she might she couldn’t put names to any of them.
She finally opened her eyes and looked at the nurse. “Is anyone here for me?”
“I don’t know. I just started work here two days ago. I was told you were brought in about five days ago and you’ve been unconscious most of the time I’ve been here. The doctor can tell you more.” Tears of frustration and panic begin to form, but she forced them down.
“You must be getting tired. This is a really big day for you. It’s the first time you’ve really been awake and coherent. Why don’t you get some rest and we’ll wake you when the doctor arrives.” The woman pulled a syringe out of her pocket and inserted it into the IV. “This should help.”
“When will I be able to move?”
“When you wake up.”
Sarah closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
****
“Honey, you need to wake up now. The doctor will be here in a moment.”
A petite woman and an Asian man walked into the room, both with pleasant smiles on their faces. Those expressions Sarah easily recognized, they were meant to put the patient at ease. Sarah relaxed. Despite her fatigue and fuzziness something was finally beginning to click. She was a doctor, that’s why she recognized their expressions so easily.
“It is good to see you are finally awake, Sarah. I’m sorry to hear you’re having some problems with your memory,” the woman said as she stepped up to Sarah’s bed.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m sorry, where are my manners? I’m Doctor Simms and this is my colleague Doctor Pheung. He’s a neurologist.”
“Is there something wrong with my brain? Was I in an accident?”
“You were. A car accident. You had significant brain swelling, and you’ve been in and out of consciousness for six days. You didn’t require surgery but we’ve been monitoring you closely.”
“Wasn’t the drug to keep me paralyzed a bit extreme?” Dr. Simms gave a small chuckle.
“I forget I’m dealing with a physician. We deemed it necessary. You were thrashing about, and having severe nightmares. It was the medication or restraints. We chose to medicate you.”
“Can I see my chart?”
“Maybe when you’re doing better, today is the first day you seem to be fully cognizant. Tell me what you remember.” Sarah had been trying but all attempts had been futile.
“Do I have amnesia? I know I’m a doctor. I know my first name but I don’t know my last name.”
“Hello Sarah,” Dr. Pheung said, as he held out his hand. “I’ve reviewed your chart, and looked over the CAT scan done the other day. I don’t see any issues we need to be worried about. Right now, I would say the only side effects you can expect are some problems with memory, dizziness and you’ll tire easily. It’s to be expected.”
“Other than the paralytic, what other drugs are you giving me? They seem to make me really tired and fuzzy. I don’t think I need them, and I think they’re having adverse effects on my ability to regain my memory. I really want to see my chart.” Sarah held out her hand.
“Tomorrow Sarah,” Dr. Simms promised. “But in the meantime, you need to trust us, it isn’t the drugs. We have some that are still helping to reduce the residual swelling and some to relax you so you can rest. Rest is the most important thing for your recovery.”
“Can’t you tell me about myself?”
“It’d be best if you remembered things on your own,” Dr. Simms said.
“Sarah, you need to be patient the more you stress about it the longer the recovery,” Dr. Pheung explained.
“Can you at least tell me what city I’m in? What hospital? Where my family is? If I have a family? Friends?”
“You’re getting agitated which is exactly what we didn’t want.” Dr. Simms held out her hand to the nurse who gave her another syringe. Sarah winced. She didn’t want it. She didn’t want to go back to sleep. But maybe they were right, at least when she was asleep she started to see faces
Terra Wolf, Mercy May
Jennifer Collins Johnson
Louise Penny
Tamara Hogan
Mary Hanson
Roderick Gordon
Aimee Agresti
Dean Murray
Amy Malone
Katharine Davis