Yellowstone: Love and Cowboys

Concussion and Aftermath

Her head hurt, it hurt horribly--she could feel it throbbing. And her back didn't just hurt, it burned. She didn't dare move because she knew the pain would be more unbearable.

People were speaking. "She opened her eyes, don't let her go to sleep. Open your eyes, Coralee, don't pass out on us. You may have a concussion, so you have to stay awake." Was it Travis speaking? Uncle John?

She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and go to sleep but they wouldn't let her. Every time she tried to close her eyes and pass out someone would slap her face gently.

"Keep your eyes open, don't leave us. I know it's hard, but you need to stay awake."

"How long before the chopper gets here, John?" That was Travis' voice speaking.

"It'll be here soon; we'll take her to the hospital in Billings. Hang on honey," John Dutton bent over her, and his face looked funny, wrinkled, and older.

"I hate to leave you with our horses, but I need to go with her." Travis sounded worried.

"Don't worry about it, we'll get you back to the ranch. She's trying to close her eyes again." He slapped her gently, it stung but didn't hurt, "Keep your eyes open, Coralee."

"Don't slap me anymore." She didn't know if they could hear or understand her, but Travis laughed and took her hand.

The chopper had arrived, and they rolled her gently onto a stretcher and carried her into the helicopter, Travis following right behind her. They had folded down two seats to accommodate her and belted her in.

"Don't worry, Miss Dutton, it's only going to seem like a long ride." Whoever it was went to the front and strapped himself in.

She was dizzy from being moved and closed her eyes to shut it out. She began to pass out again and Travis gently slapped her cheek again, "No, no, no you don't, don't pass out. We'll be at the hospital soon, try and keep your eyes open."

"I feel like I'm going to get sick," she said, and the words seemed to make sense.

"Well, you can get sick in my hat," he replied.

"No, I'm not going to puke in your Stetson, it's my family's helicopter, I can throw up on the floor."

Travis laughed, he'd never heard her loopy like this, was she even aware of what she was saying? Thank god they'd kept her awake so far. He only knew a little about head injuries, but it was possible that if she did have a concussion this was a sign it maybe was not as bad as he feared.

He held her hand as the chopper made its way to Billings. He looked down and could see the red cross on the helipad and finally was able to breathe.

"We're here, hon, there are orderlies with a gurney waiting for you." He tried to keep his voice even, he didn't want her to know how worried he was. "Hey!" he said as she started to pass out again, "You can't do that, remember?"

At last, they landed, and they gently transferred her from the stretcher to the gurney. "I need to throw up again," she said and one of the orderlies helped her sit up and she threw up onto the ground.

"Easy Miss Dutton," they told her as they wheeled her into the emergency room where her family doctor was waiting.

"Well, Coralee," he asked, "What did you do this time?" Travis, following, laughed as she raised her middle finger. "We're going to get you into a room and a gown. I'm going to give you something for the nausea and dizziness and then we're going to do an MRI. Hopefully, all you have is a nasty bump on the head, but you might have a concussion. Broken ribs are a possibility, too, we'll check that out." He turned and saw Travis standing and waiting, "And who are you?"