I woke up to the familiar sound of bleeping machines. I was on Darwin ward, Holby City hospital had been my home for the past few months. Every day was virtually the same, I would wake up, have some tests and then go back to sleep.
Today would be different though, today was 'the' day. Everyone was expecting me to just be able to stand up and walk again. I had not walked since the accident. I had damaged my spine in the accident, I had needed several operations to save my life, including one on my heart which my sister had performed. I needed to learn to use my legs again, I hated relying on the people around me I was under a lot of pressure from my doctors, and one of my doctors was also my sister. My sister was world renowned cardio-thoracic surgeon Jac Naylor.
The day of the accident was a normal day, Jac was driving home from work after a long shift, I had come to the hospital to wait for her to finish work, so I was in the car too. We were discussing medical terminology, I found her job so interesting and she was like an encyclopaedia of knowledge. I could listen to her all day. We were pulling out of a junction and turning right, when somebody who was drink driving and speeding ploughed into the passenger side of Jac's car, where I was sat. Everything went black for me, but I know what happened next because Jac had told me.
The car flipped and rolled 3 times over about a 20m distance before finally coming to rest on its roof.
Jac was able to get herself out, somehow she wasn't seriously hurt. She was covered in small cuts, bruises and grazes but she had escaped serious injury. With the help of a passer by Jac managed to carefully get me out of the car and lay me on the road. I remember coming too, lying on the cold and wet concrete. I couldn't see or hear properly. I wasn't sure where I was or how I had got there, but I felt someone squeeze my hand and I knew it was Jac. I knew as long as she was there I would be okay.
"Hang in there." Jac whispered. She was crying. I rarely, if ever, see her cry. I used all my remaining strength to reach my hand up to the side of her face and wipe her tears away with the back of my hand.
"Help is on its way." She whispered. I wanted to tell her I loved her, but the words wouldn't come out. I was finding it increasingly difficult to stay awake. I just wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep.
"Stay awake. It's really important that you fight sleep and stay awake for me." Jac said, leaning over and gently stroking the side of my face. Jac stayed sat with me, held my hand and comforted me until help arrived. We both knew how sick I was.
I drifted in and out of consciousness. I know ambulances, fire crews and the police came at some point. There was a lot of people and a lot of noise, but it was as if they were behind a cloud. I could barely see or hear anything. I remember somebody leaning over me, and they were wearing a different shade of green too the other paramedics. They had 'doctor' written on their jacket. When I heard her voice I knew who it was straight away. Connie had come to the rescue.
I remember overhearing a conversation between Connie and Jac. Jac wanted to stay on scene and Connie wanted her to go to the hospital and get checked out. Jac was injured, so she really needed to be checked out at the ED, but she didn't want to leave me.
"Let me do my job." Connie said firmly to Jac.
"Jac. Please. There's nobody else more qualified than me to provide emergency care. I need you to go and get seen at the ED." She added, putting her arm around Jac's shoulder to comfort her.
"Please...look after her." Jac begged, agreeing reluctantly. Jac came over to me and leant over my head. She kissed my forehead gently and whispered that she would see me when I got to the ED. Jac then climbed into one of the ambulances to be seen to.
"Remember me?" Connie said, kneeling down next to my head so I was looking up at her. I made an incoherent sound. I remembered Connie from when I was young, she was my sisters boss, and she taught her everything she knew. I was in the best of hands, but all I wanted right then was somebody I knew – and I knew Connie, so that was good enough.
"We're going to incubate you, to help you breathe." Connie said. She prepared the tube and talked to me while she passed the tube down my throat. I fought it all the way in as it's not a comfortable sensation but Connie was the best in the business, and got it in first time.
I don't remember the journey to the ED, but I know I woke up briefly in the ED. Jac was with me holding my hand when I woke up. I was sent for a CT and an MRI, before I was placed in a medically induced coma. Jac stayed with me throughout, comforting me.
I was in a coma for weeks. For the first fortnight, Jac refused to leave my bedside. Fletch had to come and beg her to get some sleep in the on call room. After a couple of weeks she went back to work, but every evening she would come and visit. She would sit with me, and hold my hand. She would talk to me, and tell me about her day and how she felt, but I couldn't respond.
The the day I came out of my coma was a big milestone. I couldn't talk when I first woke up, but I have had speech therapy and now it's like nothing ever happened. Every appointment I had with physiotherapy or speech therapy, Jac took the time off work to be there for me.
She cried the first time I found my voice. It was like a lightbulb went on in my head. I was resting with my eyes closed, and Jac was telling me about how she had saved somebody's life in a groundbreaking new procedure.
"We'll done, smartarse." I mumbled. Jac did a double take before shedding a tear. This was the day we knew I was going to be okay. I could tell Jac felt gulty and blamed herself for the accident, and felt that it should have been her in my place, but it was just that, an accident.
I had had enough of being an invalid and relying on other people. I had had enough of waking up every day in Holby City Hospital. I had a big appointment with my physio today, they were expecting to get me walking again today, but I wasn't sure it was going to happen. I didn't want to disappoint anyone, especially Jac.