CH
CH. 2
Grace and Karen burst into the hospital waiting room with concern apparent on their faces. Will had phoned them at Grace's studio with the news as soon as Jack was taken into the ER. They saw Will sitting with his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands. They hurried over and sat beside their friend. Grace broke the silence.
"Oh, sweetie. I'm sooo sorry," she said softly as she put one arm comfortingly over Will's shoulders. "Is Jack all right? Have you heard anything?"
Will exhaled heavily and looked up at his roommate shaking his head in the negative – distress and anguish were written all over his features.
"Why? Why, Grace?" he cryptically questioned.
Grace just sat beside him quietly. She knew what was coming. "Why didn't I just throw that old thing out when I knew it was defective? Now Jack's here and it's all my fault!" Will groaned. Grace continued to be physically supportive and let Will browbeat himself. She knew it was his way of working it out.
Not wanting to give away her own emotional apprehension over her dearest friend, Karen had remained silent. She just smiled half-heartedly at Will, then quietly unzipped her purse and produced a shot glass and a small bottle of spirits. She poured a dram and held it out to Will. This was the only way she could think of to be of any help in the situation.
"Thanks, Karen, but it's a little early in the day for me," the attorney said, politely refusing the alcohol.
Not to let it be wasted, Karen threw back her head and downed the drink in one quick gulp. Will almost smiled. Karen would always be Karen. They sat in tense silence for a few more minutes.
Finally a doctor approached them and introduced himself.
"Hello. I'm Dr. McManus. I understand that you're here for Mr. McFarland?"
They all nodded and looked at the doctor expectantly.
"Well, I'm happy to report that your friend is in stable condition. He responded to the medication to regulate his heart. However due to his lengthy state of unconsciousness and because of the nature of his accident, we decided to do an EEG on him."
Everyone just stared, not understanding.
"An electroencephalogram…" the doctor continued.
Blank looks still ensued.
Um…let's see. How can I explain this? It's a measurement of brain activity. Anyway, everything was normal except that he has markedly increased theta waves, which is very unusual. I really don't know at this time how it will affect him, if at all. At this point, he's still unconscious. Hopefully he will come out of it soon and we can do further evaluations.
Just then, a nurse came hurrying towards the group.
"Doctor, you asked to be notified as soon as Mr. McFarland regained consciousness."
The doctor immediately strode down the hallway to the ICU with three concerned people following him closely. They entered a darkened room. Dr. McManus approached the bed as Will, Karen and Grace also positioned themselves around it, looking expectantly from the physician to their friend and back.
"Mr. McFarland…Mr. McFarland," the doctor said softly.
Jack's eyes slowly opened. He stared uncomprehendingly for a few moments, then groaned and raised his hands to his head like a person with a bad headache, massaging his temples.
"How do you feel, Mr. McFarland?" the doctor asked.
"Uh…okay, I guess…except for this excruciating cephalgia," Jack replied.
"Huh? What did he say?" Will asked.
"Well," the doctor chuckled, "He just told me he has a painful headache."
"Why didn't he just say that, then?" Will continued.
The doctor just shrugged.
"Will! Karen! Grace!" Jack exclaimed, first noticing his friends by his bedside. "What happened?"
"You got a bad electric shock, but it looks like you're going to be just fine," Will said smiling at his friend.
Jack returned the smile, then asked, "When can I be discharged?"
"We'll just keep you overnight for observation. If there are no further complications, you may go home tomorrow," Dr. McManus said.
Everyone was smiling now.
