Amanda had a moment of panic thinking she would be questioned about the ice. She remained tense until the attendant turned as if nothing were out of the ordinary and handed her the two items. She reached out and tried to keep the shaking from being too obvious as she hurriedly took the medication and water. “Thank you,” she said as she finished and handed the empty med cup back to the attendant, but kept holding the ice water. “When will I be leaving to see Dr. Medin?” she could not help but ask.
“Dr. Medin no longer works here. I’ll let you know when you have another appointment,” he replied without feeling.
She could not breathe until he finally walked out of her room and closed the door. What had happened with Dr. Medin? Had she been responsible for getting the good doctor fired? What was she going to do to get out of here now that she didn’t have anyone on her side? Amanda felt nauseous. All of the accomplishments with her crystal would mean nothing if she did not have someone on the inside to help her.
She must have fallen asleep since she was startled awake when the attendant returned and shook her shoulder. Everything around her seemed fuzzy as the medication had fully taken effect. She wanted to roll over and continue her nap, but the man kept shaking her and telling her to get up.
Amanda sat up at the edge of the bed and waited a moment for the dizziness to pass before she stood up. She reached for her cup of water to ease the dryness in her mouth. After swishing the water through her mouth and swallowing, she asked, “Where am I going?”
“I was instructed by Dr. Gascon to take you to the exam room in the basement, now hurry up. We need to get moving,” he tried to lift her from the bed by her elbow.
“The basement? Why would there be an exam room in the basement?” she asked in confusion.
“Don’t ask questions, just stand up so we can go.” He pulled harder on her arm until she was finally on her feet. “Can you walk or should I get you a wheelchair?” he asked as he worried they might not get to the room before the doctor and then he’d get into trouble for delaying.
Amanda thought the wheelchair would be a good idea, but she hoped the exercise would help clear her head for her upcoming meeting. She did not like the thought of going to an exam room, especially one in the basement. There was something off about this next meeting and she wanted to be able to think as straight as possible. She finally shook her head and said, “I can manage, just keep your hand on my elbow in case I start to sway.”
They made their way down the hallway and waited for the elevators to open. Amanda continued to worry about the location of her appointment, but realized there was nothing she could do but go. The attendant would make sure she made it whether he had to drug her or drag her and she opted to keep her wits about her and create as little fuss as possible.
The elevator doors opened and they stepped in and turned around. Amanda watched the man press the button and the doors shut with a solid thud. The elevator dropped four floors and then opened into a poorly lit hallway. They exited and turned to the left. Amanda’s throat grew dry as they walked toward the only room where the light was cascading into the hall. Just as she had feared, they turned into the room with the light on and Amanda started to turn back to the hall when she saw the empty chair in the middle of the room. She did not want to be in that room.
The attendant blocked her escape and started to push her into the room further. She had no choice but to move closer to the ominous chair. Her adrenaline kicked up a notch and the fogginess from her brain vanished instantly. This was a fight or flight situation and she needed to fly. She immediately looked around the room to see if there were any other means of escape, but only saw they were not alone in the room. Dr. Gascon was waiting in the corner with a smile on his face along with a female nurse she did not recognize.
“You may leave us now,” the doctor said to the attendant. “Please shut the door on your way out.”
“What kind of treatment are you planning for me, Dr. Gascon?” Amanda asked hurriedly. She hoped she could stall for time to figure out a solution to this problem.
“Amanda, I’ve given you plenty of time to tell me what I need to know about what happened to Nealand Taivas. You have been less than helpful during your treatment sessions with Dr. Medin. Now that she no longer works for me, it’s my turn to get you to talk.” He turned to the nurse and instructed her, “Please settle Amanda in the chair. Be sure to use the restraints.”
Amanda felt herself stepping back as far from the chair as she could get. She would not be strapped to the chair and at the doctor’s mercy. There was something wrong with the man and she had to get out before it was too late.
“Amanda, if you don’t cooperate, you’ll leave me no other choice than to sedate you. If we end up going that route then this will take twice as long. Please be reasonable and sit in the chair.”
“No, no, no,” Amanda said softly out loud as she shook her head. She could not be sedated, it would only make this twice as bad. Against all of her will she forced herself to step closer to the chair. Her heart was racing along with her mind. She had to buy time. “Can you tell me what you have planned?”
“My plan is for you to sit in this chair, Amanda. Let me worry about what happens next,” he said calmly. Seeing she was not going to move unless he gave her something more he added, “I promise this will be quick if you cooperate.”
She took a step forward still thinking as fast as possible. She had hoped Dr. Medin would find a way to help her, but now she knew she would have to help herself. Making her final decision, she warily sat in the oversized wood and leather chair.
“You’ve made a good decision, Amanda, I’m proud of you.” He motioned for the nurse to fasten the restraints at her feet and hands. He did not move from his position in the room until after the first wrist restraint was fastened.
The nurse moved to Amanda’s foot and hastily pulled the leather strap around the patient’s ankle and buckled it tightly. She moved to the other foot and repeated the process. She walked to the other side of the chair and finished with the restraint on her right wrist. When she was done she stepped back to wait for the doctor’s next instruction.
“Do you have anything you want to share, Amanda, before we begin?”
“I’ve told Dr. Medin everything I remember. There is nothing more to share about Neal. He’s at home with his parents. His girlfriend is Angie. Why don’t you go and talk to them?” Amanda’s eyes widened as she started to panic.
“Please get the cart out of the storage cabinet and put the electrodes on the patient’s temples,” Dr. Medin instructed. He watched as the nurse turned and opened the cabinet door and rolled a cart with a lot of electrical equipment on it along with a mass of wires and electrodes.
The nurse advanced toward Amanda rolling the cart in front of her. She selected an electrode and pulled the paper backing from it and then stuck it to Amanda’s right temple. She picked up the other one and leaned over Amanda to place it on her other temple. As she was straightening back up she noticed Amanda’s necklace and turned to the doctor to ask, “Should she be wearing jewelry during this procedure, Dr. Gascon?”
“No, absolutely not. She hasn’t had access to any jewelry since her intake. Why do you ask?” He moved forward to look at the patient. He saw the necklace and ordered, “Rip it off of her neck, we need to get started.”
The nurse made to remove the necklace and yet she could not seem to touch it. She tried again and still she was unable. Finally she admitted failure and said, “I can’t seem to get it off, doctor.”
“Never mind, it’s not like it will make any difference to the outcome of this procedure.” He turned to the machine on the cart and started turning a dial on the machine until it would not turn any further.
“Whatever you’re planning, please don’t do this, Dr. Gascon.” Amanda was near tears. She had never felt so helpless. She needed a distraction and she thanked the nurse for reminding her she had the power to do just that with the crystal around he
r neck.
“You leave me no choice, Amanda. You’ve already said you are not willing to tell me more, so I’ve decided to help you remember.”
He fiddled with the controls of the machine for a few more seconds. He started to feel a rush of adrenaline at seeing how this patient would react to the treatment he was prescribing. The human brain was amazing and resilient and he was going to find out just how resilient Amanda’s mind actually was.
“Put the leather strap in the patient’s mouth. I’m ready to begin the procedure.” He flipped the switch to turn on the machine and waited for it to spool up before he could press the activation button.
Amanda’s heart was racing in her chest. She tried to resist the nurse’s attempts to put the nasty leather in her mouth. Finally she felt her lips being pried apart, either she would open her mouth or her lips would get ripped off. She opened her mouth. In silence and stillness Amanda gathered power from her birth crystal. She would only have one chance.
“Step away from the chair,” Dr. Gascon instructed the nurse. He was so excited to see how Amanda would react to the bilateral electroconvulsive therapy he could hardly stand it. He smiled sickly at his patient and said, “I’ll speak with you in a couple of minutes.” He pressed the button to begin.
Amanda felt the tingle begin on her temples and focused her energy on her last option. She had never attempted this before, but she remembered desperation was the best teacher. In only an instant Amanda teleported herself out of harm’s way.
Chapter Nine
AMANDA COULD HEAR voices around her. She was unsure of exactly where she was, but she knew she was no longer strapped to a chair since she was lying on a soft mattress flat on her back. Her body seemed abnormally still so she concentrated on what she could do best: hear. She listened to the beeping noises around her and then the excited voice of a woman.
The more she concentrated, the more convinced she became of the woman’s identity. Just a few more seconds and she was absolutely sure it was her mother. Finally, she had someone by her side who would make sure nothing bad happened to her again. She listened to her mother speak and her interest piqued.
“I’m telling you, we need to get the doctor in here right away. Check her machines! Her heart rate jumped as did the brain wave activity on the monitor!” she declared, immediately losing patience with the nurse’s obtuseness.
“Mrs. Covington, we’ve seen this before and nothing ever came of it. Please don’t get your hopes up. I’ll look at the tapes, but I think it’s another false alarm.” Papers began to shuffle and the nurse quietly said, “Oh, my!”
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Diane accused.
“This does look different. I’ll call her doctor and ask if she will stop in to see her,” she replied offhandedly before she checked the IV and the catheter bag. “I’ll be back.”
The nurse must have bumped into someone in the doorway since Amanda could hear the door open and the nurse had said ‘Excuse me’ as the door shut again.
“Oh, Chris, thank goodness you’re back. Something happened with Amanda! I think she might wake up this time!”
“Diane, we’ve been through this several times in the past seven years. There’s nothing to say she’ll wake up from her coma. I think you should start thinking about taking her off of life support.”
“Chris, how can you even suggest such a thing? She’s only twenty-five years old. The doctors have all told us she’s young and resilient. Any moment now she could wake up!”
“I would have believed you if she’d only been comatose for six months, heck even a year, but it’s been seven years. It’s too long, Diane, she’s not coming back. We need to think about what’s best for Amanda. We need to let her go,” he said reasonably.
Seven years, Amanda thought to herself, what are they talking about? I’ve only been here for a couple of minutes. She tried to move her hand, but could only manage to twitch her finger. Fear started to overtake her as she tried and failed to move other parts of her body. A tear of frustration leaked out of the corner of her eye.
“There, Chris, did you see her finger move? Amanda, honey, can you hear me? It’s your mother. Please wake up, honey. Wake up and prove to your father that you’re coming back to us,” Diane pled as she stroked her daughter’s hair. “Amanda, honey, please don’t cry. I know you’re trying. I won’t give up on you!” She stared accusingly at her husband until he sighed and sat down with resignation in one of the two guest chairs.
“Did I hear the nurse say she was going to call Dr. Medin?” Chris asked quietly. He knew when he was fighting a losing battle. Diane had spent almost every day for the last seven years at Amanda’s bedside. He felt like he lost his wife and his daughter all in the same day. He wanted this whole nightmare to end so they could finally have some closure and move on with their lives. He did not think of it as being cruel, quite the contrary, he felt he was being merciful in letting their daughter have her final rest instead of keeping her alive artificially.
Dr. Medin is here? Amanda thought with renewed hope, I know she’ll help me! She tried to take a deep breath, but realized her lungs were being filled with the assistance of a machine. All she had to do now was wait for the good doctor to come in and tell everyone what was really going on, Amanda did not have to worry anymore. The room was unaccountably warm and she was able to relax finally into a restful sleep.
Sometime later Amanda woke up to another voice speaking in her room. She listened in.
“I’m quite encouraged by this change in Amanda’s readouts. With your permission, I’d like to give her a dose of epinephrine to see if we can induce her to wake up,” Dr. Medin spoke to Diane.
“What’s epinephrine?” Will it cause any side effects?” Diane asked. She was growing excited by the doctor’s positive reaction to Amanda’s latest records.
“In layman’s terms, it’s simply adrenaline. I’m hoping to excite her system to make her wake up,” she explained patiently.
“Sure, let’s do it,” Diane spoke with renewed hope.
“I’ll go get the dose myself instead of waiting for the nurses to get it. I’d like to see this happen right away as it’s already been longer than I would have like to see from her recent activity.”
“I tried to get the nurses to call you sooner, but nobody took me seriously!” Diane explained with exacerbation.
“I’m here now. Just one moment and I’ll be back with the injection.”
Amanda heard shuffling, a door opening and closing, her mother sigh, a chair scraping across the floor, and then silence. She wondered how long Dr. Medin would take to return. She had so many questions for the doctor, but she had no choice but to wait. A few minutes later she heard the door open and close, soft-soled shoes squeaking across the floor, and then the doctor started to talk.
“I’m going to start with a small dose and see how that goes,” she said as she put words to actions and syringed a couple of mils from the vial in her hand. She reached for the IV valve and inserted the needle. She pressed the syringe plunger and removed the needle. Only time would tell now if the dosage were strong enough.
Minutes slipped by in silence. The two women split their stares between Amanda’s face and the monitors to which she was hooked up. A spike in Amanda’s heart rate was the first indication of the drug taking effect.
“If anything is going to happen, I expect it’ll be in the next few minutes,” Dr. Medin spoke excitedly. She had so much hope for this patient. More than anything, she wanted her to wake up so her family could finally go home. She had seen so many marriages end when the parents of comatose patients could not agree on the patient’s outcome. This family was definitely special since they had remained together even after so long. “Come on, Amanda! It’s time to come back to us. Open your eyes, Amanda.”
As if she had been waiting for an invitation, Amanda finally opened her eyes.
Both women were stunned into silence, but only for a fraction of a second before Diane started
crying for joy and Dr. Medin began racing through medical scenarios which needed to be completed. The doctor checked the monitors to make sure all of the patients vital records remained within safe levels.
Everything checked out so she spoke to the patient. “Amanda, please don’t try to speak since you have a breathing tube in your throat, but if you can understand me, blink your eyes once slowly.” She watched intently as Amanda closed her eyes and then opened them again. “Thank you, Amanda. Welcome back. Do you think you’re able to breathe on your own?”
Once again Amanda closed her eyes and opened them again.
Dr. Medin picked up the nurse assistance button and pressed it. Once the nurse on duty came into the room she gave the order to have the breathing tube disconnected and the machine turned off. She kept watch over Amanda’s vitals as the nurse followed her instructions. If her oxygen levels remained steady without the machine then they would be able to remove the tube entirely.
The machine was flipped off and everyone waited to see if Amanda would be able to take a breath on her own. Her chest lifted and fell once, twice, a third time and then the doctor was more confident in Amanda’s ability to maintain her own breathing. “Go ahead and remove the tube,” Dr. Medin instructed the nurse.
Amanda felt the need to cough as the tube slipped up and out of her throat. She was relieved to have the irritating thing gone. Now she would be able to ask questions of her own. She wanted to sit up, but discovered she was unable to move anything but her eyelids. “Why,” she spoke uneasily with a scratchy voice, “can’t I move?”
“You’ll be able to very soon. There’s nothing wrong with your body other than your muscles have grown very weak since your accident. We’ll continue with your physical therapy and you’ll be up and about in no time.” Dr. Medin smiled at Amanda and patted her hand to reassure her.
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