Kathy Lee (Nurse from Harborview Medical Center)-
"Good morning dear how are you feeling this morning?" I ask walking into the hospital room.
The patient in the bed doesn't respond. She never has in the last 10 years of her being here in the hospital. Our resident Jane Doe has been in a coma since she arrived. The grime day sits on my mind as if it was just yesterday.
She had been found close to death right outside the hospital doors. My shift had just finished I normally didn't leave out of the west doors but something kept pulling me at me to take that exit and I couldn't put my finger as to why.
It wasn't until after I walked out the sliding glass doors and spotted the poor young woman's naked body lying. She couldn't have been no older than 25. I realized I was pulled to take that exit for a reason. I was pulled here to save her.
Running back through the doors I hit the alarm button to draw attention of doctor medical attendants I start screaming for the receptionist to use the intercom to call a code red at the west entrance before going back outside to where the woman was laying. Her entire body was covered in bruises and cuts.
Her face was swollen from whatever and one of her legs was bent at a weird angle letting me know immediately it was broken. Her breathing was shallow and I was afraid that help wouldn't get to her in time.
Luckily doctors and some of my on duty nurse colleagues come running out all of them shouting orders over each other. One of the doctors, Dr. Remington, pulled me to the side as I watched them pick the woman up on to the gurney and rush her inside.
"What happened Kathy?" he asked as the sounds of sirens came closer.
I took a deep shaky breath before speaking, "I was on my way out, when I had this feeling to come out the western doors instead of going the way I always go. When I got to her she was already here on the ground." I say franticly wishing my husband was there holding my hand.
"Okay well you're going to have to come up to the waiting room on the surgery floor and wait for the police so they can investigate. Since she has no next of kin that we know of right now you're designated to call the shots. You might want to call your husband, Kathy. From the looks of her it's going to be a long night..."
Coming out of my memories from the night I found the woman, I do what I have done for the last 10 years and I spoke to her. "You know, I really wish you would open your eyes. I'm pretty sure you have a family that's missing you. A husband, kids, your parents. Somebodies got to be lost without you. You've been sleeping long enough." I say while checking all her vital signs.
Still great as always. Dr. Remington said that it was normal for people who have been through severe trauma to want to shut down but this was ridiculous and concerning.
I felt for the family who thought that their loved one was dead when in reality she was in a coma in the hospital and couldn't be identified. As I watched the monitor to copy down her blood pressure and heart rate, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and turned to see what or who it was.
The woman on the bed was still lying there but for the first time in 10 years she moved. It only her hand that moved and it wasn't very much but it was something.
"Holy shit!" I said in shock as I watched her fingers twitch followed by her legs moving.
Yanking myself out of the paralyzed state I was in I quickly hit the emergency call button on the wall next to her bed as her eyes popped open.
As if on cue the attending doctor was running through the door seconds later followed by a few more nurses who were all in the same set of shock I was at the twitching woman lying on the bed.
"Somebody call Dr. Remington now!!" I yell before pressing a calming hand to the woman thriving on the bed.
"It's okay darlin' try to stay calm. As soon Dr. Remington gets here we can have the breathing tube removed. Just try and stay calm for me okay?" I say trying to soothe her back into a docile state.
My words seemed to do the trick because her body relaxed and she stilled her struggling movements enough for me to be able to check her vitals again.
The other nurse came back with Dr. Remington in tow and while the surprise was evident on his face he kept his composure which is more than I could say for myself at the moment.
"Good morning ma'am! I'm glad you're finally awake. I hear you would like your breathing tube removed is that correct?" he addressed our mystery patient who merely nodded yes.
"Well before I can do that I have a couple of things I would like to check first considering the amount of time you were in your coma." He said coming closer to the bed.
You could see the confusion swirling in her chocolate colored eyes at the mention of the word coma but we didn't have time to answer her questions at the moment.
Dr. Remington checked her ears, eyes and her reflex before declaring that she had the all clear for her tube to be removed and called for the respiratory specialist to come up. Dr. Chen, a pretty little Asian woman came in the door 10 minutes later.
"I hear we have a patient eager to have their tube removed" she said smiling at the woman as she washed her hands and pulled on gloves. "Now miss I want you to try and make the motions as if you're going to cough to help the tube dislodge from it's place okay? Are you ready?" she asked and the woman nodded.
"Okay on the count of 3. 1... 2... 3... cough" the tube slid free with a pop leaving the woman coughing and gasping for air. "Now don't try to talk for a few hours so that your throat has time to rest and heal properly. I'll be by to check on you later." Dr. Chen said as she striped her gloves off and washed her hands again before walking out.
Dr. Remington moved back to his place beside the woman's bed. "Okay ma'am I'm sure you have a lot of questions for us just like we have a lot of questions for you but for right now I want you to relax and rest. I know you just woke up but sleep will be best for you to avoid talking. Nurse Kathy will administer something for the soreness of your throat and I'll be by to check on you within the hour." the woman nodded before lying back in the bed.
Dr. Remington inclined his head toward the hallway indicating me to follow him. "I'll be right back" I say before following the doctor outside.
"Kathy I'm going to pass your patients along to some of the other nurses and I want you stay in the room with our resident Jane Doe just to monitor her. The extent of her injuries were server as well as the amount of time she was in a coma state could have left lasting effects and I want to monitor her just in case." He said writing down his notes on the woman's chart.
He handed me the vial of pain meds he wanted me to administer and walked off to give his orders. I walked back into the room and added the medication to the protein mixture that has been feeding the woman for the past 10 years.
"This should help ease the pain and allow you to rest. I'll be here in the room with you if you need anything okay?" I say to her as she nods, the medicine already beginning to take affect her eyes drifting closed.
I hope when she wakes up we all would be able to get the answers we had been waiting 10 years to receive.
Avani-
The smell of corn dogs and funnel cakes wafted around us along with the sounds of people screaming on the carnival rides as we walk hand in hand through the fair grounds.
After our sexual escapade along the beach we ended up at this family owned pizzeria not too far from the beach.
