Ch. 127 - Kathy's New Casts

 
Since I got out of my hip spica cast earlier in the week, you can probably guess it's time for Kathy to get her casts changed now. We're looking forward to Kathy and Lydia spending the weekend with us, and the feeling is mutual. Kathy is excited to get new, smaller casts and try out halo traction, too. Lydia will also be getting the LATS removed that she had Pat apply for her on their vacation, a cast she has been greatly enjoying.

 
When the ladies arrived on Friday morning, I asked Kathy what her plan was for the weekend. She had been doing a lot of thinking, and the first thing she wanted was to have her casts, halo vest, and catheter removed so she could take a long soak in the big Jacuzzi tub with Lydia. Then Kathy wanted her new casts applied right away, and then she wanted to try out halo traction for the weekend.

 
We all went to the cast room, and Joel removed Lydia's LATS and all of Kathy's casts. Since Lydia's left arm was weak, I carefully stood, locked my hips and knees, and carefully removed Kathy's catheter. Kathy's legs, arms, and neck were not overly weak, but she wanted a Philadelphia collar to wear in the tub to support the weight of her halo ring. Kathy was able to stand and walk to the bathroom with Lydia's help.

 
The ladies spent quite a while in the bath together, and we could hear them splashing around and laughing. While they were enjoying themselves, Joel cleaned Kathy's halo vest and installed a new liner. He also attached the halo traction equipment to Kathy's wheelchair and got the rolling traction frame ready, too. Yesterday, Joel also attached the traction equipment to the bed in the guest suite for Kathy's pleasure in bed.

 
Finally, Kathy and Lydia were done in the bath and returned to the cast room wearing just their robes. Joel asked what Kathy wanted done first, and she said, "Let's get the painful part done first; please re-torque my halo pins. Then I can relax while my casts are being applied. Remember, I want walking casts this time, with the one on my right leg being a PTB cast. On my left arm, instead of a LATS, I would like a thumb spica Muenster cast."

 
Joel said no problem and asked her what color casts she wanted this time, and Kathy asked Lydia to choose. Lydia said, "How about we keep it simple? Just basic black with white stockinette this time." With the color of Kathy's casts chosen, Joel got the torque driver to tighten Kathy's halo pins.

 
Kathy sat on a stool that was just the right height for Joel to work on her halo ring. He explained that he would be loosening the locking nuts, then using the torque driver to tighten her pins, and then re-tightening the locking nuts. I warned Kathy the procedure would be painful, like when her halo ring was applied, and the pressure on her head would once again feel extremely intense.

 
Kathy was ready for the procedure to begin, and Lydia knelt beside her and held her hand. Joel loosened the locking nuts and engaged the torque wrench on the first pin. Kathy closed her eyes, and Joel began the tightening procedure. As the wrench was turned, Kathy winced, and when it clicked, a look of relief came to her face. Joel worked quickly, moving from pin to pin. Kathy's reaction was the same each time Joel tightened a pin, and by the last one, Kathy had tears streaming from her eyes and was whimpering in pain.
 

Finally, the job was done, and Joel tightened the lock nuts. Kathy was relieved the procedure was over, and I handed Lydia a tissue to wipe away Kathy's tears. I asked how she felt, and Kathy replied, "It's quite painful, Leigh, and the intense pressure is back. I actually feared it would be worse, but it is all worth it. I am just so happy to be wearing a halo brace; it's a dream come true." Lydia kissed Kathy, and Joel attached the gravity traction fixture to her halo ring. Lydia then helped Kathy remove her robe and get on the casting table.

 
Joel had only ever applied a Muenster cast once before, and it didn't come out too well. He wanted to practice before applying Kathy's since she would be in hers for six weeks and it needed to be perfect. He asked me if he could practice on me while Kathy relaxed for a few minutes and let her discomfort subside. I said I would need to transfer to my power chair if my arm was going to be in a cast like that; I couldn't propel my manual wheelchair with a cast on my arm.
 

I wheeled to the garage where my power chair was stored and transferred to it. I was proud that I could do this on my own. I am becoming very independent with my new, highly immobilizing braces. I returned to the cast room and volunteered my left arm to Joel. Soon, I was wearing a green Muenster cast with a thumb spica. It wasn't perfect, but it felt great. Joel wanted to try again and placed my right arm in the same type of cast, blue this time, and it was absolute perfection. It looked and felt great. These were a type of cast I had never worn before, and I loved them.
 

With his confidence boosted, Joel then got to work on Kathy's left arm, and her cast was absolute perfection, too. Now it was onto her leg casts. Joel began to apply an PTB cast to Kathy's right leg, and Lydia, with her left arm loosened up a bit, placed her left leg in a SLC. Both of Kathy's casts had toeplates, and her toes looked so cute resting upon them. Kathy just lay there, rubbing the cast on her left arm with her braced right hand, just as she had before when getting her leg casts applied previously. Lydia and Joel soon finished with Kathy's casts and were now applying her walking heels. She looked so peaceful and content lying there on the table with nothing on but her casts and halo ring around her head.
 

Kathy wanted a new catheter, and Joel carefully placed it for her. We are all used to seeing each other naked and thinking nothing of it, but he was a bit nervous working in her private area. With her catheter in place, Kathy was anxious to find out what gravity traction felt like. Joel and Lydia helped Kathy to her feet and got her back in her robe.
 

Joel rolled the gravity traction frame over to Kathy and attached the rope with the weight to her halo ring. Joel then gently let the weight pull on Kathy's spine as Lydia removed her Philadelphia collar. Once Kathy's halo took the full force of the weight, she stood extremely straight and tall. She moved her head around slightly, testing the feeling of being in traction, and a big smile came to her face.
 

Kathy said, "I love this! It feels great, like I'm weightless. I have never experienced anything like this before; this is wonderful. The handles on the frame help me to steady myself in my walking casts, too." Lydia suggested that she and Kathy get dressed, and then we go sit outside and take in the unseasonably warm day.
 

Once Kathy was dressed in a cute little dress and Lydia in shorts, a t-shirt, and boots, we all went outside to sit and take in the pleasant weather. Kathy simply sat on a stool with her walking casts resting on a planter box. She didn't need anything to lean against since the heavy weight of her halo gravity traction kept her spine straight and upright.
 

I was really enjoying my Muenster thumb spica casts, too. They felt great, allowing some elbow movement but no rotation of my wrists. These casts are very awkward to wear, despite being much less restrictive than LATS; I think I could even feed myself wearing these casts. Kathy felt the same way about her Muenster cast, and we both decided a long-term adventure wearing this type of cast was in our futures. I love trying out different types of casts and braces and comparing their various levels of immobilization.
 

The rest of the weekend was spent just hanging around the house. Lydia and Joel worked in the shop on their various projects. Kathy and I talked about her upcoming retirement and my atrophied legs. I told her that I couldn't be more pleased with how things turned out with my legs; they are absolutely useless now without my braces. We also talked about the group trip to Kings Mountain Resort. Kathy has everything booked, and we will be some of the first guests in their new accommodations.
 

The conversation then turned to the braces that Kathy is planning to wear and what her plans are for the rest of this adventure. Kathy said she's looking forward to wearing her KAFOs and spinal braces pretty much full-time after she retires but doesn't want to go to the extreme that Judy and I have. In fact, she plans to keep her knees unlocked and not use crutches most of the time. Kathy also said that she loves the sensation of being in halo gravity traction and would like to experience it for a few months. I know she will come up with a plan; she always does.
 

On Sunday evening, Joel got Kathy out of her traction apparatus and back into her vest. Her head and neck were once again in rigid fixation for another six weeks. Joel also removed my Muenster casts since I really wanted to be able to use my manual wheelchair, which has quickly become my preferred means of locomotion. I will have to do a long-term adventure in Muenster casts someday.
 

It was back to work for Kathy on Monday. She used her wheelchair for a week or so, but would often sit in her regular office chair with her leg casts resting on a box of paper under her desk. After a week or so, she started using crutches around the office instead of her wheelchair. Finally, she was just walking around normally in her walking casts.
 

Kathy and I met for lunch several times a week during her time in her smaller casts. The topic of discussion was always orthodontics and orthopedics, our second love after Joel and Lydia. Kathy shared with me what her plans are regarding her halo brace:
 

"This is my plan, Leigh. When I get these casts off in a couple of weeks, I want to spend a long weekend using the traction equipment. Then, I'll wear my halo with my vest for another six weeks. During this time, I am going to tell people that a small deformity was observed in my spine that would respond well to traction and then a spinal brace."
 

"I will keep my halo ring after my vest comes off and use the traction device on my wheelchair. Since we have two of the rolling traction frames, I will keep one at home and the other at the office. Once I get to work in my wheelchair, I'll use my rolling frame around the office. It will be so much fun, and it will feel great. I'll even be in halo traction for my retirement."
 

"After I retire, I'll start wearing KAFOs and a Kuehnegger brace like Paul's. It's such a sexy-looking and very immobilizing brace. I'll also wear a Milwaukee brace when I need to have a bit more mobility. What do you think, Leigh?"
 

I said it's a wonderful plan and sounds like a lot of fun; traction at the office would be a real attention-getter. Kathy's plan made me wish that Rebekah and I had done more with traction while we were in our halos. I know we will wear halos again someday, and now we know how to really enjoy them. But, for now, I just need to adjust to my new braces and work on regaining better control of my bladder after being catheterized for so long.
 

The weeks quickly passed, and it was finally time for the casting part of Kathy's adventure to come to an end. She and Lydia had a great time. Kathy wore her casts an extra week so she could have them removed over a long weekend and spend more time in traction.
 

Kathy and Lydia arrived around noon on Friday, bringing lunch for us all. After we ate, Kathy wanted her casts and halo vest off so she could take a long, hot bath. Joel and Lydia removed her casts, and I asked when she had her catheter removed. She said that she had it removed a few weeks ago since she didn't want to have the issues that I'm having. Once her casts were off, Joel re-torqued her pins again. Like last time, it was painful and very uncomfortable, but not as bad as before; no tears. He then removed her vest and attached the traction fixture to her halo ring. Kathy and Lydia then went to take a bath together, while Joel cleaned her vest and applied a new liner. Joel and I then went out to the den to watch TV.
 

About an hour later, Kathy and Lydia joined us. Kathy was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, with black ballet flats on her feet. She was in her wheelchair with the gravity traction weight attached to her halo ring, and she couldn't look any happier. We discussed what we wanted to do this weekend because Kathy wants to spend time in public in traction but doesn't want anybody she knows to see her.
 

Joel suggested that we call the Hotel Marley and see if they have rooms for Saturday and Sunday; we could all spend the weekend out of town. We still had the vouchers we had won at the Halloween party, so the weekend wouldn't cost us anything. Lydia suggested we invite Rebekah and Paul, and I gave them a call. They thought it was a great idea, and it would give Paul a chance to wear his new braces in public, too. I called the hotel, and they had two suites and one standard room available. We reserved the rooms and went to pack our bags for our weekend away.
 

We'll have a great time!
 

https://dereferer.me/?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj4qC1inKzY   teen
https://dereferer.me/?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDbYH6DfQtg   teen
https://dereferer.me/?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWjAw7wARsA   adilt now off
https://dereferer.me/?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkjEkRCDAfc   teen

https://dereferer.me/?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YlJ1fVN2CQ       morning routine
https://dereferer.me/?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwjNFFc3u4M      I think she has bottom plate

Chapter 21

Not knowing whether the traffic there would be good or bad, the CJDL team, complete with Paula, had arrived at the airport to greet the Northern Girls quite a bit early, to then discover that the flight was running about 45 minutes late.

"Seems to me that we could this extra time we have to let Linda have a word with the press out there," suggested Paige. "I'm sure they'd like to know a bit more... although I did count at least 3 crews."

"Sounds fine by me" replied Linda. Whilst she had done the stream last night, she knew that the press would want to actually speak to her. "... although having to repeat myself 3 or more times isn't so appealing."

"Hmm, I have an idea," suggested Carol, "kinda like what we did in Korea: I'll offer to interview you for all of them. And if they have extra questions, I can put them to you. One good interview, rather than many bored ones. And it's not like I've never interviewed anyone." Carol was referring to the fact that she had not only joined Tom on his show on many occasions now, and effectively interviewed a LOT of callers, she had even sat in for Tom for a couple of days when he had been ill... and taken the opportunities to speak to (or 'interview') several other well known pop stars.

So, Paige, Brian, Carol and Linda walked over to the now 4 waiting camera crews, persuading them to join them in a slightly quieter area. Paula held slightly back, to get more general shots. She had put small audio recorders onto Linda and Brian, to capture extra audio: her own camera would also be recording the audio.

Paige introduced herself. "So, you are all aware of Linda's news last night, and we know you all want to get an interview with her. And whilst those of you who get the first interviews will be happy, the latter ones will be less good, as Linda starts to get a bit bored with it all. So we have an idea. One interview for you all... but that gives you the problem of who would carry out the interview.... Carol, over to you!"

"Hi everyone, always nice to meet you guys, especially when you are good to us! So here's my suggestion: I'll interview Linda for you. I know her story, and will ask the questions in a way that Linda might be much more willing to answer. At the end, if I've missed anything, then you can give me the questions, and I can ask them, and you can edit them in how you like. That way you all get a good fresh interview, and I'm sure your viewers will be happy to see me doing the interviewing. So, what do you think?"

There was a bit of discussion, but in the end the consensus was to go with her suggestion. Carol spent a few minutes with the presenters explaining what she'd be asking Linda about, and a couple of them came up with a couple more good questions. Once again, Paula stood back from the group so that she could film what was happening more generally: they would be able to get the actual news footage form the relevant companies later on.

"Hi everyone," started Carol, "I'm Carol from CJDL, and I'm here with Linda, and we thought that, while we wait for Northern Girls to arrive, I could ask her a few questions about the announcement she made online last night. So, hello there, Linda! Now, let's start at the start: what was your big news last night?"

The cameras were now panning over and zooming in to Linda, who smiled pleasantly for the cameras, shwing off her lovely metallic smile. "Well, I have a new boyfriend. His name is Zac, and he is a graphic designer."

"So, tell us the story about how you met him..."

Linda summarised the story that we all know well now, with Carol asking a couple of questions to get a few more details. Effectively Linda repeated what she and Zac had said the previous evening on the stream.

"So, where's he from? And does he have any brothers or sisters?" One advantage with Carol asking the questions was that she knew that Linda would be ok answering them, so would give good positive answers, rather than trying to evade the question, which never looked good on TV.

"His parents live in Carshalton, and before you ask, no I've not met them yet... and for that matter, he's not met my parents either!" she said with a slight giggle. "And yes, he has a sister, she's about 4 years older than him, and apparently works as a 'retail manager' somewhere in South London, and lives in the wider Croydon area, kinda like us."

"So, last night he met all of us, everyone in the band, plus a few others: how did he feel about that?" Linda explained how, initially he had said he wasn't into girl bands, and how she had jokingly called him her 'anti-fan' on their first meeting... but how, having heard the band's new album, he was a lot more accepting of their music style. "But I think he quite enjoyed meeting everyone last night, by the end of the evening he seemed quite relaxed."

"Oooh, you mentioned the new album there: are we allowed to say anything about that, do you think?" asked Carol. She was definitely into territory where, had this been a normal interview, the response would have been a 'sorry, not something I can really talk about'. But they had decided to talk a bit about it, without really giving too much away.

"Well, in the same way that the last album was a bit of a change from what you guys had been doing before, I think our fans should expect another change, although maybe not QUITE as big a change. I've had a lot of input into this new album, I fully wrote or partly wrote quite a few of the songs, and I think you're seeing my musical tastes come through. But I think they are all still recognisable as being CJDL songs."

"Any idea when it's going to be released? And what news of a new single?" These, again, were a couple of questions that they knew the press would like, and had decided to give them a bit of a teaser.

"I believe the album will be out a few weeks before we go on tour. As for the single, I can't say a lot right now, but it is a song that I wrote, and it's going to be a bit different in terms of the 'pacing' of the song, but everyone who has heard it so far seems to like it. And I guess it will also get released before we go on tour, because I don't know about you Carol, but I want to be able to sing it when we're on tour as our single! So, when it's out, remember to buy it and stream it!"

"Ok, here's an interesting question, it came from one of the TV interviewers over there: as the 'new girl' in the band, do you still feel like you're the new girl?"

Linda smiled. "Yeah, nice question. And the answer is actually very easy: no, I really feel like I'm one of the band now. You guys were always good to me, but while we've been writing and recording the new album, there's never been any feeling that I'm anything but part of CJDL. So, I guess you guys are stuck with me for now!"

"Linda, thank you so much for answering my questions so candidly!"

"My pleasure, Carol, it's been fun." She paused a moment, then turned to the reporters. "Look, Tom and Ben - that's Jenny and Carol's boyfriends - are really appreciative of the privacy you afford them when they aren't with us. Please can I ask you to extend the same courtesy to Zac? I know you'd all have liked to have met Zac today, but he has to work, kinda like the rest of us. But I promise I'll organise a way for you guys to meet him sometime soon! Thanks!". Everyone seemed to be ok with that.

"Can I ask one more simple question?" asked one of the reporters.

"Sure, fire away! replied Carol.

"Well, it's more to do with the tour than with Linda: any ideas yet what the shape of the performances will be like?"

Carol, Linda and Brian had a very quick chat. "I'm afraid it's going to be a bit of a non-answer, but let's do it." Carol and Linda got themselves back into position.

"Linda, a quick question about our tour: do we know yet what's going to happen in the performances?"

"I'm afraid not, that's one of the first things we'll be working on with Northern Girls in the next week or two. However, there's no way it's going to be two separate performances: we've already decided that we want to all perform together, as well as alone, but beyond that we just haven't decided." Linda paused and turned to the reporter who had asked the question. "That a good enough answer for you?"

"Yup, that's fine. I must admit, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you girls all do, I think it's going to be quite interesting!"

The TV crews all went away happy: whilst they had all just recorded the same interview, their questions had all be answered, and in a few cases, in more depth than they might have otherwise been answered.

Carol felt quite chuffed that she had clearly done an acceptable interview: maybe it was something she could do a bit more for the band. In fact, it was something that she repeated less than an hour later... In the meantime, Carol and Linda joined Jenny and Dianne, who were chatting with a small group of fans. After giving some of them their autographs, they too had a chat with them... and yes, Linda got loads of questions about Zac. But Linda didn't mind: unlike the press, these were the people that directly supported the band, by buy concert tickets and merchandise, and paying for their records. People a bit like she had been up until a year ago.


Finally, after a couple of cups of coffee and, and after a 45 minute delay (something to do with the jet-stream winds not being as strong as normal) Northern Girls arrived, and came into the arrivals area. Whilst everyone else was kept back, our four girls went over to Taylor, Kate, Meg and Erin, and hugged them. Paula was nearby, and filmed it all.

"It's great to see you all again!" said Linda.

"And you too... so, we're finally here! The roller-coaster is about to depart!" replied Kate.

"Yeah, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun!"


Having got pictures of the 4 Canadian girls actually arriving, as a result of Carol's earlier help, the TV crews quickly went to a quieter area where our 4 CJDL members brought the 4 Northern Girls. Brian had spoken with their entourage, including their manager, Andre, and they were all keeping themselves slightly out of the way of the cameras: they knew how important this publicity was.

Three of the camera crews had a sound guy, with a boom mic, so Carol just had to hold two radio mics in her hand.

"Hi everyone, I'm Carol, from CJDL, and I'm here with the other three members of my band to welcome the 4 ladies from Northern Girls to England! Hi ladies!" There was a big cheer, not just from the 8 ladies themselves, but also the crowd that had gathered. "I guess the first thing I should do is to get these ladies to introduce themselves...". As the four Canadian ladies introduced themselves, they all smiled, letting everyone see the shiny metalwork on their teeth. Clearly, at some point, they would need to address 'the elephant in the room': why did 8 pop stars all have braces? But Carol had decided that this would NOT be mentioned today: Northern Girls (and CJDL for that matter) needed to have a good, simple, and easily acceptable story. Without a certain level of planning, awkward questions might get asked, and embarrassment caused.

"So you're in England now to prepare for our European tour" Carol asked Taylor, the leader of the 4 ladies.

"That's right. We just finished recording our new album, but I think we've all got a lot of work ahead of us to get ready for this tour!"

"How was the recording?"

"Yeah, a few issues, if only because our producer wanted it to be 'just right', but otherwise it all went ok."

"Any plans to 'pop back home' before the actual tour?"

"I suspect we might, but that would just be for a few days. There's a lot to do, and we're used to being away from home." replied Taylor,.

"Any time for a bit of sightseeing maybe?"

"I hope so! Doing what we do is actually not a lot different from what most people do, we work hard during the days while preparing for a tour, so we need a few days off every so often. And I know there's so much to see here in London and nearby..."

Carol chatted to the other band members for several minutes, then turned to the TV crews: "Any other questions?". There were a couple, and Linda asked them. Again, the TV crews were appreciative of what Carol had done.

"I'm impressed, Carol." commented Andre. "That worked really well, and got it all over with quite quickly!"

"Yeah, I did one with Linda earlier too. But I suspect we'll have a few more interviews to do between now and the start of the tour!"




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