Monday Couple Stories

Chapter Sixty One: Recovering Period

Several days had passed since Ji Hyo arrived at the hospital.  She finally regained consciousness on the fifth day of her stay in the hospital.  The nurse had just come in to check on her, when Ji Hyo suddenly opened her eyes.  Alarmed that Ji Hyo was suddenly looking at her, the nurse immediately pressed a button to let the nurses in the front desk know that the patient is awake.  One of the nurses in the front desk immediately contacted Ji Hyo's doctor.

The doctor came in and immediately took her vital signs.  Everything looked good.  He asked her how she was feeling?  She said she felt tired and a little bit of pain in her chest.  The doctor then asked her if she remembered what happened to her?  Ji Hyo nodded and told him that she was shot by this crazy woman in her fiance's office.  The doctor was pleased that her memory was still in tact  Then he began to check her arms and legs. 

After a thorough examination, the doctor asked Ji Hyo to wiggle her toes, then lift up her leg one at a time.  She passed with flying color, making the doctor smile.  Then he asked her to wiggle her fingers.  Ji Hyo noticed that she was able to wiggle her left fingers but not her right.  She motioned the doctor to take a look at her right hand.

The doctor examined her right hand.  Clearly, she could not move her fingers nor lift her arms up.  The doctor noted that her right arm and hand were paralyzed.  Ji Hyo, devastated hearing the news that she could be partially paralyzed suddenly became hysterical.  The doctor ordered the nurse to sedate her.  He decided to do more tests on her and get another's doctor's opinion on her prognosis.

Meanwhile, he made a promise to Gary that he would call him once Ji Hyo woke up.  Gary immediately drove to the hospital.  He asked Yoo Jae Suk to accompany him.  When Gary arrived at the hospital, he was anxious to see Ji Hyo, but when he entered the room, he wondered why she was not awake.  Just then the nurse came in and told Gary that the doctor would like to talk to him in his office.

Yoo Jae Suk told Gary that he will wait in the lobby room but Gary insisted that he go with him for moral support.  So together they went to see Ji Hyo's doctor in his office.

"Thank you for coming, Mr. Kang...Ji Hyo woke up a couple of hours ago and she is in good spirits, however there was a slight setback in her recovery," the doctor said.

"What's wrong?" Gary asked.

"She has no movement on her right arm and hand...we did some tests on her and are just waiting for the results...I'm not sure but this could be just a temporary loss of sensation..I will inform you once I get the results...but for now we need to get her some counseling...after all she experienced something very traumatic...will you be the one signing the paperwork so she may get counseling?"

"Yes," Gary said.

"Good...for now she will need care 24 hours a day for at least another week or two...she had major surgery and will need time to recover....it will take a few days before I get the results of the test...meanwhile she is able to go home...I will sign the release form and you may take her home tomorrow...for now she is resting in her room....you are are welcome to spend the night at the hospital fi you'd like...I will ask the nurse to bring you a roll away bed."

"Thank you doctor...I appreciate everything you had done for her," Gary said as he was shaking his hand.

"You're welcome....please don't worry for now....let's wait for the results of the test before jumping into any conclusions...for now let's focus on helping her to recover from the bullet wound...we need to keep her spirits up...okay, I will have the nurse set up a bed for you in Ji Hyo's room....tomorrow morning just go to the front desk and inform the nurse that you will be taking Ji Hyo home...just sign her out and you are good to go."