In the Wake of the Dark

Chapter One

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Her middle finger moved. Once. Twice. The tall blonde nurse scribbling something on a notepad who noticed the movement paused for a moment to observe and in some seconds, went back to scribbling. Then, her index finger, where the pulse oximeter was put came into motion. It tapped the bed once and went back to being zilch in a matter of seconds. No sooner did both her index and middle finger moved simultaneously, but the blonde nurse failed to notice any of this as she was arranging some bottles on the cart she'd had her colleague wheel in earlier. There was movement of her eyeballs in her closer eyes; for a moment, it was moving compulsively but it stopped. When her eyes came a few seconds, slightly but enough to see a retreating figure, the light in the room forced it shut. It blinked once. Twice.

Much slowly, her eyes came open again and it shuddered close almost immediately. The place she'd been in was well lit and so, it'd take a little moment for her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room. And when they came open again, the room was dim. Presumably, the lights had been turned off and the tall blonde woman was just at the door, rolling away the cart when she noticed her open eyes as she looked up to take one last glance at the woman in bed before exiting the room. Quickly, she rushed over to the bed side, crouching down beside it as her eyes did a thorough examination of her face; she was blinking, her hands were moving and did she just make a sound? A wide grin appeared on her face and she exclaimed incredulously, "You're awake?" Almost like she couldn't even believe her own statement. More affirmatively this time she said cried out. "You're awake!" The next thing, her long legs were sprinting out of the room, down the hall and into the elevator. She continuously tapped the button for the fifth floor until the door closed. When it flew open again, she dashed through the hallway in search of the doctor whom she found outside his office conversing with man and his son who had just been discharged few hours ago. She stopped in front of the doctor just as the man and his son walked away. Her hands was placed on her knee with head down, panting heavily. But she managed to find her words. "She's awake!" she whispered in between breaths. "Adelina Delgado is awake!"

Manuel and Lupe Delgado fared into the office in fret although Manuel did well to conceal it but Lupe's was glaring. Both of them took seats across the table as they awaited Tony who was conversing with the interim nurse that was checking Adelina's vitals before her awakening. Lupe, was visibly agitated at the thought of their daughter awake and just as much, dreaded the news the doctor might reveal. She had been in her kitchen, making dinner when Manuel rang her from the office to inform him of Dr. Tony's urgent request for a meet up today. Fear gripped her. The wlname Dr. Tony and the word urgent seemed to create quite a scenario in her head about her daughter. What could be the reason for this? Without thinking any further, she raced out of the kitchen, into her room to thrown on a long black gown and tie a similar black scarf on her uncombed hair and in no time, had the driver speeding her to the hospital. Manuel arrived just in time to see her alight from the car and together, they proceeded to Dr. Tony's office to hear the news that'll either make their hearts dance in joy or leave it broken, forever.

Lupe was becoming impatient as she waited for the Tony to attend to them and the million and one questions she wanted to ask. Noticing her restlessness, Manuel covered his palm in hers soothingly, and with the other hand, patted her on the shoulders. "Relax Miel, I'm sure our daughter is fine." Her shoulders fell reluctantly. She didn't want to hear what he had to say but all the more reasons she wanted to, while she prayed silently that it should be good news.

Just then, Tony walked into the office, closing the door behind him, with smile on his face which gave the Delgado's a bit of hope. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting," he apologized, taking his seat in front of them. He was leaning forward, with both hands on the desk and still had that smile plastered on his face.

"So..." Lupe jeered impatiently. "How is my daughter? Can we see her?"

Tony emitted a soft chuckle. "In time, Mrs. Delgado. As we speak, she's being transferred to another room," he tried to mollify the anxiety of the woman. "As for how Adelina doing," he halted, looking for the right words to say it which earned him a frown from both Lupe and Manuel. "She's fine," he decided to go with that, as he couldn't have describe her situation better. "Recall that over two years ago, she entered a minimal conscious state after her four months in a coma?"

To this, Manuel and Lupe nodded in affirmation. Four months after Adelina had slipped into a coma, the doctor informed them that her condition had changed. She was now conscious but only to minimal level which meant she could reach for objects, smile and even track person's in the room but she wasn't fully awake as this was characterized by the inconsistency in this environmental awareness. So, he'd urged them to visit her every day with family photos, for up to six hours which could be very receptive on her route to recovery.

Tony continued. "When the nurse told me she had woken up, I thought it was just one of the usuals, but we observed her for a couple of hours now. Within that couple years, she'd undergone a deep brain surgery and about three weeks ago, we administered Zolpidem to her. Reasons why her state's progressed."

Both Lupe and Manuel looked confused. Neither of them seemed to comprehend what the doctor was saying. Sensing, their confusion, he proceeded to reveal what they were presuming in clearer terms. "Adelina has regained full consciousness."

Lupe jumped to her feet, squealing in excitement like an eight year old who had just been handed a pack of candy. In that moment, she couldn't care less about any other thing other than the fact that her daughter was awake. Her baby girl was finally awake after three years in a coma, or whatever the doctor called it. "S–so, you're saying she can talk now, eat on her own, walk–" she was sputtering when Tony caught off.

"Hold on, Mrs. Delgado," he started with a laugh. "As at now, these things might be a problem for her. She has a case of atrophy, as is normal in every comatose patient. Which means she'll have to undergo physiotherapy, psychological assessments, occupational therapy, speech therapy. Basically, a rehabilitation program for a while. It will take months, but there's a ninety-five percent chance she'll walk again."

Chance? Ninety-five percent chance? That didn't sit right with Manuel as his countenance changed. But not Lupe. Adelina is awake now, and that was all that mattered.

"Good news is that she doesn't have amnesia. We've run some diagnostic tests and an MRI scan to ascertain this."

"And the bad news?" Manuel asked assuming there was one since almost everyone that started a sentence with that phrase always had a not so positive information lingering somewhere.

"Well Mr. Delgado, there really isn't any bad news. Adelina may have trouble recalling a few events but that's just it. Honestly, she's a very lucky woman. To have survived after such a long period without any damage to the brain. She's a rare case."

Lupe was relieved. About three years back, when Tony confirmed that Adelina had suffered a traumatic brain injury which was the reason for her comatose state, he also informed them that most likely, when she wakes, as it is in most cases he had treated, she might suffer from a brain damage which could lead to her loss of memory. But as he said now, she's a lucky woman.

"For now, she'll remain in the hospital for her rehabilitation program. And yes," he immediately added noticing the look on Lupe's face. "She'll be allowed visitors during the hours. But, she mustn't be exposed to overwhelming emotions, films or anything of that sort. Could be traumatic for her."

They nodded in understanding, all smiles and thankful for the blissful news they've just received. "Can we see her now?" Manuel was the one to ask this time.

Tony rose a finger. "Just a second." And he dialed a nurse on the landline. After a few seconds on the call, he added. "You can see her now. She's already been transferred to another room. Come," he got up from his seat. "I'll take you to her."

Nicolás was by the door, his back rested on the wall, tapping his feet nervously on it, when the door flew open. He quickly exchanged looks with the doctor before pulling his mother, who was just behind, to one corner. "What happened mamá?"

By now, a bead of tears had escaped Lupe's eyes and she revealed with a gladdened heart. "Adelina is awake."

Nicolás eyes widened and his face split into a grin. When he'd come by the house earlier to see his mother, he was greeted by news that she had dashed to the hospital about an hour ago. He fretted and without thinking followed suit. He'd almost busted into the room when he was told that his parents were in the doctors office but on second thoughts this time, he resigned to remain at the door, impatiently waiting. "Gracias a dios mamá, I thought it was something else," he exclaimed in relief. "Have you seen her?"

She shook her head. "We're going there right now. Come on." she tugged at his hands gently, practically dragging him behind her.

All together, they rode the elevator to the fifth floor and to the right; room 23B precisely. Two nurses were just making their way out of the room Adelina was transferred to when they came upon them. "Is she awake?" Tony asked. And the nurses nodded in affirmation before disappearing down the hallway. Tony was the first to enter. Manuel followed suit, and behind him, Lupe and Nicolás. Immediately Lupe saw her daughter, she dropped her bags to the floor, brushing past Tony to the bedside. She crouched down beside her, kissing her all over; her eyes, her hands, her cheek before encircling her in a tight hug as all the tears of joy she'd been holding back fell freely from her eyes. "Mijá," she whispered in between sobs.

Both Manuel and Nicolás had tears in their eyes as well. It might not have brimmed as Lupe's but it was very evident. All Adelina could do was smile at them as her mouth could muster all the words of love and appreciation she wanted to sing to her family. It was now she really felt alive, not two hours ago she had awoken. But now. Seeing her family again.

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