"It's been 73 days - almost 11 weeks," she said in a gentle tone. "Don't worry. The doctor will explain everything. And I'll have someone call your family to tell them you're awake."
Time seemed to freeze for you. You couldn't make sense of what the nurse said. 11 weeks? The last thing your remembered was some doctors talking about your mom and Allison ... and a brain transplant? Was that all a dream?
The nurse returned with some others to give you a thorough examination, then give you more water with some simple food. A doctor finally arrived after nearly an hour and introduced himself as "Doctor Hanover." When you asked him about the other doctors - Saunders and Kerry - he seemed confused, telling you they had nothing to do with your case. At your insistence he had a nurse check the records and found that Dr. Kerry had performed some minor brain surgery on your mother after the accident. But Dr. Saunders, he said, was a neuroscience specialist doing research at the hospital, so he had no idea why you knew of him - unless Dr. Kerry had perhaps consulted him on your mom's case.
You were confused by all this, not even sure that what you remembered had really happened, so you dropped your questioning. You only half paid attention to the rest of Dr. Hanover's discussion, but you did gather you had fallen, seriously exacerbating your injuries. The doctors placed you in a medically induced coma during your treatment. That had ended over a week ago, but apparently it had taken until today for your mind to decide to 'wake up'.
You lost track as he continued to rattle on until he was interrupted by your parents and siblings arriving. You were a little overwhelmed at their level of emotion as they showered you with affection. You guessed your injuries and hospital stay must have really affected them. Your dad gave you several hugs - remarkable given his usual stoicism. Even your brother and sister seemed genuinely happy to see you! Your mom eyes were glued to you, tears streaming down her cheeks. She grabbed your hand and did not let go.
The reunion was eventually cut short by Dr. Hanover's return. He explained that if you continued to do well, you should be released in two days. Everything looked good but he wanted to monitor you for 48 hours after your returning to consciousness. "You'll need to do some physical therapy after discharge to help regain your strength, but you should be finished just in time for school. We don't want you to miss the start of your senior year!" he added with a laugh.
They were all shooed out by the nurses who wanted to get you up so you could bathe and start to move around. You even started some mild PT later that day. By dinner time you were exhausted and dozed off quickly that night.
The next two days were a whirlwind. PT, more tests, and constant visits from your family and your friends, including your best friend Randall who did not want to leave your side now that you were awake. Your dad brought up Allison - you told him that you knew, it was the last thing you remembered before your fall. Allison's parents even came by to see you, and you all grieved together.
Still, you couldn't completely drop the fragmented memory of a conversation with Dr Kerry and Dr Saunders. You convinced yourself it was just a dark dream or hallucination - but you the thought still lingered in the back of your mind. When your parents visited you thought you sensed something different about your mom, like she wanted to tell your something; or that she seemed slightly off when she kissed you and hugged you, as if she were holding herself back. But she otherwise acted totally normal. And with everyone in and out of your room - and Randall there almost constantly - you didn't have a change to talk to her alone.
Finally on the third day you were discharged.
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