Joey's New Father
April 14th, 1990, this was a day to remember for Joey. It
was the day he got a father. Here is his story.
Chapter 1 "The Adoption"
Joey was excited today for the first time in his eleven
short years he would have a father. Five weeks ago his
mother, "Marie White", married his new stepfather, soon to
be his adopted father, Jeff Rich. He couldn't believe that
finally, his dreams of having a father were coming true.
Unfortunately, he never got to know his real father, because
before Joey was born, he was killed in a car accident. Now
for the first time he will be able to have a father to do
things with, like play catch, go fishing, and those ever-
popular boy scout camping trips.
Today, after four weeks of waiting, he would officially
have a real dad, for today was the day his new father was to
sign the adoption papers.
"What do you want to do to celebrate?" asked his
father.
They had just got done with the paperwork and were
heading back home.
"How about going camping with my troop next weekend?"
said Joey.
"Well, I don't know, what do you think, Mrs. Rich? Do
you think I should go with our son Joey?
Rich on his camping trip" he said winking to Joey's mom. "I
think it would be a great way for you each to get to know
each other," said Mrs. Rich.
So the next weekend the new father and son team headed
out the door together on Joey's Boy Scout camping trip.
During this weekend he got to really know his new dad and
enjoy his company. It turns out that his dad has another son
Joey's age named Brian. The only problem is that his mother
ran off with him when he was 6 and he hasn't seen him since.
Mr. Rich tried to find his ex-wife and son but had no luck
in it. 4 years ago he was given by the court soul custody of
Brian. So if he ever found him Brian would live with us.
As time went by things just seemed to get better for Joey.
He loved his new father and they were getting along great,
but as luck would have it this happiness would not continue.
Chapter 2 "The Accident"
Things went downhill two months later. It was Thursday
night Joey and his mom were on the way to Joey's baseball
practice when their Pontiac Sunfire was slammed into by a
Ford Bronco. The guy in the Bronco was drunk and ran the red
light at the intersection where the accident occurred. It
was later learned that the driver was driving at an excess
of 60 mph when he hit their car. It was great luck that Joey
escaped injury except for some minor cuts and bruises. His
mother, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky, because the
Bronco hit her side of the car. Her injuries were far
greater. It took rescue crews over 30 min to extract her
from the car and then she was immediately flown to Atlanta
General Hospital.
Joey's life was now turned upside down. His father came
and got him at the scene and both of them immediately made
the two-hour trip to the hospital. By the time they got
there, Joey's mom was already on the operating table and all
they could do is wait. They were told that there was a good
possibility that she would not make it. To make things
easier for them the hospital got them a room at the hotel
across the street at a reduced rate, and Joey's dad put him
to bed here.
He told Joey that he was going back over to the
hospital and that Joey was to stay here. He said that the
hotel was informed that there would be a small boy here
alone and would keep an eye on him.
Joey didn't think he would ever get to sleep that night
but soon was off to a nightmare of bad dreams. He awoke the
next morning and found his father in the bed next to his. He
wanted to wake him and find out what happened to his mom but
knew that he was probably up most of the night and decided
to let him sleep. The problem was he didn't know how long he
could wait. He ended up watching TV, hoping that his father
would hear the TV and wake up. Sure enough, the TV did
finally wake him and his father then sat down with him to
let him know how things went.
"Joey I hope you can understand this. Your mom went
through a grueling ten-hour surgery last night. She survived
the surgery, but has gone into a coma. The doctors don't
believe she will ever come out of the coma," said his
father.
"Are you saying she will die without waking up again?"
Joey asked.
"I am afraid so," said his dad
"What is going to happen with her?" asked Joey.
"Well, for the next couple of weeks she will stay here
at the hospital. When the doctors feel that she is stable
enough we will be able to bring her home. Because of her
state, I will hire a live-in nurse to help care for her and
help take care of you. Do you understand?" said his dad.
"I guess," said Joey.
Later that day his mothers condition took a turn for
the worst and was again taken to the operating table. All of
this was starting to take a toll on young Joey. He again was
left in the room most of the night while his dad waited for
news at the hospital on his mom.
That night while he slept his dreams got worse. He
awoke around 3 am screaming from a bad dream. His dad who
had been sitting on his bed rushed over to comfort him.
"Did you have a bad dream, son?" he asked.
"Yes, yes I did," Joey replied. He was sweating all
over from the bad dream, but it didn't take Joey long to
realize that he also wet the bed for the first time in
years.
Chapter 3 "the bedwetting problem"
He couldn't believe he had wet the bed. He didn't now
what to do or say to his dad who would surely find out.
"What's the matter, son?" said his dad who realized
that something more than his dream was bothering him. "Are
you worried about your mom?" he asked. "I just
came from the hospital she is doing fine now" he included.
"Yes I am worried about mom but that's not it". he said.
"Then please tell me what's wrong," pleaded his dad.
"You promise you won't get mad?" Joey asked.
"I promise," said his dad.
"I wet the bed. I didn't do it on purpose though," said
Joey.
His father immediately gave his son a hug and said "I
know you didn't do it on purpose. You have just been under a
tremendous amount of stress which caused you to have an
accident. Let's get you cleaned up and after that, hop into
my bed with me for the rest of the night," said his dad.
So Joey got in the shower and washed the pee off him
and then put on a dry pair of PJ's and went to sleep in his
dad's bed.
The next morning after talking again to his mother's
doctors they drove home. Now was the hard part facing all
his friends and not knowing what to say. His dad told him
that it was OK if he wanted to take a couple more days and
stay home but after that he needed to get out and have a
life with his friends. That Sunday they went to church and
asked their congregation to pray for Mrs. Rich. Sunday night
they stayed home and watched TV together, trying to not
think about what has happened, but only thinking about it.
That night was another night of bad dreams for Joey. In
his dream he kept hearing how his real dad had died And
then there would be a flash and he would relive the car
accident and in his dream his mother dies. He awoke that
morning to find that he had again wet the bed.
"Dad," said Joey. He was trying to wake his dad to let
him know of his accident.
"What's wrong son?" said his dad, who only had love in
his eye for his son.
"Dad, I had an accident again. I wet my bed," said
Joey, who hung his head in shame.
"Come here, son," said Joey's dad, who gave Joey a big
hug. He knew how Joey felt because he himself was a bed
wetter until he was 19. He had Joey get cleaned up while he
went and took care of his bed before it was ruined.
Later on that morning they had a talk.
"Joey, I would like to have you examined by a doctor to
make sure your bladder wasn't somehow injured by the
accident, would that be OK with you?" asked his dad.
"I guess," Joey said. So his dad made an appointment
with Joey's pediatrician for that Friday afternoon. Mr. Rich
also went out and bought a protective sheet for Joey's bed,
again with Joey's consent. Joey's dad felt that at this
point in time that Joey needed to feel like he was a part of
the decision making. He thought this would help him feel
needed and more loved through this part of his life. And he
also felt that it would be wrong to force him to do these
things.
It turned out that it was a good idea to buy the rubber
sheet. Joey ended up wetting the bed again the next evening
and again Thursday night. By the time Friday's appointment
with his doctor came around, Joey felt he was turning into a
baby.
Chapter 4 "The Solution"
The doctors appointment didn't take long. The doctor
gave Joey a complete physical and took some x-rays. He
explained everything he was doing to Joey to help him feel
at ease.
"Well, buddy, it looks like to me that you are in
tiptop shape," said the doctor.
"So his bedwetting isn't being caused by any medical
problems?" asked his dad.
"None that I can see. My guess is severe stress and
psychological problems due to his mother's recent
condition," said the doctor. "The only thing I can suggest
is to give him lots of love and some way of venting his
anger and stress. Here is a business card of an excellent
child psychiatrist who deals with death issues. In the
meantime, may I suggest diapers. They will at least keep him
from having to wake up in a cold, wet bed every night."
"What do you think about the diaper idea?" asked Joey's
dad once they got back into the car.
"I don't know, maybe I should give it a try," Joey
said. Joey couldn't believe what he was hearing "diapers"
for a long time now he had noticed that seeing pictures of
diapers on TV or seeing babies in them excited him. Even
though the thought of wearing diapers brought back this
excitement, he was ashamed that he now had to wear them
because he couldn't hold his pee through the night. He
thought how many kids his age wore diapers to bed.
"What you thinking about over there, slugger?"
asked his dad, who broke his concentration.
"In a way, I like the diaper idea because it will keep
me from sleeping in a wet spot at night and will keep the
bed dry, but it also proves that I am a big baby who can't
control his bladder. I don't know of any kids that are my
age who wet and wear diapers for that reason. I feel that I
am the only eleven-year-old who has to wear diapers," Joey
said.
"What would you say if I told you that there are others
out there your age and older who not only wet the bed but
even their pants and wear diapers for it?" asked Joey's dad.
"You got to be joking," said Joey.
Joey's dad then went on to tell him that he himself
was a bed wetter until nineteen and that he even had day
time accidents till he was nine. Joey couldn't believe what
he was hearing, but knew that his dad would not lie to him.
His dad went onto tell him that if he were to take a poll of
all the eleven-year-olds in his class (there are thirty kids
in his class) who still wet the bed and they reported
truthfully, that there would probably be at least ten or
more students who still wet the bed, and about half of them
most likely still wear diapers to bed. He also said he would
be surprised if not at least one kid in his class has wet
his pants accidentally at least once this year.
Joey started thinking about this and realized that a
kid by the name of Josh who was in his class last year did
wet his pants twice that school year. He remembered how the
kids teased him about it. He also realized that he was one
of the teasers and realized that he needed to call Josh and
apologize to him. He now realized how it was to be in Josh's
shoes. So Joey and his dad went shopping for diapers and
diaper supplies. They decided together to use cloth diapers
and rubber pants. That evening Joey was diapered by his dad,
and realized that he loved diapers and liked the idea of his
father changing him. His dad, realizing that Joey was
actually enjoying his diapering, decided to confide in him.
"You know, Joey, when I was your age I realized that I
enjoyed my diapers very much, but was too afraid to admit it
because I thought my parents would then take them away from
me," said his dad. His dad continued to say. "I want you to
know right now that I will never try to humiliate you or
condemn your feelings towards your diapers. There are many
people wear diapers, not because they need to but also
because they like to."
Joey was surprised to here his dad say this. His dad
was telling him that he will allow him to wear the diapers
without embarrassment. And that he would not condemn him for
liking to wear diapers. He now felt more love then ever for
his new found father.
Chapter 5 "A Happy Ending"
Over the next year, things seem to at least get less
stressful for him. His mother was home. Though she was still
in a coma and being taken care of by a live-in nurse her
presence at home made Joey feel better. He still was wetting
his diapers while he slept and even had a couple of daytime
accidents, but he felt better about himself and wanted to
continue to have his daddy diaper him for bed.
A full year had gone by and it again was April the
14th, 1991. It was the one year anniversary of Joey's
adoption. To celebrate, they were going out to eat for
dinner. Just as they were walking out the door, a private
investigator that dad had hired to find his ex-wife and son
seven years ago finally called with the news that his father
had been waiting six years to hear.
"I have found your son Brian, and he is here at my home
with me now."
Joey's dad looked at him and cried. His father couldn't
believe it his son Brian was found. They drove over to the
investigator's house and picked up Brian. Then the three of
them all celebrated together. This day did not only give
Joey a dad, it now has given him a brother.
During dinner, Brian told them what had happened to him
over the last six years. Him and his mom did a lot of moving
around at first. Brian was told by his mom that his dad was
killed and that they were now on their own. He never knew
the truth until today about his father. His mom had managed
to create new identities for them and used them to keep from
getting caught. The only flaw in his mom's plan was the fact
that she liked to get stoned and just happened to have been
caught during a drug bust on a suspected dealer's home where
she was at. After they fingerprinted her they realized who
they had and after some investigating found him asleep in
their 1 bedroom apartment. And here he was.
That night, Brian confided in his dad that he had
problems wetting the bed. "Well, Brian, you will be glad to
know that Joey here is also a bedwetter," said Mr. Rich. At
the mention of his name. Joey looked up from watching TV to
listening to his dad talk to Brian. He told Brian how Joey
wore diapers to bed and if he would like to try wearing
them, too. It turned out that Brian also liked the feeling
of being diapered.
So this is the story of how Joey got a new father, and
in the long run, got a brother, too. But wait, this story is
not through. For, you see, Joey's mom came out of her coma
one week after Brian came back home to his father. This,
according to the doctors was a true miracle and after a
complete check up, said she was going to be okay. It took
Joey's mom a few months to regain her strength but by April
14th, 1992 she was again back to her normal self. The best
mom in the whole world.
As for Joey and Brian, they still wear diapers for
their bedwetting to this day, and even in the daytime for
fun. Together. they found ways to make their diapers more
enjoyable, but that's another story.
THE END
This story may not be moved off my page without my
permission.
Copyrighted by John Dazel (JD) April 14th, 1998