On The Couch [Editing]

Chapter Forty-Eight

“I’m going to let the doctor know you are awake now,” she smiles patting my arm gently. I nod again.

“Careful don’t want to open that lip,” she turns and leaves. Oh right, I had a fat, split lip, but I couldn’t feel it.

Becoming more aware I felt an odd sensation on my face. I reached up to touch it and could feel a bandage on my cheek. With some effort I lifted a leg to see bandages on my ankles. When I tried to sit up I felt the tightness of a bandage as well on my stomach. Gosh, I hope it wasn’t as bad as it looked.

I glanced back over at Evan and Eddie. Evan sat there awake quietly watching me. Our eyes lock and I watch as the emotions flicker in his expression. From worry to guilt, relief and…love.

“Hi,” I say softly.

“Hi,” he murmurs.

The door to the room opens again. Evan moves stretching and comes over to stand next to the bed taking my right hand gently in his. He doesn’t say anything as I turn to greet the doctor.

“Hello Sonja, I am Dr. Medina. How are you?”

 Dr. Medina stands looking over my vitals and smiling pleasantly at me. He is a short man with graying dark hair and wrinkles around his brown eyes when he smiles. It’s obvious he is Hispanic from the slight accent.

“I’m fine I can’t really feel anything,” I say feeling my throat being dry still and try to clear it.

“Yes the pain killers we have given you are strong and probably causing that dryness in your mouth,” he turns to me checking the clamp on my finger.

“What is that?” I ask as he does this.

“An oxygen saturation monitor,” he provides the answer like a doctor would.

“So what’s the damage?” I ask trying to sit up again. Evan pats my arm and points to a button near my hand on the bed railing. Oh that’s better as the hospital bed rises on its own.

“Well Sonja you are lucky. You were admitted to trauma. The injuries on the outside looked much worse. We ran all the tests, an ultrasound, to the wounds on your abdomen for internal bleeding, punctured lung and broken ribs. You didn’t have any of that except a couple of bruises ribs. There are contusions and lacerations on your stomach and face and abrasions to your ankles and wrists as well as your lip. We ran a CT scan for any head trauma,” he pauses.

“If you had a punctured lung we would have intubated and you wouldn’t be up right now. I am a little surprised you are with all the trauma you have been through. We did various other tests to check your kidney function and blood. The worst of it seems to be on the surface internally you are in the clear but just to be safe we are going to keep you for a few days but move you out of ICU tonight,” he smiles that pleasant doctor smile again.

I understood most of that as I’ve been in the hospital before because of Jerry.

“I thought I had a concussion?” I ask.

“No since we didn’t find any head trauma we believe you passed out due to shock, exhaustion and possibly relief.”

“Thank god,” Evan mutters and rubs my hand. I turn to give him an affectionate smile. I could not be happier that he was here. Really where else would he be.

“The nurses will be checking on you every hour and the police are here if you are feeling up to talking to them for your statement?”

“Yes,” I just wanted to get that part over with. “Thank you.”

“It’s my job, if you need anything this is the call nurse button,” he holds up a little wand with a red button on the end of it and a cord attaching it to all the other machinery. “The blue one is to give yourself more pain medication every fifteen to thirty minutes when needed. It will lock up if you press it more than four times an hour.”