Lamhaat - SidNaaz

Chapter Thirty Five

"Maa..." Sidharth croaked, stirring on the bed. But again, he was restrained. He couldn't open his eyes, his body was too darn broken down to even move. The sound of the beep... The beeps... They scared him. It wasn't new. He had dealt with these before. But never with Shehnaaz at stake. He let out a gasp, choking on his own saliva. There was shuffling around him. He could hear footsteps and movement, but he couldn't open his eyes properly. Even the little big of light was blinding him.

"Dr. Mehta! Dr. Mehta! Patient is awake. Unko hosh aaraha hai!" A female voice yelled. A mask was placed over his mouth and nose, his chest rose way too high and fell way too low as he breathed.

"Sir! Sir... Give us a few seconds.. we'll dim the lights. You're very weak right now..." The nurse said, he felt a cold gush in his vein on his palm. He let out a whimper, letting the oxygen push into his nostrils. Even moving was hurting him terribly.

"You can open your eyes, Mr. Adhiraj. Avoid moving." Another male voice spoke. He let out a breath, opening his eyes again. Very slowly. Even in the dimmed lights, his head hurt too much.

"I'm Dr. Mehta. I've been treating you since the past three days, Mr. Adhiraj." He informed him, poking and prodding at his body.

"T... T... Th...thr... Three... D.. days?" He spoke through the mask. He tried to move his hand, but couldn't.

"Give yourself some rest, Mr. Adhiraj. You can't speak too much right now. I'll answer all the questions you might have." The doctor told him, grabbing his hand in his to give him some confidence.

"Do you remember where you were right before you shut down?" He asked. Sidharth squeezed his hand tightly.

"Yes?" He asked. He squeezed his hand again.

"I'll take off your mask. If you are able to breathe by yourself, we'll talk." He said. He squeezed his hand again.

"We had tubes down your throat till last night, sir. Issiliye swelling thi. Lekin I'm sure you can jet out a few words now." The doctor kept the conversation up as he took out the mask.

"Relax yourself. Don't force anything." He said. Sidharth breathed through his nose deeply as they raised the bed for him to sit. His head spun at that mere movement. He breathed again, trying to regulate the inhaling.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"S... Sidha... Sidharth S... Singh... Adhiraj..." He rasped.

"Good. You are in Nanavati Super speciality Hospital, in a private ICU room. Dil you remember where you were before this? Can you tell me?" Dr. Mehta asked.

"A... Apart.. apartment. With sh... Shehnaaz... Maa... Saw me... Off... Where are... They?" He asked, struggling.

"We'll tell you sir." He said.

"A... Alive... She's alive?" Sidharth asked. His red eyes filled up with tears.

"You can't let yourself get stressed. Your blood pressure is going up." The doctor gasped.

"You suffered blood clotting in multiple places in your body, along with an internal bleeding in your stomach. Right side bottom two ribs were fractured, because of which you are finding it difficult to move. You put too much of pressure on your legs, you have a hairline fracture in your left tibia. You work out alot and eat healthy, yeah?" He asked. Sidharth nodded.

"You sustained light injuries all over the body that resulted in bruising. The only reason it didn't become grave was because your muscles were too hard. That was a good thing." He chuckled.

"Your head... That's what worried us the most. You took way too many blows on your head. It would have costed you your life. But since the wood was wet and your bone strength is incredible, you have a severe concussion. And a lot of swelling and bruising along with cuts. We had to do a thorough CT, an x-ray and MRI to make sure there are no internal injuries. But your head is very very sensitive, Mr. Adhiraj. You need care at all times. You cannot stress yourself out now." He told him.