CHAPTER 1
A COUNTRY BOY WILL SURVIVE
BY SW MO HERMIT
Lawrence Saunders opened his eyes but had yet to see anything when the pain hit. It was excruciating and he moaned while he tried to curl up in a tight ball. He felt hands pushing on his shoulders and heard a voice say, "Stop. Don't move or you'll tear out the stitches."
His eyes began registering his surroundings as he succumbed to the not so gentle push to lay back down. He saw mauve curtains and rack after rack of some kind of equipment, most of it with lighted numbers or moving lines on it. Then he registered the not so subtle noises. There was a constant Beep, Beep, Beep and regular subtle rustles and muted voices. His whole body hurt with an intensity he hadn't felt since he was in a HUMV that hit an IED. He saw a woman dressed in pastel flowered top and pastel blue pants put her book down across the room from him and move rapidly to assist a similarly clad woman trying to hold him down. He muttered, "Hurt." as he collapsed back down on whatever he was laying on. He watched as the woman beside him grabbed a syringe and inserted the needle into an IV tube leading to his arm. She depressed the plunger on the syringe and almost immediately he felt the pain lessen. Larry relaxed and felt himself drift off once again as the pain medicine coursed through his body.
Some indeterminate time later Larry once again opened his eyes. The room he was in was dark. He was still hooked to several machines. He felt the wires and tubes when he tried to move. He moaned in pain at the attempt and muttered, "Fuck, that was a mistake." He relaxed back onto the bed, the head of which was slightly raised. He turned his head and looked around. Definitely a hospital room but how did he get here and why was he here? Where was Sharon?
Apparently his movement or the increased beating of his heart when the pain spiked as he moved alerted the nurse. The door into his room opened and a middle aged woman dressed as a nurse came into the room. She smiled and said, "Awake are you?"
The nurse moved to the bed and pulled the covers back to check numerous bandages covering Larry's chest and abdomen. After looking at those bandages, she raised the covers farther and checked his legs then recovered him. She checked the machines and said, "The doctor has placed you on morphine as a pain reliever. You press the red button on the cord taped to the left side of your bed when you need pain medication. Don't worry, the machine is set to prevent you from overdoing it. Whatever you do though, don't go all macho on me and put off taking the meds when you feel the pain intensifying. That will not improve your chances of healing faster. In fact, it is counterproductive. Besides, you won't impress any of us by being macho and bearing the pain."
Larry nodded his head yes then said, "I know the drill. They said the same thing when I was in a vehicle that hit an IED. What happened? Why am I in the hospital? Where's Sharon?"
"I don't know about anyone named Sharon. You were brought in yesterday evening after an accident. I'll let the doctor know you're awake and he will be in to discuss your condition and answer what questions he can for you. Don't you remember anything?"
Larry shook his head no and said, "All I remember is walking down the street with my wife then I woke up here."
After the nurse left Larry pushed the red button and felt the morphine take effect. He drifted off to sleep only to wake about an hour later as the door opened and a tall, distinguished man came into the room. The man walked up to the bedside and smiled as he said, "Good evening Mr. Saunders. I'm Doctor Talley, your Hospitalist. How are you feeling tonight?" As he spoke he was reviewing a chart he carried and glancing back and forth from it to the machines surrounding Larry's bed."
Larry watched him for a moment then said, "My whole body hurts. Where is my wife? Why isn't she here? Do you know what happened?"
"Mr. Saunders, I'm afraid I don't know anything about your wife. I'll check and see what I can find out for you. As to what happened to you, you were walking down the sidewalk in front of a building that was being renovated when part of the brick facing gave way and hit you when it fell. You were covered underneath bricks and mortar for several minutes before they managed to dig you out. We almost lost you twice but I believe you will pull through now and be able to return to a normal life. You had a ruptured spleen, several broken ribs, a punctured lung and cuts and contusions covering most of your upper body. The good news is your spine was not damaged at all nor was your pelvis. There were some other minor internal injuries but nothing else to worry about."
"My wife was walking with me. Surely if I was injured that badly she must have been also. Where is she?"
"I'm sorry sir. I just don't know. You were the only patient brought in from that accident site. I'll check with the other hospital in town to see if she is there. I'll also check with the police for you. I'm sorry, that's all I can do right now. Now, please relax and let your body heal. I'll check back with you in the morning."
Larry lay in the bed worrying about Sharon until he had to take another hit of pain medicine and he drifted off to sleep. When he woke next, it was almost daylight and he saw a female form sitting in a chair beside the window. He smiled and croaked, "Sharon? I was worried about you honey."
The woman sitting in the chair stood and moved to his bedside. Larry saw it was his mother. She had tears in her eyes as she leaned down and gave him a gentle hug and kiss. She stood and held his hand. She said, "Larry your father and Jack and Dianne are in the cafeteria. They'll be back in a few minutes."
"What about Sharon mom? Where is she? Why isn't she here?"
