Friend

Chapter 7

Val was indeed able to get a bed from the nurses and the moment his head hit the pillow he was vast asleep. Sharna was lying on her side watching him sleep. It was very strange sleeping with her arm in a sling and a drain going from her chest. Sharna turned on her left and closed her eyes, sleep came very fast, but within two hours she was woken up. One of the nurses stood by her bed. 

"Hey, good to see you woke up. Can you tell me your name?"

"Sharna Burgess."

"And do you know where you are?"

"I'm in the hospital in LA."
"Very good, you can good to sleep again, one of the nurses will wake you up in a two hours. It is our concussion protocol."

"Hmmm, sounds good," Sharna said with a sarcastic tone.

"Goodnight." "Goodnight." 

Within a couple of minutes Sharna was asleep again, but two hours later she was awoken again and again she had to answer some questions. The third time she knew the questions that were going to be asked and she could give the answers straight away.

Eventually she was woken up at 8 am, but she didn't go to sleep anymore. Val was still asleep, he didn't wake up one single time every time a nurse came in. And now Sharna was awake, he was still asleep. She was watching him from his bed, but had to get out soon, because she had to go to the toilet. Sharna moved to the side of the bed, this was already hurting her chest. But the hardest still had to happen. Sharna slowly moved to a sitting position, but because of her shoulder she couldn't use her left arm and the drain was still in her chest. Her breathing started to quicken due to the pain and Sharna had to take some time to calm herself down.

When her breathing had slowed down, Sharna slowly got on her feet. It had been the first time she was on her feet again. And the moment her feet touched the ground Sharna felt a little stronger, no matter how hard people tried, she would always get back down on her feet. Sharna slowly moved to the bathroom and when she got back, Val was sitting on her bed. "Where were you?" He asked worriedly. "Where do you think I was?" Sharna said laughing, pointing at the bathroom. "Sorry, I'm just a bit worried about you." He got off the bed and walked over to her. He gave her a kiss on her lips and Sharna kissed him back. Val put his arms around her, to pull her closer. When Sharna pushed him away with her right hand. "What?" "You are crushing my left shoulder, you know, the shoulder I got shot in." "Sorry!" And as an apology Val kissed her again.

Sharna walked back to the bed and lay back down. Val sat on the back beside her. "How are you feeling?" "A lot better, it is just strange having a drain coming out of your chest."

"Well, I think we can get it out today." The doctor walked in and greeted the couple. "Can I see the drain?" Sharna pulled up her shirt and the doctor inspected the drain. He didn't saw any fluid coming from the drain and the wound was looking good with no signs of infection. "Early in the afternoon we will get it out. On top of that I want you to start with physiotherapy. That way your shoulder will heal better and faster. The physiotherapist will come by somewhere in the morning. So when the drain is removed, we'll get you an X-ray and when I have those results I will come by and I hope we can send you home by then. I do recommend seeing a therapist when you get home. These kinds of events can leave a mark on you and it is important to make sure that it doesn't happen to you."

"Thank you doctor and I really hope I can get home this afternoon."
"I think you will."

Around 11 am the physiotherapist came by. He took a look at her shoulder and gave her some instructions on which movements she should and shouldn't do. Especially heavy lifting was a no-go. She had also gotten some exercises and they had made a new appointment for next week.

During lunch Peta and Maks came by and the four people ate and talked to each other. Unfortunately Sharna wasn't allowed to eat, due to the removal of the drain in the afternoon. Sharna was a bit nervous about the procedure, she was unconscious when they first performed it, so she had no idea what to expect right now. At 1 pm she was rolled into another room and her doctor was there. He slowly explained the procedure and made sure she was comfortable. The removal of the drain wasn't very painful, but it was a strange feeling, also due to the anesthetics. Afterwards she had to lay down for 30 minutes, before they performed another X-ray of her chest. She was wheeled back to her room, where the rest was waiting. And together they waited for the results.

Sharna had already packed her bags, or Val had done that for her. With the help of Peta she had covered most of the bruises on her face. They were still a little visible, but not as much as it used to. While the girls were working on Sharna's face, from the corner of her eye Sharna could see that Val kept looking at her. And there was definitely some guilt in his eyes. She really hoped that would fade soon, because from her point of view, there was no need for him to feel guilty.

Around 3 pm the doctor came back and Sharna was sitting on a chair, next to her bed. "It is a good thing to see you sitting." "Well, I'm ready to go." "Then I have good news for you. The drain was removed without any complications and the lung is looking perfectly on the X-ray. If you have made your appoitments with the physiotherapist, you're almost good to go. The only thing I want is for you to have an appointment with me in, 4 weeks. Then we will see how you are doing and if something has happened in that time. If it doesn't feel right, if you have difficulty with breathing, please come by. Or if there is anything else you don't thrust. At the moment I don't think any thing will happen, but you have to be sure. And then there is only one thing to say. Good luck and I wish you all the best." "Thank you doctor, for all the care. And I will see you in 4 weeks." 

With Val's help she got up and together they were ready to leave the hospital.