The brightness stabs at my eyes again, forcing me to shut them tightly again. I force my eyes open again, squinting against the harsh light. The room slowly comes into focus.
The words from before echo in my mind, bringing with them a flood of questions and fears. What happened? My heart races, the beeping of the monitor quickening in response.
"Calm down, Sae, breathe,"
Despite those words, my mind is already racing ahead, trying to piece together the fragments of my shattered past.
A hospital, I'm in a hospital. Why am I here? The haze of sedation may be lifting, but the fog of uncertainty remains, thick.
I look down at the sling on my arm, and the brace on my leg. I reach up to touch my head, which is also wrapped in rather uncomfortable bandages.
I gulp, wetting my lips. I feel extremely thirsty, sleepy too, like at any minute I could just go back to sleep.
"How are you feeling?" The doctor speaks softly.
"What happened?"
"You had a seizure. We put you under sedation for two days." I don't remember any of it.
"A seizure?"
"You're out of danger for now, Sae." She grabs a pen and starts writing down on a chart. She shakes her head before saying, "You have to promise me you will not pull something like that again. You are in a delicate condition, you need to take it easy." All I can do is frown. What did I do? "How's the head feeling?"
I lay still, trying not to make any movement as my head feels weird. "My head hurts. Like if I make any bare movement, my head will burst." I speak softly, trying not to force my voice either.
She nods.
"These are side effects of neurosurgery, you may feel headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue and even experience vomiting for the first two weeks." She continues. "Even though surgery was performed over a month you may still have those symptoms, I have prescribed medication for you to help you manage them, we will be taking care of you, okay?" She explains.
"Neurosurgery? What exactly happened to me?"
"You don't remember our conversation from two days ago?"
"No."
"Sae, I don't want to upset you. There will be plenty of time to talk about it. You need to rest for now."
"Doctor, I feel so confused right now, I can't remember anything. I need to know what happened to me." I plea.
She sighs, biting her inner cheek in meditation for her next words.
She has a distinctive look in her face, looking at me with pity. And for as much as I want to say that I hate to be looked at like that, I need her to tell me what's going on.
She looks like she knows something and its keeping it to herself.
She gives in, sighing in defeat.
"You arrived at the hospital with severe head trauma which led to a critical internal hemorrhage in your head, a craniotomy was performed twice to stop it. A hemothorax on your right lung, multiple fractures in your right arm and leg, lacerations, scrapes... it is truly a miracle to even see you talking." I can't even process that. How fucked am I, huh. "You were in coma for four months which actually helped to relieve pressure off your brain."
"My God." She remains silent. Telling me that it really was. "What now? The police has the person responsible for what happened to me?" She looks at me with a frown, writing down on the chart again.
"I'm afraid not, Sae. It was a hit and run." Fuck. "They only have a witness."
"A witness?"
"Yes, the same person that brought you here actually."
"What?
"If that person hadn't brought you here, you would have-" She pauses abruptly, taking a step closer. I sigh, understanding the sudden silence. "You're out of danger for now, Sae. I need you to rest. So far you seem to be responding to our tests and medication just fine, and that is a really good sign." She steps closer to the vital signs monitor writing the information down on my chart. "You've been very lucky."
I don't feel like it at all.
🌫🌫🌫
Crianotomy: A piece of the skull is removed to give doctors access to the brain to remove a brain tumor, abnormal tissue, blood, or blood clots; relieve pressure after an injury or stroke; repair a brain aneurysm or skull fracture; or treat other brain conditions.
Hemothorax: a collection of blood in between the chest wall and the lung, can cause lungs to collapse, happens when chest experiences sudden and intense impact.
•
