit they were
    in the air. Just as they became airborne Josh wet his pants out of
    fear, but began to calm down a bit and look out the window. He got a
    bit excited and couldn't help but exclaiming," I'm going to Disney
    World." As soon as they hit altitude and were in for a two hour flight
    Ron assured his overly tired son that he could go to sleep and without
    protest he put his head in his dad's lap, thumb in his mouth, and safe
    and secure in his diapers. Two hours later Josh awoke to the captain
    saying, "fasten your seatbelts" and he noticed his mouth was really
    dry. He told his dad he was "tirsty" and wanted his sippy. Luckily the
    backpack was on the floor. As soon as landing began Josh got a bit
    nervous. He started to realize how wet he was and noticed he was
    wetting just then. He tried as hard as he could to stop but more and
    more came out and he got wetter and wetter. He began to sob a bit and
    his dad passed it off as him being afraid in which he was, but the wet
    spot between his legs was now the size of a baseball. As soon as the
    plane touched down Josh pointed out his accident.

    "Good thing your mom packed you extra pants. We are going to have to
    change you before we meet our driver to take us to our hotel."

    Ron carried Josh off the plane and beelined it to the bathroom. He laid
    Josh on the floor and changed his as quick as possible and made sure to
    wipe him down everywhere with the wipe to prevent a rash outside the
    diaper area. He put a diaper on him and dug around in the bag for
    pants. All he found were some pants that had blue from Blue's Clues on
    them. Josh decided he would have to settle with that and stood up to
    get them on. After being cleaned up, Josh walked alongside his dad to
    baggage claim where they got his stroller and their shared suitcase.
    Their driver carried the bag while Ron carried Josh on one side and the
    stroller on the other. They got to the car and Josh was put in a
    carseat. "But I'm too old."

    "You are too small for the regular seat, honey," was all his dad
    replied. Josh took that answer and made it time to suck his thumb and
    rub his blankie against his cheek. He was tired, but didn't want to
    sleep. The only thing he wanted to do was suck his thumb. He kind of
    wished he was in the hotel room so he could get into a better position.
    Even though he didn't really understand he knew that he liked how
    diapers felt when they were pressed firmly against his privates. He
    also loved the feeling after he wet. Now that he was getting used to
    his accidents he wasn't so surprised when they happened. He noticed the
    warm fuzzy feeling he got when he had them. Even though he had wet his
    bed for almost ever and wet himself a lot at school he never was in wet
    pants long enough to notice how they felt. The 20-minute drive from the
    airport passed quickly and without evening noticing it Josh had drifted
    off and was fast asleep. As soon as they arrived at their hotel Josh
    was placed in his stroller and they were off to check in. Check in went
    pretty fast. They arrived in their room which consisted of a bathroom,
    sink, mirror, TV, two beds, a table/desk, a dresser and some chairs. It
    wasn't home, but it would have to do. Josh was placed in bed where he
    immediately flipped to his stomach. Ron turned away because he knew
    what his son was doing as he'd done it himself long ago when he had
    accidents just like him. Although he knew Josh really was having
    accidents he and his wife also knew that Josh loved the secure feeling
    he got and loved the feelings he got, too. Ron swelled with pride at
    how much he knew his baby boy was loved and how he was very happy and
    was showing him one of his favorite childhood places. 45 minutes passed
    and Josh was awake. He became excited and was ready to go see Mickey.
    They had lunch at Chef Mickey's at 11:00 and it was about 10:15 AM so
    they decided to go on their way. Josh was changed quick and placed in
    the stroller. Blankie was made sure to be there and he was given a
    fresh sippy cup. Ron used the restroom and they were well on their
    way...

    MORE TO COME!