I work in a
group home for developmentally disabled boys. One of the boys (he is practically a man really) wraps his hands in his shirt behind his back so tightly that sometimes it is impossible to get off and nothing will convince him to remove it. The other night I was required to aid another counselor in cutting his shirt off. Sometimes the knots are so
convoluted and he struggles so much that you fear you might cut his hands, or even
sever a finger. He doesn't talk, and his
pain tolerance is so high that you wonder if you would even know until it was too late. Great care is taken to ensure that the young man is comfortable and safe, yet it can be very
stressful.
Last night I dreamt that I had to cut off this young man's head because I needed his shirt. I was using a pair of scissors. As you can probably
imagine, this took quite a bit of time and I had someone else help me by holding him still as I did this. When I was done, I removed his shirt and put it on over my own. I needed the shirt for a
disguise. There was
blood soaking the bottom of the sleeves, but not the neck as one might suppose. Wearing the shirt made me feel sick, yet it was a necessary thing.
I escaped with a suitcase. I knew they were close on my heels.
They knew what I had done. I made it to the airport safely and was going through the security check when I came to a horrible realization: I had left my gun in the suitcase, I could see it on the x-ray screen and so could the security folk. I had been caught.
Flash back to where I left the young man. He has been put back together and is fine, but he will have a scar. His mother, a very strong woman (emotionally). She wants me dead.
The look in her eyes is steel with a razor sharp edge.
I awoke to the phone ringing. Groggily feeling around for the cordless, I finally find it in the crack between my bed and my desk. It's my boss, I'm late for our meeting. I must have turned off my alarm in my sleep.
*Sigh*
I try very hard to keep the emotionally stressful part of my job from getting to me.
Sometimes it finds me in my sleep.