Woke

It probably would’ve been nice for someone to be there when a woke up -- a doctor, a nurse, an aide, or literally anyone. Maybe they didn’t expect me to wake up, or at least not at that moment. It was jus such a shock to wake up in someone else’s body and a woman’s body at that! I had so many questions and absolutely no answers to any of them.

I would come to learn that they didn’t expect me to recover so quickly. Heck, technically they didn’t expect me to recover at all. The accident had basically killed me, and the brain transplant was more experimental than anything else. They had hoped to learn if it was possible. Well, I was now living proof that it was!

S41FT - "Paper Constellations"

The Crash

Snow hadn’t been in the forecast when I picked up my younger sister from her college for winter break, yet we ran into a sudden storm while on the road back to our parents. The car I was driving swerved off the highway, and that was the last thing I remembered before waking up in the hospital.

I could feel the bandage on my head, but I was more shocked to find that I now had a woman’s body -- and not just any woman, it was my sister’s body!

My panic was only calmed when the doctors pumped some drugs into me and explained what happened. Rescuers had found the accident in a relatively short time. Both my sister’s body and mine were in terrible shape basically with our heads cut open and brains leaked out. By coincidence, the snow had perfectly preserved our bodies and brains for an experimental treatment to save us.

Unfortunately, they had no quick way to determine which brain belonged in which body. They guessed purely based on size. As such, the guessed wrong and put my male brain inside my sister’s body. I knew it was better than being dead, but it was still a hard truth to swallow. I was now my own sister, and she was now me.

Important Work

Dr. O’Reilly watch his colleague, Dr. Park, come into the lab each day and spend about a half hour running electrical current through a brain she kept at her station. This when on for several months before he asked why she was doing this.

“I’m keeping it alive,” She told him, “It’s cutting edge research, and it’s very important to me.”

“What’s research? Whose brain is that?” Dr. O’Reilly asked, as confused as ever.

“It’s mine.” She paused. “Perhaps more accurately, it’s Dr. Park’s. It was swelling and had to be removed, or she would have died. I agreed to keep it alive and look for a cure.”

This begged an obvious question from Dr. O’Reilly. “Then who are you?”

“I would’ve thought you’d recognize your old professor by the quality of my work.”

“Mark Steincroft? Professor Mark Steincroft? But you died five years ago!”

“And now you understand just how experimental, groundbreaking, and important Dr. Park’s work was, and why I must continue it while aiding her brain here.”

A Mixup at the Hospital

“You did what?” Gabriel asked after waking up in the hospital and hearing about the mixup. “I came in here for a heart transplant, and you gave me a brain transplant instead?”

“Our deepest apologies,” The lead surgeon told him, “Though technically, the surgery is better described as a full body transplant. If it makes you feel any better, the heart inside that new chest of yours is perfectly healthy.”

“It doesn’t! It’s a woman’s chest! You swapped me into the body of a woman! How did this even happen?”

“Please understand that we see a lot of patients. You looked remarkably like the man who was slated to have his brain transplanted into this woman’s body.”

“Well, if you can swap my brain into this body, then you can swap it out again, right?”

“I’m afraid not. Your original body in particular is much too fragile right now. After all, the woman who swapped into your body still needed a heart transplant once she was in there. She’s also not eager to swap back either. She underwent the procedure because she always wanted to be a man. We can’t exactly force her back.”

“But that’s MY body! I want it back!”

Coma (Part 2)

View Part 1 of Coma.

The months passed, and the physical therapy was painful. My words were clearer. I could grip things and feed myself. I was able to stand and walk. I probably wasn’t at 100% -- I mean, even though I was able to stand and walk, I couldn’t do it for more than a few minutes, and running was still out of the question.

However, I was well enough to be released from the hospital. I sat on the bed waiting for my sister to arrive and pick me up. I wanted to lie down. Even sitting this long was sometimes painful, but I wanted to prove I could do it.

“Are you ready?” She asked.

“I could use some help getting dressed,” I replied, “But otherwise I’m good to go.”

“I’m sorry you couldn’t go to your own home.”

“Sarah visited once. I don’t think she likes seeing me like this.”

Sarah was (and still technically is, I suppose) my wife. Her signature was on the paperwork right beside mine. I don’t think she expected them to transplant my brain into a woman’s body, and it was hard for her to see me like this. She had apparently been around quite frequently initially, and then less so after the transplant. And only once after I woke up. She was nearly in tears the entire time. So when it was time for release, I had called up my sister. As she helped me hook the bra in the back, I found myself thankful for her support. It had been difficult since the accident, and with Sarah not even wanting to talk to me, it was good to have someone...

Coma (Part 1)

As I was being wheeled into the hospital after the accident, I apparently signed the paperwork for the experimental procedure. At least, I think I did. I barely remember it. I felt like there were so many people around me doing all they could to save my life that if one person threw a paper in front of me to sign, I probably managed to do it despite my injuries. They told me I fell into a months long coma after that night. That made it easier to transplant my brain into the new body. I remained in a comatose state for a few more months after that. To some extent, they expected that, but I was apparently out for longer than the doctors anticipated.

When my eyes fluttered (and I do mean fluttered) open that day, the nurse was actually surprised. They had chalked up the operation as a failure by that point. The ones who had their brains transplanted before me still hadn’t woken up.

I remember being thirsty. I remember wondering where I was with only fragments of the accident still in my mind. It wasn’t until the doctors began to ask me questions that I even noticed my new body -- and my new gender. My movements were more like a toddler as I tried to move my fingers. I surely could grasp anything and lifting myself up with the aid of the adjustable bed was impossible. My speech was slurred as I answered their questions. I wasn’t sure how much of this was due to the coma, but the doctors seemed to indicate much of it was due to the brain transplant -- that my mind was learning many motor controls like a baby might. They told me it would be a while before I could feed myself or stand up on my own. I’d be in the hospital for quite a while longer.

Entspannen

Adam’s eyes briefly flickered open.

“What’s happening to me?” He asked in a weak voice as he caught a glimpse of a man with green skin wearing a lab coat poking at him with medical instruments, not realizing his own brain was presently exposed to open air while being injected with various fluids.

“Entspannen, mein Freund,” Doctor Gunther Bismark said in a calm, measured tone, “I apologize that none of this is ideal. But when I heard you had perished, I came as quick as I could.”

Adam couldn’t respond, but he did flinch when he heard the word “perish.” The reaction was not lost on Dr. Bismark.

“Yes, you were dead. It was only a minor inconvenience. Fortunately, the technology has progressed significantly since my own incident. They couldn’t stop the rot once my brain was placed in this new body all those years ago. I had to go into hiding. But you? Well, no one will notice anything once I am complete here. Your brain will be in this new body, and no one will notice anything is amiss. Well, YOU might notice something is off. How can I say this? You’re new body is quite different from your old one. I do apologize for that fact, but it is still quite good to see that I wasn’t too late to save you.”

Invasive Procedure

“This sucks,” Marisa said with a frown, “I don’t want to be in your body! I like wearing cute clothes and painting my nails! Do you think this is permanent? Or do you think that weirdo old guy is going to come back and put our brains back in the right bodies?”

“I think that brain transplantation is likely very invasive,” Dave replied, “Whatever damage was done to our nervous systems is probably going to exponential if we undergo a second procedure.”

“You sound way too calm about this. Aren’t you freaking about being a woman?”

“I should be, shouldn’t I? And yet I’m not. Maybe it’s the a neural pathway that wasn’t reconnected. Or maybe the mad scientist just removed the part of my brain responsible for that.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Why would he switch our brains in the first place? The guy was absolutely crazy! Do you know he showed me a man that he tried to graft gills onto? Maybe we should be thankful that this was the worst thing that happened to us.”

“I’d rather have gills.”

“The guy with gills was dead, Marisa.”

Compatible Donor

Brad looked down at the person in the hospital bed with a sense of trepidation. He turned to the doctor and spoke, “She’s older than I would’ve expected. And I’m still not wild about the fact that it’s a woman.”

Doctor Schwartz looked Brad right in the eyes, “We don’t exactly have a wide variety of brain dead patients. There are even fewer who have relatives to sign off on experimental procedures. And she is literally the only one who is a compatible donor.”

“I understand. It’s just weird. To think that I’ll go into surgery as myself, and yet wake up...as her. I’m just not sure I’m ready.”

“You know if you pull out, you’ll likely be dead in a week. And even if you merely hesitate, there’s no guarantee her body will stay alive in the state it is in. We need to act now to save your life.”

“I know. I know. I thank you. I thank you for showing me. I needed to see beforehand. I needed to know. But I’m ready now. When I wake up. I will be her. I will be Maria Cuervas. That will be my body. It’s still weird, but I don’t have a choice.”

Needed the Money

“Oh, my God,” One of the nurses whispered to the other, “She’s waking up. She’s not supposed to be waking up in the middle of this.”

“What are you doing to me? Why do I only have one arm?” The young woman on the operating table slurred.

“It’s all right, Miss Li,” The other nurse said, “We’re just performing the transplants you’ll be paid for.”

“Transplants?”

“Yes, many in your financial situation choose to sell and transfer body parts for money.”

“But my arm? And...my legs? Why are my legs over there? How am I going to walk after this without legs?”

“It’s actually everything from your waist down. You aren’t losing them so much as...swapping them with another person. Mister Carver and you agreed before all of this. You’ll have everything of his. Now, breathe deep.”

“Mister? Mister Carver? No, but I don’t want,” The woman on the operating table began to fall back asleep, “I don’t want to be a guy down there. I want...”

The first nurse spoke up again, “That was so weird. Remember to use a bigger sedative dose next time.”

Fortunate

Note: Accidentally ran two captions yesterday, so no new one today, but if you missed the other one, it is here.

When Andrew caught the deadly disease, he knew he was fortunate enough to be able to afford the most expensive treatments available. However, attempt after attempt proved unsuccessful. The final solution was certainly extreme. He was placed under, his brain transplanted into a new body, and he awoke in the hospital several days later. The disease was cured, but he was now in the body of a woman. He couldn’t move yet; his brain was still figuring his new body out. But he knew it was only a matter of time until he continue on with life.

Adjust

Chad bolted up quickly. He could just barely tell that he was in a hospital or maybe a doctor’s office. His head was spinning; he felt woozy and disoriented; his vision was blurry. Soon a nurse and doctor rushed in.

“Chad, you need to lie back down,” The doctor instructed him.

“What’s going on?” Chad paused, reflecting on the sound coming out of his mouth, “What’s wrong with my voice.”

“There’s nothing wrong. You were in a car accident. We were able to save you by transplanting your brain into a new body. We were afraid you wouldn’t wake up at all, but, please you are weak.”

“New body? What body?”

“Please, your still adjusting to it. You’re in the body of a young woman named Nadine. Things probably feel strange. Don’t worry; you’ll adjust with time...”

Donor

Walter knew the next few months weren’t going to be easy. After his diagnosis, he expected to leave his wife a widow. But his doctor offered an unconventional hope. If possible, Walter’s brain could be transplanted into a new body. It would depend on finding a donor, a body that was compatible with proper paperwork or next of kin and a brain dead status despite being otherwise healthy. Walter never expected that donor to be a woman.

It would take time for his brain to connect to his nerve endings. He’d have to adapt to being a woman. Thankfully, he still had his wife by his side, who loved him no matter what body he was in.

Open (Part 5)

Click here for Part 1.
Click here for Part 2.
Click here for Part 3.
Click here for Part 4.

Months later, Marcus returned to the hospital for one of his sessions with a counselor. He had been previously seeing an old guy named Doctor Holmes, but he was pleasantly surprised to be meeting with a young woman this time. She made a note on her clipboard that Marcus was wearing feminine clothes but he sat in a rather masculine manner with his legs spread.

“I’m wondering if you could talk about your gender today, Marcus. Did Doctor Holmes ever ask about how you felt about that?” The woman

“I would always tell him how amazing this body feels, but I don’t think he ever asked about it specifically. And you can call me Misty.”

“You decided to call yourself Misty?”

“Yeah, this chick’s name was Michelle, but that felt too stuffy.”

“Is there something wrong with stuffy?”

“I mean, if you got it, flaunt it! And I got it! C’mon, you know, right? Wearing some low cut tops and high heels, it just fels sexy! I never felt this good before in my life!”

Open (Part 4)

Click here for Part 1.
Click here for Part 2.
Click here for Part 3.

A few more weeks passed, and Marcus was finally ready to be discharged. He signed a large number of non-disclosure agreements and scheduled regular appointments to come back for physical therapy and counseling. There was also one morbid task he needed to attend to. Sitting in the hospital’s morgue, perfectly preserved with chemicals, was his former body. He needed to identify it for the coroner. Seeing his lifeless body there was nothing short of horrifying. He knew he was someone different now; he knew he had a new body, but it still felt like he was gone. In a way, he supposed he was.

Open (Part 3)

Click here for Part 1.
Click here for Part 2.

As the weeks passed, Marcus gained more and more control of his new body. The doctors would now come in and see what he could do, instead of just giving instructions. And they would ask questions, mostly about how he was adjusting. Of course, Marcus couldn’t complain in the slightest. He was happy to be alive, and the body he ended up getting was like hitting the jackpot. He began to ask them when he’d be well enough to stand, or when he’d be well enough to leave the hospital. They didn’t give a firm answer, but they seemed quite pleased with how Marcus was doing.

Open (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

Marcus was slowly able to feel his new body -- though things felt weird and parts often felt numb. His doctors gave him instructions on how to best recover, and Marcus was a little surprised one day when he was told to lift his head. He was almost sure he wouldn’t be able to do it, yet was quite amazed when he could. Though when he did so, the first thing he saw was his new body. It was now very clear his brain had been transplanted into the body of a woman. His perspective wasn’t the best, but he was pretty sure that he was smoking hot. He spoke for the first time since the surgery in order to manage a mutter of amazement, “Whoa.” Hearing his new soft voice made him even more curious, but his doctors instructed him to lie back down and take it easy. Marcus was now so intrigued about his new body, but he didn’t yet have the energy to explore.

Open (Part 1)

Marcus was breathing weakly. Was this the afterlife? Or had he survived the operation? His body felt completely numb; he couldn’t move. He couldn’t confirm if the surgery had been a success or not. He only seemed to have involuntary movements like breathing and blinking so far. It made sense. In order to save his life, he had his brain transplanted into an entirely different body. Many neural pathways would be reconstructing themselves. It made sense that essential bodily functions came first. Even things like moving would have to wait. It’d probably be several hours before he could even feel, and maybe a few days before he could move. He began to wonder what his new body was like..

Law Degree (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

After Justin graduated law school, he went looking for a job. It proved difficult for him to get a job at any firm. Being fresh out of school, he lacked much experience, but almost everyone didn’t want to bring him on a junior lawyer. They figured he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demands since he looked so old. The only offer he eventually got was to be a secretary, which felt humiliating yet he accepted it anyway. He thought about going off on to practice on his own, but he’d need to build up some savings first, which was hard as a secretary. Every day at work was just depressing. Heck, every day since he first got this body had just been worse and worse...