Julia felt bad for kids that didn’t have friends and was really glad that she did. Her dad had told her that the kids who went on those shooting sprees didn’t have any friends and had often been the target of a lot of bullies. It seemed like a good idea to have people like Mrs Barnard come in and talk to kids about problems. But the part Julia couldn’t figure out is why they would be talking to her. There were kids in the school who were loners and some of them did get picked on a bunch. Julia was not one of those kids.
“No, everything’s fine. I have a lot of friends.”
Mrs Barnard turned her head slightly and raised her eyebrows. “Well, I’m glad to hear you have friends. But what about you, everything normal?”
“Yea, I mean I guess so.”
“Huh, well I was worried that maybe this was a prank or something, which is why I wanted to talk to your Mother about it. See, I got an e-mail forwarded to me today supposedly from your Mother. It was kind of vague, but it said that you had started wearing diapers again?” Mrs Barnard’s voice trailed off and she looked at Julia, waiting for an answer.
Julia was stunned, and it showed. Obviously this wasn’t about bullies. She managed to mutter “Oh. Uhh….”
There was a pause, but quickly Mrs Barnard picked up on Julia’s state. “Julia, it’s OK, I’m a professional. I take it this not isn’t a prank after all?”
“Well, I guess, I mean I don’t think so.”
Mrs Bardard shook her head and obviously didn’t like that answer at all. “Julia, it’s OK. I just need to know what’s going on here. Just tell me the truth, are you wearing a diaper right now?”
Julia’s natural reaction was to lie, but she knew that was a really bad idea. Better to just be truthful about the whole thing. “Yea.” She said somewhat quietly.
“OK, that’s fine. Like I said, I’m a professional, and now I know that this note really is from your Mother.”
Although she didn’t catch it the first time, when Mrs Barnard said professional, it finally clicked and the light went on in Julia’s head. Just to be sure, Julia asked, “What do you mean ‘professional’? Are you like the school nurse?”
“Well, yes and no. Yes, I do work here for the school and I take care or folks when they get sick and stuff. But I’m not a nurse, I’m a PA actually. That means physicians assistant. Its means I have had more training and schooling than a nurse, and I can do most things that doctors can. I know we haven’t met before, but I want you to know that you can trust me. This place is like a regular doctors office and all the rules that apply there apply here. So anything you tell me is totally confidential and will never leave this office. I am kind of new to this school, but I have actually been working in high schools for the past 5 years. I just used to work in a different school in another state. But I have seen a lot of students over the years, including a number of students who were either still in diapers, or had to start wearing diapers for whatever reason.”
“Oh, ok.” Julia replied. She didn’t really know what else to say.
Mrs Barnard picked up the conversation. “So, OK Julia, according to the note your Mother sent me, you are wearing diapers full time?”
Julia felt a bit uncomfortable talking about this with a complete stranger, but since she said she was a PA or whatever, Julia decided to just to honest about everything.
“Yea.” Julia said with a nod.
“Ok, and how long have you been wearing diapers now?”
“Since last Friday.”
“OK. And have you had any problems before? I mean is this the first time you have had to go back to diapers?”
“No, this is the first time.”
“And when was the last time you saw a doctor?”
Ironically enough, Julia had been to the doctor just about a month ago for some shot she had needed. She told Mrs Bardard that.
“OK, so you last saw a doctor a month ago. So, are you able to use the bathroom at all now, or are you using your diapers for everything?”
Although it felt strange to say it, Julia replied, “No, I’m using my diapers for everything.”
“OK, and do you change your own diapers, or is that something your parents are doing for you?”
“Um, I don’t change myself, my parents do it.”
“OK, got it.” Mrs Barnard said. She had picked up the clip board and was making a number of notes. “And do you know if you are allergic to anything like talcum powder, or petroleum products or anything like that?”
Julia stared at Mrs Barnard with a look of confusion. “Talcum powder?”
“Baby powder. Some people are allergic to it and use a different kind of baby powder stuff that is cornstarch based. And just about all the diaper rash ointments are petroleum based. Does your mother use any of that stuff on you? If she does I am sure you are not allergic to it or you would know.”
“Oh, yea, my mother uses both.”
“OK, good no allergies then. Have you had any rashes or anything like that?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“Well, that’s good.” Mrs Barnard stood up and walked over to the counter. She made a number of additional scribbles on the clip board and then set it down and walked over to the sink and started washing her hands. “Well Julia, I want to get you back to class as soon as I can, so I am not going to have you sit here while I fill out the rest of the paperwork. But there are a few things we need to talk about, and some stuff I need you to tell your mother. I will go over it with her too when she calls me back, but it’s stuff you should know as well.”
Julia understood that doctors had to keep stuff confidential, but she wondered what kind of paperwork needed to be filled out. She asked Mrs Barnard about it.
“Oh, half my job Julia is filling out paperwork for the school and for the state. Most of it is just for statistical purposes and is totally anonymous. They want to know how many kids come to see me, what they see me about, and stuff like that. But sometimes I have to fill out other kinds of paperwork. In this case I have to document that this meeting took place, and that I did in fact ask you if you have been to a doctor recently. And actually, since you are wearing diapers full time I also have to fill out some other paperwork. It’s required, but totally useless unless you plan to start going to special education.”
That surprised Julia enough to get her attention. She sat up in her chair “What?! No way.”
Mrs Barnard laughed, “Calm down, there is no way that’s going to happen. Believe it or not, it’s actually very hard to get into a special education program. It costs the school system a lot of money and requires a ton of paperwork to get you in. The whole process is really tightly regulated. It’s really sad because some parents with kids that have problems struggle to get them into a program. Anyways, having to wear diapers is one thing that can help if you are trying to get into the program. So the school system requires me to keep track of all the kids who wear diapers.”
“You have to keep track of everyone who wears diapers at this school?”
“Well, technically I only have to keep track of the kids who are diapered at all times. I am sure there are lots of kids who wear diapers at night and stuff that I don’t know of.”
It never occurred to Julia, but now that she thought about it, she asked without hesitation. “Are there other kids who wear diapers?”
“Well, keep in mind that I have to maintain people’s privacy, so I can’t really go into specifics. But yes, there are a number of people at this school who wear diapers like you do. Honestly, most of them are in the special education program. But not all of them.”
Mrs Barnard had finished washing her hands and had already dried them off.
“So, like I said I want to get you back to class as soon as possible. So, let’s go over the stuff I need to tell you. First of all, you need to know that the school will not supply diapers for you. You are going to need to bring your own. I recommend that you just bring a supply into my office and keep them here. You don’t have to do it that way if you don’t want, but most kids don’t like keeping them in their locker, or carrying them in their backpack. I have some storage space in the back room and can just keep them in there.”
Julia finally noticed that there was a door at the other end of the room. That must be the storage area she was talking about. Julia also noticed for the first time a small bed in the corner of the room opposite the door.
“The next thing I need to tell you is that while nobody needs to know that you are back in diapers, I am going to have to send a note to your teachers letting them know that you are going to need to see me at times, including occasionally during class. Now, teachers get notes like this all the time. I know because I send them. The note doesn’t go into any specifics, so they won’t know. Like I said, everything that happens in here is totally confidential. They are not even supposed to ask you about it, but some do anyways. You don’t have to tell them anything, and you can tell them that they can talk to me about it if they have a problem. I am happy to remind them of the rules. Of course, it’s not like you’re not allowed to tell them what is going on, but that is totally up to you.”
Julia thought about it for a second and came up with a question. “Well, can I just come in during lunch or something like that?”
Mrs Barnard was quick to respond. “Well, I personally suggest you come in to see me whenever you need to. I don’t recommend that you sit through class in a dirty diaper. But, I also want you to know that, like I said, you are not the only kid at this school in diapers. I don’t want to have a line of kids waiting to come in to my office or anything like that, so I don’t suggest coming in during breaks, unless like I said, you need to. Just come whenever you need to have your diaper changed. I guess I should say that, while I usually don’t have somebody else in my office, there is a chance that at some point you might have to wait a bit. The door to my office is always closed and locked from the outside, I do that to make sure somebody doesn’t come in when I am with somebody. That’s why there are chairs out in the hallway. So if you come and knock and I say to wait just a minute, you can just take a seat out there in the hallway and I will get to you in a minute.
Julia was surprised to hear that. “Do you really change that many diapers?” she asked in near disbelief.
“Ah, that’s funny. No, most of the people that come to see me don’t need a diaper change. But they are entitled to privacy too. So, speaking of changing diapers, do you mind if I take a look at yours?”