That’s great news! Please let us know.
After what seemed an eternity, Dr. Schwartz walked over to her, his expression giving nothing away. He gestured toward the private room at the end of the hall.
When the door was shut, he smiled. “Mitch has moved into a vegetative state.”
Adrenaline made her head buzz. “He’s a … vegetable?”
“It’s all in the brochures I gave you.” Dr. Schwartz explained. “Generally, as a person with TBI begins to regain consciousness, they move from a coma into a vegetative state. It doesn’t mean he’s a ‘vegetable’ in the colloquial sense. It’s agoodsign. The majority of people in a vegetative state within a month of a brain injury regain consciousness within a year. Mitch got there in forty-eight hours. That doesn’t mean he’ll keep progressing at this rate. He could still face complications. He could still die. But I’d say this gives us another reason to hope.”
Megs inhaled, refusing to cry. “Thank you.”
“We’re going to start physical therapy, working to keep his muscles from getting tight. We will also start turning him, changing his position every few hours to prevent pressure sores. Depending on how the next few days go, we might also put in a feeding tube and try weaning him off the ventilator.”
“What can I do to help?”
“You can help with his stretching exercises. The most important thing is that you keep talking to him, touching him, letting him know you’re there.”
Megs nodded. “I can do that.”
When Mitch was back from his CT scan, Riana, his physical therapist, arrived and taught Megs how to stretch major muscle groups without aggravating any of Mitch’s injuries or incisions. Then Debby and a few other nurses carefully turned Mitch onto his side, using pillows to ensure that his head and neck remained safely positioned.
When they were gone, Megs moved her chair so that she could see his face. His eyes were still open, and he blinked at regular intervals. Even so, his gaze wasn’t focused on anything.
Still, progress was progress.
She sent an update to Rain, then put her phone away.
“I haven’t seen those brown eyes of yours in what feels like forever.” She caressed his arm. “Thank you, Mitch, for fighting so hard. Please keep fighting.”
She told him what everyone in Scarlet was doing to help. “Can you imagine being a newbie climber and getting lessons from Sasha, a five-time world champion? They have no idea how lucky they are. People love you, Mitch. I’m not the only one.”
Debby left for the day, and Jackie began her shift.
Then Kurt came. He stopped first in the room with the parents whose young son was so badly injured. Then he came to check on Mitch.
Megs shared the good news. “He opened his eyes.”
The smile that came to Kurt’s face was genuine. “That’s great news.”
But no sooner had Kurt arrived than he was paged away. He offered another prayer, this time thanking God for Mitch’s improvement.
“Does it bother you that I don’t believe in your god?” Megs asked afterward.
Kurt shook his head, gave her a warm smile. “The most important thing is that God believes in you.”
His words gave her goosebumps. She had no idea what the hell that even meant, but somehow it touched her.
“I need to go.” He rested a hand on Megs’ shoulder. “I’ll check in again.”
“Thank you, Kurt.”
Afternoon became evening. Vent care. Oral care. X-rays. Changing IV bags. Stretches. Turning Mitch. What had seemed so foreign to Megs two days ago was now the new normal, the daily routine. She decided to eat at the hotel and not risk another meal at the cafeteria. Still, she didn’t want to leave just yet.
“How about one more story?” She scanned through the next few entries, laughed, reached for the recorder. “Oh, yes. The great waiting game.”
Darkness.Pain. Emptiness. Shadows.
But there was also light now.
