“She blinked,” Dr. Ravi announced. Evan would have expected more excitement from the voice on the phone, but the young doctor was simply stating a clinical fact. The guy was deliberately underplaying the news.
By Evan’s reckoning, Loretta had been on retreat from the land of the living for six months, one week, three days, and six hours.
“So she’s awake!” Evan was suddenly hyper-alert.
“No,” came the sober answer. “We can’t say that. There are some other encouraging signs, however. When the nurse saw her lids react, she followed a series of tests. Oculovestibular testing is very simple, harmless. We use an eyedropper to put some warm water in one ear. We lift the eyelids, and if the eyeballs move to the opposite side, that’s the normal response. We repeat the procedure in the other ear.
