Astral Journey: It's Complicated

Part 21

After returning to the hospital, Melanie was able to return to her body but was very weak. I'm not quite sure if they were trying to baby her by doing what she was going through. I started to think about the time I had to left my body behind and felt a chill doing so. Like I said, I was used to the cold thanks to my workout and football practice. Then, I remembered that Melanie often takes an ice shower after her workout never complained about it before. As for my breathing, it was understood I would be on a ventilator during the night in case something goes wrong. I was also seen by a specialist in dealing with my stomach problems since it got worse even before I had to have a tube inserted. I was still trying to eat normally again, but I had to take small bites because of it.

Looking at Melanie, she was given a nasal cannula as her doctors recommended as a treatment. I could tell she clearly hates being treated like a baby and wanted to return to the life she had. They were also trying hypnosis in order to gain information out her mental breakdown. Victoria was by her bedside during the whole time, along with a nursing assistant was often across the corridor. It wasn't strange in my case when I was in the worse condition but she was often looking at Melanie. I wondered if Melanie's health took a serious turn but for where I was very confused. I needed to talk with Victoria on the matters.

"What happened?" I asked.

"She was out of it again." Victoria said, looking at Melanie, who was still asleep.

"They had put her through a round, but she wasn't opening up like she has to be. They had to give a series of sedatives in order to get her to settle." Victoria said.

"How much are they given her?" I wondered.

"Just enough to get her to relax, so they can try another tactic. They did get more information about the choking incident, leading to this mess. They're going to for exposure therapy shortly. They felt she hadn't been getting the proper treatments to overcome her problems. It was much deeper than we thought." Victoria said.

"I know she had a rough childhood, but her parents treated like... family." I said.

"Well, it's not that. Still, she has been keeping the trauma away from pretty much others. They needed her to work on her recovery on her own. They had noticed some attachment issues. She has already been diagnosed with depression despite her attitude along with some kind of personality disorder and body dysmorphic problem. Still, post-traumatic stress disorder is the main one that took control." Victoria said.

"I never considered that she was depressed. I know about her habits, which includes what she eats." I explained.

"Same with me, but they suspect that she was trying to control her emotion with how much she would eat or workout. She also refused to admit that she's scared despite already being outed in front of the group. That really got the best of her. They'll also look at the damages that the parasites left behind. I finally asked why was she often cold to the touch. They explain they're trying to go for cryotherapy to help her, given her background in sports." Victoria said.

"I had done that. After a workout on the field, I often ice baths to relax my muscles." I explained.

"I know. You limited yourself. I just want to ask why up to an hour." Victoria said.

"That long!" I said.

I often limit my bathes for about 15 minutes, but an hour is clearly too long.

"First, they had to give her some sedation to get her to remain still. They did that when she had to have surgery to remove those parasites. The way they handled her intestines had her upset, as they were placed on some hooks." Victoria said.