Sleeping quietly

Lately I have been sleeping fitfully. In the morning I always wake on top of the covers in stead of below, and also half undressed. My wife worried about my kidneys: when you're over 30 you have to be careful. I should try to get a jumpsuit to sleep in. Oh great, I considered, back to spending the night in a blanket sleeper. But actually it wasn't such a bad idea. So the next day I went to the underwear store and tried to obtain something like that. But the sales lady only gave me a blank look. "We don't sell things like that; you could try a special care shop, where they have jumpsuits for nursing homes and psychiatric wards. Well, I'm not a psycho, and it seemed awkward to go to such a shop in our small town, when someone could see me enter. So I forgot all about it.

A few weeks later I had to go to a conference in a large city in the south of Germany. I traveled to the city on the day before, and after checking in to my hotel there was enough time left for a stroll through the town. It was four in the afternoon, and the pedestrian zone was full of people. I just drifted along with the flow. Suddenly I found myself in front of a special care shop. What the heck, I thought, no one knows me here. So I entered.

I explained my situation to a pretty sales lady. She smiled, estimated my size, and put a package on the counter after a brief search. During the unwrapping she explained to me: "Here we have a very nice pajama jumpsuit in your size. The fabric is really soft on the skin. It has attached feet, and is closed with a zipper at the back. We have them in pink, yellow and blue, but I assume this blue one suits you best." I looked at the large bundle of fabric, and took a peek at the price tag. A pretty hefty price, it seemed to me. The sales lady once again told me about the high quality of the product, and then suggested "Why don't you give it a try; there is a dressing room; I'll give you a hand." Oh well, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try, but of course I can dress myself. Her offer to help is probably just 'Déformation professionnelle'. No wonder, dealing with patients all day long. I took the jumpsuit and went over to the dressing room. I kept my underwear on and stepped into the suit. Oh yes, the zipper goes in the back. Now the feet were pointing in the right direction. I pulled the outfit up. Between the legs there was another zipper, from thigh to thigh. I could imagine what that was for. I put the arms into the arms, which felt pretty unusual. Now for the zipper, which ran pretty stiffly. I only managed to get it up halfway, not being that limber. I peeped though the curtain. The sales lady was there. "Shall I help you with the zipper?". I nodded and turned around. Expertly she drew the zipper up to my neck. "You should remove your shirt though, that will only shift and cause pressure. The fabric is extra soft on the skin." I inspected myself in the mirror. No beauty pageant for me, but I felt very comfortable in this sleeper. "The zipper runs stiffer on purpose, to prevent patients from taking it off." she explained. "If you want to wear it at home your wife should help you get in and out." The thought of not being able to get out of the jumpsuit by myself excited me. "But when I have to use the bathroom? That's what this second zipper is for?" The sales lady explained that that one was actually meant for diaper changes. "I will get you one; that will also make the crotch fit better. You can undress now, including the underwear this time please." She opened the zipper again and I entered the dressing room. Now I totally undressed. Shortly after the diaper was handed to me through the curtain. It could be put on like a normal pair of underpants, but you could see that it could be opened at the sides - torn open that is. On top of the diaper came the jumpsuit again. The sales lady helped me close it and looked me over. "The jumpsuit fits perfectly. Do you want to take it?" I was still hesitant, especially because of the price. It was quite smooth and warm though. The sales lady sensed my hesitation "You should lie down in it for a bit. We have beds in the back. Then you will notice that it's very soft on the skin and without pressure points. The zipper is also lined. And then..." She had held something behind her back the whole time "there are these matching mittens." She presented them to me and I took a closer look. "These mittens I will give you for a special price." They were the same color and material as the jumpsuit, but looked more like table tennis bats or baseball gloves. I took them in my hands. At the under side there was a polstered flat surface, while on top there were individual sleeves for each finger. After putting on these mittens you literally wouldn't be able to move a finger. "Try them on!" She opened the Velcro of the right one and held the open side toward me. I put my hand in. It took a while until each finger had found it's sleeve. The second hand was already quicker. "So, let's close them up." and she closed the Velcro. At the end of the strap there were metal eyelets, which she put over the metal pin that extruded from the mitten. From her tunic pocket she retrieved two round buttons that she pressed on both pins. I thought I heard something of a click each time. "This is the Segufix restraint system." she explained. "Without the magnetic key they won't open. I'm sure I have one of those around here." she winked. "Would you like to lie down to try out? I'll take your possessions." which was a good idea since I couldn't handle anything with these mittens. "We go to the back for a little while, she told her colleague, who nodded. I was glad to leave the sales area and trotted after her.

We entered a small corridor. "Do you supply this kind of service to all customers?" I asked. "In principle, yes" the sales lady answered "but we mostly have institutions as customer, since we're supplying to almost all the major hospitals and care facilities in the area. I've also been a nurse for many years. My name is Gabriele Schulze; you can call me nurse Gabriele if you'd like. Here we are..." She opened a door and let me through. The door didn't have a handle but an American style rotating knob. You wouldn't be able to open the door with these mittens on, I realized. Gradually this turned into an adventure. The room turned out to be a medium-sized storage area. The walls were covered by storage racks with all sorts of crates. In the middle there were two hospital beds. One bed contained a tangle of white straps, the other was stacked with boxes. "You can spend a quiet hour here to try sleeping; I'll quickly move those boxes." I looked at the other bed with the straps. I tried to pick them up, but oh yes, that didn't work with these mittens on. "Don't go through all that trouble, I can also take this bed here." I said with a slight tremor in my voice. Nurse Gabriele turned around "We have prepared that bed for a demonstration for another customer that was supposed to come in this afternoon. But something came up for him. Removing the Segufix system will take longer than moving those boxes." "Well, I'm sure the straps wouldn't bother me; I can just lie on top of them." I replied and and sat down on the bed. "OK, then lie down! Didn't you say you moved a lot in your sleep? Perhaps I should fixate you so you wouldn't fall down.?" I nodded timidly. Nurse Gabriele fetched a whole box of those round fasteners. First the waist belt was closed. "So, now you're already safe in principle, and won't fall down anymore." I wiggled my arms and legs. "With this system I can also fixate you all the way; perhaps that would be useful for you at home." She took my right arm and locked my hand at the side. "The mitten could come off now, but let's leave it there for now." she said and took care of my left arm. The legs were next. Around each ankle I got a strap. "Now you're already pretty well restrained. Give it a try." I tested the leeway for my arms and legs. I could still move them a little bit. I sat up to inspect my legs. "To prevent straightening up there is the shoulder strap arrangement." With gentle pressure she guided my torso back down and folded more straps around my shoulders and breast, which were also closed with these round locks. "To finish it off, let me also do your elbows and legs." I got more straps around my arms just above the elbows, and around my legs just above the knees. I tried to move, but apart from some tiny wiggles I couldn't. "You can give it your best, the straps are tested for that; alone you won't be able to get out." "That is really great, but can one sleep like this?" "I'll release you in half an hour. Is that OK or should I let you out right now?" I felt quite well, so I said "It's OK. Nothing can happen to me like this; the only thing I could do is to twist my head or bite my tongue." I tried to joke." "We can do something about that, too" she replied and retrieved something from a storage rack. "This is a special cushion for transport when they suspect injuries to the spine." She put the cushion around her head. "See, the head is postered on three sides and can be fixated with straps over the forehead and chin. And this is a mouth guard that prevents one from damaging their teeth from spasms and also prevents biting the tongue." She held a clear piece of plastic up." But no fear, I'll not put this on you." She put the material on a nearby desk, and took a look at the clock. "Oops, I need to run, but don't worry, you can still give it a try. I'll just tell my colleague, and she'll be here in half an hour." She graciously said goodbye and I was left alone.

I felt pretty well, restrained this way and not being responsible for anything that happened. If only I could... but no chance, my hands couldn't reach my crotch and the mittens and not in the last place the diaper would have made it pretty hard. I tried a few more times to sit up, but the straps kept me totally secure. Whether the half hour would be over quickly? Time goes quite slowly when there's nothing to do. I was the kind of person that always needed to occupy himself with something. Usually the TV was on while for instance reading the newspaper or eating dinner. Not doing anything at all was a new experience.

After a certain time, I'd guess about two hours, the door opened. The other sales lady that I saw before in the shop entered. "Hello, we haven't met. I'm nurse Sabine." she introduced herself. I murmured something about a long half hour. She showed me her watch, and indeed only half an hour had passed. I apologized. "It felt like two hours." "No problem. So what are we going to do with you?" She went to the desk and started browsing through some paperwork. "What do you mean? You need to release me and I'll be off to my hotel!" "Oh, I am to let you go, am I?" She seemed to have found what she was looking for in the schedule and retrieved a file from a drawer. "Yes, you're supposed to release me. Didn't nurse Gabriele tell you?" "No, there were customers in the shop. She only mentioned that there was a client in the back that needed attention in half an hour. But there is no problem mister Peters, I have found your data in your file and it lists exactly what is going to be done." "I am not this Peters, but a normal customer." I gradually started thinking I was in a bad movie. Several memories of horror movies whirled though my brain. "So then you are not mister Peters; whatever you want. I'm on duty tonight, and I'll take care of you. If there really is a problem, you only need to say the safe-word; otherwise I won't deviate from the plan. We want the order from your hospital. You have all night to test the new system. Later I'll bring you something to eat and change you if that's necessary." She took a page from the file and left again.

I was alone. This must just be a misunderstanding, I told myself. It was awfully boring. After a long time nurse Sabine entered the room again. Dinner. "I have prepared everything as specified." She held a feeding bottle to my mouth. "What is this all about? I'm not ..." "Mister Peters, I know." she finished my sentence. "Are you hungry nonetheless?" She was right. In the bottle there was a sweet goo; I sucked it empty and then got some tee. "I'm curious how long it will take." she said. "What was in that bottle?" I asked anxiously. She just gave me a smile. "I'll be back in an hour and will take care of you. By then it should all have passed though you." she replied and left. My stomach began to rumble. I needed to go urgently, and started calling softly for the nurse. But it was no use. She wouldn't release me anyhow, and I _was_ wearing a diaper. It not easy though as an adult to use one's diaper. Somehow you keep fighting it. But it was a lost battle, and in several passings everything came out.

Then nurse Sabine came back. "Well, got everything out? I'll change you then. You'll see that I can do that even if you would try to resist. It would be ideal for your clinic." "Shall we try?" I said and try to wiggle. But the nurse only adjusted a few belts and somehow tilted the bed, and there I laid with spread legs. She opened the crotch zipper, shifted a pad under me and exchanged the diaper with a fresh one. "See, everything worked easily and without problems." She had me convinced, at least. The legs were reverted to their original position.

"I'll now get you ready for the night." She glanced around "This is probably also meant for you then" and held up the mouth guard and head cushion." "No, I don't want that" "Really?" she looked at me with a smile and waited a bit longer. "You can always try to resist. This new system also allows a weak woman like me to take care of a strong man during the night; just consider what possibilities there are to save money." She tilted the head of the bed a little downward and shifted the cushion that was folded open under my head. I tried to roll my head from side to side but it didn't do much to prevent her from folding the sides upward without much effort. On the top the sides were drawn together with a straps across my chin and forehead, and the cushion was attached to the bed with a few Segufix straps. I couldn't rotate my head anymore. "So, that's taken care of." she said "the mouth guard also helps against teeth gnashing." I held my mouth firmly shut. She pressed my nose closed with two fingers, so that I couldn't breathe, and soon I opened my mouth to gasp for air. Quickly she inserted a mouth spreader between my teeth. "This always does the trick." she said and opened my mouth a bit further with the lever of the mouth spreader. Then she could insert the mouth guard and removed the spreader again. I explored the thing with my tongue. Both upper and lower teeth were enclosed with a strip that prevented the teeth from touching each other. From the outside the strip felt quite soft, so that the tongue was protected. "Close your mouth." Now a small cushion was put under my chin and attached to the head cushion with a few wide straps, preventing me from opening my mouth. "So, everything neat and tidy?" Nurse Sabine checked all the straps once more and was satisfied. "Well then, have a good night mister Peters. I'll check on once more you later." "I'm not.." I tried to answer without being able to open my jaw. She helped me "I know, you're not mister Peters. Have a good night." She turned off the light and left the room. Outside it was close to dark as well. I was drowsy for a while and then I must have fallen asleep.

During the night I woke up once because I needed to go to the bathroom, and I briefly panicked before I remembered where I was. Then I just let it go and fell back asleep.

In the morning I woke up because someone was outside the door. I closed my eyes again and pretended to still be asleep. "What do you mean that mister Peters arrived anyhow; he had canceled." I heard nurse Gabriele inquire. "Shush, he's still asleep. Oh no, what have you done, that is not mister Peters, but the customer that came for the pajama jumpsuit yesterday. You should have released him after half an hour." "Oh, but I thought he was just playing along. What should we do; I hope he won't get too angry." "We'll just have to see." said nurse Gabriele again and said somewhat louder "Good Morning. Did you sleep well?"

She released the chin belts and removed the head cushion step by step. Actually I slept very well, and felt more rested than in quite a while. "What have you done to me. I'm not mister Peters." "I'm awfully sorry." replied nurse Gabriele. ".. but I slept really well. This happens to be exactly what I need. What would all of this cost?" "I think we could make you a nice offer, but let me first get you out." I almost regretted being released, but I did have a conference to go to. There was just enough time to have everything explained to me once more. Nurse Sabine 'volunteered' as Guinea pig, and I could apply everything while nurse Gabriele explained. The trick with holding the nose also worked on her. Then everything was in place and I was confident that I could also explain it to my wife. "We'll pack up everything and ship it off to you today; it will arrive tomorrow or the day after at the latest." "Oh well, one day doesn't make much difference. Sending it off tomorrow morning is soon enough. Then I can look forward to it and your colleague can gather a bit more experience with it" I winked. "Sabine, you didn't have other plans for today, did you?" Nurse Sabine struggled in her bonds. "Such an extra test wouldn't be amiss. Please follow me to the counter; would you like to pay cash or credit card?"