Moment of Reflection

Chapter 27

"Since the ventilator has been removed and a nasal cannula with oxygen has been replaced, you will notice that she will be able to breath on her own," Dave said, "Now, usually it will take a couple days before she begins to wake up, but with the way she has been recovering, she may begin to come to as early as tomorrow I would imagine. When she does begin to wake up, immediately press the call button on her bed, a nurse will come in to aid as things can be very unpredictable when someone returns from a coma. She can be anywhere from drowsy to furious. Just remember, she still is drugged, so she can't necessarily control what she says, or does. If she wakes up suddenly and begins yelling at you, don't get upset, it isn't her talking."

"Okay," I said as I nodded, "When she does wake up, how long will it be before she can go home?"

"Well, she won't be going home right away. She actually will have to go into a psychiatric hold." He spoke.

I felt my gut drop, "What's that exactly?" 

"Basically, she will be transported to the nearest in-patient facility where she will be held for a minimum of 72 hours. Hopefully, she will be discharged from here Sunday afternoon so then she can be released on Thursday at the earliest." He said, and I nodded slightly, looking back at her. "As she has already gone through this, none of it will be different... Unless she goes to a different facility. Usually patients are brought to St. Alice's. We will be sure to inform you of her planned discharge as you will need to go with to fill out admission paperwork. Other than that, I have high hopes for a good recovery." He said, patting my shoulder. 

 ***

I sat silently in my chair, watching her peacefully. Looking at my watch, it was now 5:48. Since the room was so quiet, I had no choice but to think.

How are we going to tell everyone? How are they going to react? Thoughts began racing through my mind.

I found myself watching her face, even though it was motionless, I felt content seeing her look so peaceful. 

Suddenly, my heart seemed to skip a beat as I watched her mouth move, her head shifted slightly as her eyes fluttered open. I watched her lift her hands, flexing her fingers and looking at them. 

I decided I wouldn't say anything unless she acknowledged I was here. 

She scanned the room from left to right, her eyes soon landing on me. I couldn't help but allow myself to smile, in turn seeing her face light up. 

"Vito!" She managed to say, her words hoarse and slurred. She looked down and began to peel away the blanket, clearly wanting to immediately leave the bed. 

"No Daisy," I said, quickly getting up and pressing the nurse's button while trying to help her stay in bed. "You have to stay in bed."

"Why?!" She said, clearly upset. 

"Because." I responded. 

The nurse came in, "Oh! She's awake!" He exclaimed as he came forward and began helping me. "Daisy, we need you to stay in bed, okay? The doctor doesn't want you getting out yet."

She began to laugh, "Why are you guys so close to me?" She slurred. I sat back down and she calmed. 

"I will give Doctor a call and he should be back in a while." He said, exiting the room. 

"Flowers!!" She exclaimed, happy.

"There's cards too, do you want to open them?" 

"Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss." She said, accentuating the 'S'. "I'm a slithery snake," She said as she laughed and made a slithery motion with her hands.