Car Crash

Chapter 1 : Car crash

Chapter 1

Rocky POV

"Get in the car now!" Dad yelled.

He'd just gotten a call that Riker was in the hospital. And he wanted to get us there as soon as possible because apparently whatever happened was pretty serious.

I got in the car. Ross got in beside me. Rydel and Ryland got in the back. Mom and dad got in the front and started driving.

Mom was in tears already. She's not very good when one of us gets hurt.

The car ride to the hospital was silent. I don't think anyone knew what to say. We still didn't really know what was going on.

When we finally got there, dad rushed us all inside. He went to talk to someone at the front desk to find out where Riker was. Mom started crying even harder.

Dad came back over to us.

"They said his doctor is going to come out and talk to us first," dad said.

We went to go sit down while we waited. I was becoming more and more nervous. 

Finally the doctor came over to us.

"Are you Riker's family?" He asked.

"Yes," dad said.

"So... Riker was in a car accident. His car is totaled. The accident wasn't his fault. He was hit by a drunk driver. We've done some tests and scans, and we've diagnosed him with a pretty serious traumatic brain injury. He's lost most if not all of his memory. He doesn't know how to talk or really do anything."

"Is he paralyzed?" Dad asked.

"No. And he's going to be ok. But he's basically starting from scratch because he needs to relearn how to do everything. We don't know if he'll ever get his memory back. He might remember bits and pieces over time and eventually remember everything. Or he might never remember anything. And he most likely won't remember the accident. So when you go in to see him, be prepared that he won't remember you guys. Would you like to go see him now?"

"Yes," dad said.

We all followed the doctor to Riker's room. The top of Riker's head was all wrapped up and he had an IV in his arm. There was also a nurse in the room, watching him.

"I'll leave you guys to it," the doctor said.

I watched as Riker looked at us. He had a blank expression on his face, but then his eyes locked on mom. And he reached for her.

Mom went over to him and sat down on the side of his bed. He clung onto her tight.

"That's a good sign. He might not remember that she's his mom, but she's familiar to him," the nurse said.

"So he might remember more than we think he does?" Dad asked.

"Yes. You'll have to see what seems familiar to him."

It was honestly kind of weird seeing Riker like this. He's not really Riker anymore. 

"Let's see if he remembers anyone else!" Ross said.

"Yeah, why don't you go out in the hall and see if he reaches for anyone else," dad said.

Mom got up which made Riker whine. He started looking around at the rest of us. I thought for sure he was going to recognize dad, but his eyes stopped on me. And he reached for me.

"He remembers me!" I said, going over to him.

I sat down beside him and he ended up sitting on my lap. Mom came back in.

"He recognizes his roommate. That makes sense," mom said.

His doctor came back in.

"You guys are free to take him home. Just make sure to watch for signs of him getting worse. He's also at risk for seizures, so just keep an eye on him. I've also put together a packet of some instructions for him and a list of therapists you might want to take him to," he said, handing an envelope to dad.

The nurse took out his IV. She asked if we wanted her to get him dressed or if we wanted to. Mom said we would, and the nurse gave us a bag of his clothes. They'd put him in a hospital gown when he got here.

Mom told us to go wait in the lobby while she got him dressed. And within about 5 minutes, we saw her and Riker walking towards us. She was holding Riker's hand tight.

"Rocky, do you want to hold his hand and sit next to him in the car since he recognizes you?" Mom asked.

"Sure."

I took Riker's hand, and we all walked out to the car. I got into the car first, and then took both of Riker's hands so I could pull him in beside me. I buckled both of our seatbelts. Riker latched onto my arm and held on tight.

And then dad drove home.