Silver Opportunity

Chapter Twenty-Three

Molly and I were gripping each others' hands so hard, I thought for sure we would both end up with broken hands. We both started intently at Dr. Kelley, who was about to give us the run down.

"So, as you are aware, Leo hit his head hard, hard enough to shatter the back of his helmet where he impacted," he began. "He has a very bad concussion. Now, at the moment, to let his brain begin recovery, we have him in a medically induced coma. This sounds scary but it's for his body's own safety. If he's struggling and stressing himself out, his recovery will take a lot longer."

"How long will he be in the coma for?" his mother asked.

"Only a handful of days," Dr. Kelley explained. "Long enough that his brain begins the recovery process. Now, we have a couple of concerns. I don't have access to an MRI machine until tomorrow, when he'll be the first one in. This will give us a clearer image of where exactly he injured his head. The occipital and parietal lobes are at the highest risk right now."

"And what does that mean recovery wise."

"Here's where it gets dicey. The occipital lobe is the vision center. If he heavily damaged that lobe, he could have vision issues in the future - including full vision loss. The parietal lobe is in charge of temperature regulation, taste, touch, movement, et cetera. Damage to this lobe could cause paralysis or loss of senses. And of course, with any concussion, we run the risk of memory loss and sensitivity to light and sound, as well as balance issues."

We all sat there in silence, taking in the news.

"So... what are the scenarios?" Leo's mom said after a moment.

Dr. Kelley took a deep breath before giving the news. "Best case scenario, the damage is spread over the two lobes, causing a few balance, vision, and memories issues that will be resolved in a few weeks to a few months with proper therapy."

He hesitated before delivering the rest of his statement.

"Worst case scenario, he has so much damage that his brain shuts down and becomes braindead."

That reality hit me like a ton of bricks. Leo's life was on the line right now, and we were powerless to do anything about it. I felt really lightheaded and sat down, dragging Molly with me.

I couldn't even imagine what she was feeling right now. Leo is her best friend. Her twin. They've been attached by the hip since before birth. And now she risked losing that entire half of her life.

Or their mom. She had already lost the love of her life... and she could be losing her son.

To think that the boy I loved was teetering the line between life and death scared me witless. But I needed to put on a brave face and be there for his family.

"Kendall, come here," Hannah said, opening her arms to the twins' mom. She let her emotions loose against Hannah, crying until she had nothing left.

They allowed us to go in and see him at around eight. Hannah and I both agreed to let Kendall and Molly have some alone time with him first, even if he was unconscious. They were with him for about fifteen minutes before they called us in. I instantly took the open seat next to him and grabbed his hand. The sight of him made my breath hitch in my throat. He was attached to numerous wires and tubes, and there was a heart monitor rhythmically beeping away. His face was covered in bruises and he had stitches on his forehead, and his hand felt unusually cold.

I felt the tightness in my throat return, and I looked away before I could break down again.

Stay strong, Emily, I reminded myself. I grounded myself by playing with his hand. 

This was the same hand that held mine mere hours ago. The same hand that brushed my hair behind my ear last night. The same he held my cheek with as he kissed me softly. The same hand to stroke Archie. To take photos. To ride a horse.

I allowed the good memories to come back, but I kept it very clear in my mind that he may not be able to do any of that again.

sorry these chapters are short and choppy, but they're supposed to be like that! we're getting a little insight to Em's thought process. she's confused and hurt, and i'm trying to reflect that in my writing