1000 Memories

Chapter 15

It has been three days since the incident and the doctors said that Cindy will wake up from the medically induced coma today. Her mother has been in this room majority of the time and barely even leaves to go to the bathroom. Cindy’s dad flew in the previous day after ensuring that everything back at home was left in the capable hands of their son, Phil. My dad offered them our Air BnB, which is very conveniently close to the hospital so that that they will not have to worry about where they will stay while their daughter is still in recovery.

Jo, Emily and I have been alternating watch shifts with Cindy’s mom and dad so that they could also go home and rest a little bit, even though they did not like the idea very much. We all still have to eat, shower, rest and go to work as long as someone stays with Cindy.

Since today is the day she finally wakes up, we all wanted to be here. I called in sick at work so I can have this free day and just be there for my friend. I wonder if she’s going to remember what happened immediately.

For a brief second, I start to think about those people who wake up from a coma and do not remember anything, even their own names. I quickly banish that thought from my mind and choose  to believe that she’s going to be okay. A bunch of doctors come into the small hospital room and one of them explains to us what will happen when she wakes up. He injects something into the IV attached to her arm and a nurse grabs a pillow from the chair and slightly props Cindy’s head up. I look over at Mrs Baker and her husband holding hands with so much hope written all over their faces and all I can do is pray that she wakes up well.

We stand there and watch as the doctor withdraws the drugs which were used to induce the coma.

“How long is it going to take for her to wake up?” I ask the doctor.

“It will depend on her. It can be a few hours to a few days.”

It seems like we all actually thought that she would wake up immediately and that is why we all decided to come in and watch as they withdrew the drugs.

“Cindy might experience some side effects such as weakness, nightmares and hallucinations among others when she wakes up, but the nurse here will stay with u and keep monitoring her until she wakes up. “The doctor says and turns to leave.

The rest of the day goes by very slowly as we alternate between sitting in the room, cafeteria and the chapel as we wait for any sign of consciousness from Cindy. The nurse has been so nice ever since Cindy was brought in. She has made sure that we have enough blankets for the night and ensures that someone watches Cindy whenever we go to eat at the cafeteria or pray at the chapel. She also constantly comes in to check on how Cindy is doing from time to time.

I walk down the hallway back to Cindy’s room after going to get coffee for Cindy’s mom and dad from the cafeteria. They are standing by the door as a new doctor walks into the room.

“What’s going on? Did she wake up?” I ask curiously as soon as I get to where they are standing.

“Cindy squeezed my hand as I was holding hers and telling her about how I turned her old room into an office! Can you believe it? She moved her fingers!” Cindy’s mom says with a smile on her face.

“OH! That is good news!”

“That one there is the neurologist. She has been called in to assess her brain activity.” Mr Baker speaks for the first time in a while as he points to the short woman with brown hair standing over Cindy as the nurse briefs her. He is usually a very quiet man. I look into the room through the glass walls to see that the doctor is shining a torch in Cindy’s eyes and tickling her legs with a pen while she tries to make a conversation with her.

She then turns towards us with a perplexed look on her face and immediately tries to smile in order to cover it up, and then walks over to where we are.

“She seems to be okay, her vitals are stable and she is generally fine. There is just one slight issue. “She says and I can suddenly hear my heartbeat in the pin drop silence that follows. What could be wrong? Can they fix it?

The doctor ushers us into the room and we stand beside Cindy’s bed. Her eyes are wide open and she is staring at us with a confused look on her face.

“Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling?” Her mom asks as she bends over to hug her daughter who immediately moves away from her in a cringing manner.

“Qui es-tu? Où suis-je?” Cindy says looking around the room.

Wait, is that French? Why is she speaking in French, she has never even learnt the language in her life.

“What’s going on? “Mrs Baker asks the doctor.

“So, uhm...it seems that your daughter has lost some of her memories and speech pattern...” She nervously says.