Anything Can Happen
By mauriceboscorelli
*****
Based on a true story.
Obviously character names were changed to match TW.
Bosco's thoughts
*****
It's strange. Ya know? These kinda things aren't supposed to happen to a guy like me. A cop. A young cop with top scores on every physical test they throw my direction. I still don't know why it happened. No one knows…well, except for the "big guy."
You ever get one of those headaches? The kind where you don't wanna get out of bed? The kind that keep you from functioning at a normal level? Yeah, I figured as much. They're a pain in the ass. Am I right?
Well on a Monday I had one of those headaches, and when I finally dragged myself out of bed on Tuesday it was still there. I dragged myself to work that day hoping it would go away.
*****
1 TUESDAY
Bosco came into roll call, late as usual. He hustled to the back of the room, and sat down. Faith turned in her chair so she could see him, but still act like she was paying attention to the Lieutenant. There was something about the way Bosco was carrying himself that bothered her.
He didn't even bother pulling out his notepad. With this headache there was no way he could even think about reading or writing. Bosco thought he was going to vomit the pain was so bad.
Faith watched her partner as he slouched in his chair, and held his head between his hands. Something was definitely wrong. When roll call ended Faith stood up with the rest of the officers, and slowly filtered out of the room. She waited for Bosco in the hall, but he didn't come out.
She went back into the room to find Bosco still sitting there. His eyes were closed, and he was still holding his head. Faith approached him. "Hey Bosco," she called softly. "Bos."
He slowly lifted his head to look at her. His eyes were half closed, the bright light of the room causing him to squint. It looked almost as if his eyes were being sucked into his head. There were dark circles around them, and he was pale.
Faith was shocked by his appearance. "Bos? You feelin' all right? You look awful!"
"I can guarantee you I feel worse than I look."
"Is that even possible?" She wasn't trying to make fun of him. She was concerned. "What's wrong?"
"It's just a headache," he said as he stood up. "You ready?"
When they got outside it was overcast. Bosco put on his sunglasses to keep the light out of his eyes. Faith gave him a quizzical look. "Hey Faith, you wanna drive today?" He was trying to sound upbeat.
"Yeah, OK." She watched as he climbed into the car, and then followed suit. Faith pulled on her seat belt. Bosco sat with his head resting on the headrest. "You wanna lay low today?" She asked him.
"Sounds good to me."
*****
"Would you quit looking at me?! I'm fine!"
"Bosco you don't look fine, and you're not acting like you feel fine."
Faith had been watching him all day. He kept alternating between leaning his head back, and looking down at the floor as he rubbed his temples. When they stopped to eat he barely touched his food. This was not even close to normal for Boscorelli.
"Have you taken anything for it?"
"No."
"Then how do you expect to get rid of it?"
"It'll go away eventually. It's only been a couple days."
"A couple days?! You should take some aspirin."
"I don't like taking that kinda stuff."
"But Bos it'll help get rid of the headache. Why won't you help yourself?"
He looked at her. "Faith my family's a bunch of addicts. If I took aspirin every time I had an ache or pain I'd be just like them!"
"Bos there's a difference between taking something for a headache and being an addict."
"Not to me there isn't."
"Then at least let me take you home. We'll tell Lieu you're sick."
"What? So I can be miserable at home. No thank you."
*****
I went to bed that night with the same headache. I couldn't sleep it hurt so bad. If I closed my eyes it hurt. If I kept them open it hurt. I couldn't get comfortable no matter what I did, but finally sleep somehow overtook me. And when I woke up Wednesday afternoon, you guessed it, my head still hurt.
This headache was really getting old. It was wearing me down, but there was no way I was taking anything for it. I mean eventually it had to go away. Right? It couldn't get any worse. Could it?
*****
Bosco revved up his Mustang, and headed for work. He couldn't take the noise anymore, and turned off the radio. He was about two miles from the station.
What the--? He quickly grabbed the wheel with both hands to make sure he stayed in his lane. He shook his head a few times. His vision had all of a sudden gone blurry in his right eye. It was as if he could only see with one eye.
Damn. What's going on? He tried rubbing his right eye to clear his vision, but it didn't' work. Well I'm almost there now.
He pulled into his parking space, and headed into the station. As he approached the locker room his duffle bag started to feel like it weighed a ton. He transferred the bag over to his left hand. His right arm was feeling numb. Must have been carrying it wrong or something. He flexed his arm a few times as he tried to regain feeling.
When he entered the locker room everyone was shocked to see him there so early. "Hey Bosco. Gonna be on time for once I see," kidded Sully.
Bosco knew people were talking to him, so he smiled and nodded. But something wasn't right. Their voices seemed distant, and sounded like they were echoing off the walls. What the hell is going on?
He sat down in front of his locker and started to get dressed. He shook his head a few more times. His vision still hadn't cleared up. As he fastened the Velcro of his vest he realized his right arm was so numb that it was of very little use. This is really strange.
The garbled talk continued around him as he finished getting ready. He stood up and slowly made his way to roll call. He felt odd. People kept staring at him. What? Had he forgotten to put on his pants or something? He looked down to make sure he had his full uniform on. He got dizzy and swayed.
Someone caught him as he stumbled. He looked at the person holding on to him, but couldn't remember her name. Bosco knew that he knew her. He knew they worked together, but he had no idea what her name was. Why can't I figure out who she is?
He could see her lips moving, and could hear her saying something. But he couldn't understand any of it.
"Bosco? Bosco are you OK?!" It was like he was under water. People surrounded him now, but he didn't know them. Well at least right now he didn't. He probably knew them yesterday. "Bosco!" Faith was shaking his shoulder trying to get him to answer her. The right side of Bosco's face was starting to go numb.
But then for a brief moment the fog he was in lifted. He heard someone saying he didn't look real good; that he looked pale. This woman he didn't remember was still shaking him. "Bosco are you OK?! What's wrong?"
"I don't feel so good," Bosco finally managed to say, but no one understood his slurred mumble.
"What?"
"Don't feel good," he tried to say again. He was getting tired, and couldn't feel the right side of his body anymore.
Faith looked into his eyes, and knew something was seriously wrong with him. She quickly walked him out to their squad car, and rushed him to Mercy.
*****
Two hours later she was finally allowed to see him. She walked into the exam room. He was hooked up to an IV, and was already looking a hundred times better than he had earlier.
"Hey Bos. How you doing?"
"Better." He looked his partner up and down, and then his gaze landed on her face. He crinkled his brow as if in deep concentration. "Faith?" he asked.
She looked a little shocked. It was like he was questioning if that was her name. "Yeah Bos it's Faith."
He exhaled. "This is so weird. When we were at the station I had no idea who anyone was. Not even you."
"Man," she didn't know what to say to him. This whole situation was beyond her comprehension.
The doctor came in. "Well Officer Boscorelli we can't find anything wrong with you right now, but we want to keep you overnight for more tests."
"No way. I'm going home."
"Bosco. This is serious. You should stay here tonight," Faith pleaded.
"Why?"
"So they can figure out what happened to you today. So they can fix it so it won't happen again."
*****
It's crazy. Here I am in my early thirties, and they thought I had a stroke. A stroke! Can you believe it? I guess I had all the signs and symptoms. They said I was lucky.
You know how they determined it wasn't a stroke? They stuck this huge frickin' needle in my spine! Hurt like a mother! Turns out all I had was a severe migraine. Doctor didn't know what caused it. I never had one, before or since.
The guy wanted me to start taking aspirin on a regular basis so it wouldn't happen again. Well, he can kiss my ass cause I ain't taking anything. I'm not going to get hooked.
Faith was freaked out about everything for a while. Guess I kinda was too, but now I just laugh about it. I mean what else can you do? It's been over a year, and I'm fine. Only time I ever think about it is when I start to get a headache, but even then I don't dwell on it.
The whole thing just makes me realize that you never know when you're going to go, or how. Even in my wildest dreams, or should I say nightmares, I could never picture myself having a stroke. Especially at my age. But strange shit happens every day. Right?
By mauriceboscorelli
*****
Based on a true story.
Obviously character names were changed to match TW.
Bosco's thoughts
*****
It's strange. Ya know? These kinda things aren't supposed to happen to a guy like me. A cop. A young cop with top scores on every physical test they throw my direction. I still don't know why it happened. No one knows…well, except for the "big guy."
You ever get one of those headaches? The kind where you don't wanna get out of bed? The kind that keep you from functioning at a normal level? Yeah, I figured as much. They're a pain in the ass. Am I right?
Well on a Monday I had one of those headaches, and when I finally dragged myself out of bed on Tuesday it was still there. I dragged myself to work that day hoping it would go away.
*****
1 TUESDAY
Bosco came into roll call, late as usual. He hustled to the back of the room, and sat down. Faith turned in her chair so she could see him, but still act like she was paying attention to the Lieutenant. There was something about the way Bosco was carrying himself that bothered her.
He didn't even bother pulling out his notepad. With this headache there was no way he could even think about reading or writing. Bosco thought he was going to vomit the pain was so bad.
Faith watched her partner as he slouched in his chair, and held his head between his hands. Something was definitely wrong. When roll call ended Faith stood up with the rest of the officers, and slowly filtered out of the room. She waited for Bosco in the hall, but he didn't come out.
She went back into the room to find Bosco still sitting there. His eyes were closed, and he was still holding his head. Faith approached him. "Hey Bosco," she called softly. "Bos."
He slowly lifted his head to look at her. His eyes were half closed, the bright light of the room causing him to squint. It looked almost as if his eyes were being sucked into his head. There were dark circles around them, and he was pale.
Faith was shocked by his appearance. "Bos? You feelin' all right? You look awful!"
"I can guarantee you I feel worse than I look."
"Is that even possible?" She wasn't trying to make fun of him. She was concerned. "What's wrong?"
"It's just a headache," he said as he stood up. "You ready?"
When they got outside it was overcast. Bosco put on his sunglasses to keep the light out of his eyes. Faith gave him a quizzical look. "Hey Faith, you wanna drive today?" He was trying to sound upbeat.
"Yeah, OK." She watched as he climbed into the car, and then followed suit. Faith pulled on her seat belt. Bosco sat with his head resting on the headrest. "You wanna lay low today?" She asked him.
"Sounds good to me."
*****
"Would you quit looking at me?! I'm fine!"
"Bosco you don't look fine, and you're not acting like you feel fine."
Faith had been watching him all day. He kept alternating between leaning his head back, and looking down at the floor as he rubbed his temples. When they stopped to eat he barely touched his food. This was not even close to normal for Boscorelli.
"Have you taken anything for it?"
"No."
"Then how do you expect to get rid of it?"
"It'll go away eventually. It's only been a couple days."
"A couple days?! You should take some aspirin."
"I don't like taking that kinda stuff."
"But Bos it'll help get rid of the headache. Why won't you help yourself?"
He looked at her. "Faith my family's a bunch of addicts. If I took aspirin every time I had an ache or pain I'd be just like them!"
"Bos there's a difference between taking something for a headache and being an addict."
"Not to me there isn't."
"Then at least let me take you home. We'll tell Lieu you're sick."
"What? So I can be miserable at home. No thank you."
*****
I went to bed that night with the same headache. I couldn't sleep it hurt so bad. If I closed my eyes it hurt. If I kept them open it hurt. I couldn't get comfortable no matter what I did, but finally sleep somehow overtook me. And when I woke up Wednesday afternoon, you guessed it, my head still hurt.
This headache was really getting old. It was wearing me down, but there was no way I was taking anything for it. I mean eventually it had to go away. Right? It couldn't get any worse. Could it?
*****
Bosco revved up his Mustang, and headed for work. He couldn't take the noise anymore, and turned off the radio. He was about two miles from the station.
What the--? He quickly grabbed the wheel with both hands to make sure he stayed in his lane. He shook his head a few times. His vision had all of a sudden gone blurry in his right eye. It was as if he could only see with one eye.
Damn. What's going on? He tried rubbing his right eye to clear his vision, but it didn't' work. Well I'm almost there now.
He pulled into his parking space, and headed into the station. As he approached the locker room his duffle bag started to feel like it weighed a ton. He transferred the bag over to his left hand. His right arm was feeling numb. Must have been carrying it wrong or something. He flexed his arm a few times as he tried to regain feeling.
When he entered the locker room everyone was shocked to see him there so early. "Hey Bosco. Gonna be on time for once I see," kidded Sully.
Bosco knew people were talking to him, so he smiled and nodded. But something wasn't right. Their voices seemed distant, and sounded like they were echoing off the walls. What the hell is going on?
He sat down in front of his locker and started to get dressed. He shook his head a few more times. His vision still hadn't cleared up. As he fastened the Velcro of his vest he realized his right arm was so numb that it was of very little use. This is really strange.
The garbled talk continued around him as he finished getting ready. He stood up and slowly made his way to roll call. He felt odd. People kept staring at him. What? Had he forgotten to put on his pants or something? He looked down to make sure he had his full uniform on. He got dizzy and swayed.
Someone caught him as he stumbled. He looked at the person holding on to him, but couldn't remember her name. Bosco knew that he knew her. He knew they worked together, but he had no idea what her name was. Why can't I figure out who she is?
He could see her lips moving, and could hear her saying something. But he couldn't understand any of it.
"Bosco? Bosco are you OK?!" It was like he was under water. People surrounded him now, but he didn't know them. Well at least right now he didn't. He probably knew them yesterday. "Bosco!" Faith was shaking his shoulder trying to get him to answer her. The right side of Bosco's face was starting to go numb.
But then for a brief moment the fog he was in lifted. He heard someone saying he didn't look real good; that he looked pale. This woman he didn't remember was still shaking him. "Bosco are you OK?! What's wrong?"
"I don't feel so good," Bosco finally managed to say, but no one understood his slurred mumble.
"What?"
"Don't feel good," he tried to say again. He was getting tired, and couldn't feel the right side of his body anymore.
Faith looked into his eyes, and knew something was seriously wrong with him. She quickly walked him out to their squad car, and rushed him to Mercy.
*****
Two hours later she was finally allowed to see him. She walked into the exam room. He was hooked up to an IV, and was already looking a hundred times better than he had earlier.
"Hey Bos. How you doing?"
"Better." He looked his partner up and down, and then his gaze landed on her face. He crinkled his brow as if in deep concentration. "Faith?" he asked.
She looked a little shocked. It was like he was questioning if that was her name. "Yeah Bos it's Faith."
He exhaled. "This is so weird. When we were at the station I had no idea who anyone was. Not even you."
"Man," she didn't know what to say to him. This whole situation was beyond her comprehension.
The doctor came in. "Well Officer Boscorelli we can't find anything wrong with you right now, but we want to keep you overnight for more tests."
"No way. I'm going home."
"Bosco. This is serious. You should stay here tonight," Faith pleaded.
"Why?"
"So they can figure out what happened to you today. So they can fix it so it won't happen again."
*****
It's crazy. Here I am in my early thirties, and they thought I had a stroke. A stroke! Can you believe it? I guess I had all the signs and symptoms. They said I was lucky.
You know how they determined it wasn't a stroke? They stuck this huge frickin' needle in my spine! Hurt like a mother! Turns out all I had was a severe migraine. Doctor didn't know what caused it. I never had one, before or since.
The guy wanted me to start taking aspirin on a regular basis so it wouldn't happen again. Well, he can kiss my ass cause I ain't taking anything. I'm not going to get hooked.
Faith was freaked out about everything for a while. Guess I kinda was too, but now I just laugh about it. I mean what else can you do? It's been over a year, and I'm fine. Only time I ever think about it is when I start to get a headache, but even then I don't dwell on it.
The whole thing just makes me realize that you never know when you're going to go, or how. Even in my wildest dreams, or should I say nightmares, I could never picture myself having a stroke. Especially at my age. But strange shit happens every day. Right?