Life Of Dreams

Chapter 2

I opened my eyes and was confronted by the whiteness of a hospital room.  I went to move my right arm but found it was constrained by tape to the metal guards on the side of the bed.  There were tubes coming out from my arm, attached to a bottle hanging on a pole next to me.  My mouth was dry and when I licked my lips they felt cracked and sore.  With my left hand I was able to grab onto what I thought must be the ‘call button’ and pressed it.

A nurse came in smiling brightly and started fussing with the sheets, tucking them in and smoothing them down.  “Glad to see you’re back with us, you look so much better.  The doctor is making his rounds now; he’ll be in to see you in just a few.”  And she was gone as fast as she had appeared.  I hadn't even had time to ask her anything.

Oh, God, my head is killing me.  I know I’m in a hospital … but what happened to me?

I heard footsteps and gingerly turned my head towards the door.  A doctor came briskly in, trailed by two others also dressed in white doctor coats.

“Ms. Collins, I see you’re awake … that’s always a good sign.”  Turning to the other two young men he stated.  “Interesting case, T-boned by a van at an intersection a few nights ago.  She’s been in and out of consciousness, partly due to the head trauma and partly drug induced.”  He faced me again. 

“I imagine you have quite a huge headache.  The nurse will give you something for that.  Now as for your injuries; you sustained a serious concussion, a broken ankle, three cracked ribs and multiple bruises, cuts and abrasions.  We’ve taped your chest to help the ribs mend.”

Watching me move slightly and grimace he added.  “Yes, that will be sore and the bindings awkward, but the most pain will come from the bruises you sustained.  And of course your concussion.  Your ankle was cleanly broken which means a better chance of mending without any messy pins.  We put a lightweight cast on it to keep it rigid and to keep you from doing any fancy dancing.”  One of the interns rolled his eyes.  If this was meant to add some humor, I definitely wasn’t feeling it. 

A few nights ago?  The last thing I remembered was Wednesday.  That means today must be Friday.  There’s something about Friday … oh my god, I should be on a plane to Santa Fe by now.  And Trent, how will I get a hold of him?  I don’t even know what name he’ll give this time.  I was starting to panic and looked around the room for my purse.  I have to call him, tell him why I’m not there. 

The doctor was conversing with the other two, using medical terms that meant nothing to me.  It looked like it was mini-quiz time as the doctor would ask a question and each of the interns did the answering in turns.

As they turned to leave, I spoke up.  “Doctor … I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”

“Sorry, I must not have thrown it.”  Another attempt at humor, which also fell flat.  “It’s Doctor Kragar … K R A G A R.”  he spelled it out, just in case I was hard of hearing or something.

“Well, Doctor Kragar, when can I get out of here?  Has there been anyone looking for me?  Where are my clothes?”

“I wouldn’t know who’s been looking for you; you’d have to ask one of the nurses, they’ll check their logs.  And as for when you’re getting out of here, I can’t release you for at least another day, maybe two."

I started to protest when he cut me short.

"I don’t think you realize how lucky you were.  I saw the end result of that crash on the news and that whole right side of your car was demolished.  It was a good thing there were no passengers, for surely they wouldn’t have survived.  The only thing that saved you from more serious injuries was that side airbag you had.  I’ll have the nurse come in and give you something for your head and chest pains.  You can ask her your questions.”