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After Ryan asked for more information, Eric thought this was a good time for him to make his exit "Well, I don't mean to make this visit short, but I really should get back to work. I'll come back and visit you later after work, ok".
Ryan looked over at Eric when he heard him say something about leaving "Ok, I'm sure I'll still be here".
Calleigh thought Eric had wonderful timing; it was not like Eric to make his escape when things got difficult, but considering the topic of conversation, it was probably more than he could handle. "I'll walk out with you Eric". She turned to Ryan "I'll be back in a few minutes".
Calleigh and Eric walked out of Ryan's room and closed the door behind them. As soon as they were in the hallway Calleigh turned to Eric "Wow, he is so different. I didn't know what to expect, but he is like a totally different person. I also didn't expect him to ask such personal questions right away, but then again if he doesn't ask them he may never remember who he really is".
Eric had a look of agreement on his face "Yeah, but I felt really uncomfortable in there. It's weird that he can remember some stuff but any personal information about him or us is gone". Eric paused and looked at his watch, "I'll come back after work, but I just hope he gets his questions out of the way. I don't really know much about his life so I won't be much help".
Calleigh had a feeling that Eric had been uncomfortable when Ryan was asking questions, so she was not going to try and push him to stay "Ok Eric, I should be at work sometime soon, but I just wanted to sit with him for a little while longer".
Calleigh watched Eric leave before going back into Ryan's room. When she entered she found Ryan still sitting up and looking eager to talk some more.
Ryan looked up as he heard the door open. He was happy to see it was Calleigh who had returned and he couldn't help but smile "Hi Calleigh, thanks for coming back to sit with me. It's lonely sitting here in this room. I am not sure what to do since I can't even remember what I like to do". His smile faded as soon as he finished his sentence.
Calleigh noticed his face change from a smile to someone who looked very sad "I wouldn't want you to be alone. But are you sure you're up to this right now? You look like you should be resting". Calleigh was not trying to get out of answering his questions, but she really thought he was starting to look really tired.
"I am kind of tired now that you mention it". As Ryan lay back on his pillows his injuries made him remember that he was still pretty sore from the accident. "Maybe I'll just take a little nap and then we can talk some more if you're still here. Can I ask one thing before I end up falling asleep though?"
Calleigh thought she was going to be able to get away from anymore questions for the time, but no such luck "Sure Ryan, what's your question".
Ryan eyes were starting to get heavier and he couldn't help but yawn as he said "It's about my family, what can you tell me about my parents and are they going to be visiting me soon?"
Calleigh didn't know much about his family life but she didn't want to not answer him "Well, I don't know when anyone will be coming for a visit, but I can tell you that your father and step mother live on the west coast".
Ryan was dead tired, but he was still able to comprehend what he was being told "You said my father and stepmother, what about my mother?"
"I think you should rest for now and I can tell you all about her later". This conversation was very awkward for Calleigh. She didn't want to be the one to tell him his mother was dead, plus she thought it might be too much for him to hear right now.
"Ok" was all Ryan could think to say. He wanted to know more about his mother, but he agreed it would be better to find out after he rested for awhile. It felt like his pain killers were wearing off, but drugs were the last thing he wanted to be taking so he was hoping a little sleep would make him feel better.
Calleigh saw that Ryan was really struggling to stay awake now so she decided it was time to leave "I'm going to let you get some sleep. I know that Eric is coming back here after work, but I will try and visit you again later".
"Ok, I'll see you later" this was all Ryan could get out before he fell asleep.
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As soon as Calleigh got to work she went and looked for Eric. She found him in the DNA lab reviewing some lab results "Hi Eric".
Eric looked up and smiled at Calleigh "Hi, I thought you would be at the hospital longer than this?"
Calleigh smiled back at Eric, "I didn't really get to talk to him much after you left. He was starting to fall asleep, so I thought it was best to let him get his rest. But I was able to talk to his doctor about how different he was acting before I left and he said it is actually kind common for a person's personality to change when they have had a head trauma and some form of memory loss. He said that all we can really do is just be there for him and try to get him around as many familiar things as possible. But he warned me that his personality could change several times again before he remembers who he used to be".
Eric was happy to hear that Ryan's behavior was normal, but he was still worried "Well, than we will just have to do what the doctor's orders and help him all we can".
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Ryan cried out in pain. Just moments ago he was sleeping soundly, but something woke him and caused him to sit up to quickly. As he sat there he was having trouble catching his breath. His chest also hurt a lot, so he placed his hand on his chest in an attempt to rub the pain away.
There had been a nurse walking past Ryan's room when she heard the cry. She came running into Ryan's room and saw him struggling to breath and holding his chest in pain. She grabbed the oxygen mask and placed it on Ryan's face before pressing the call button for assistance. She looked at Ryan and saw that he was still struggling to breathe "I need you to try and inhale through your mouth and exhale through your nose; nice and easy". She could tell Ryan was trying to do what she was telling him and it seems to be working. As she was watching him a few other people including his doctor had joined her.
Dr. Lakken had already gone over to Ryan and was examining him. He looked at the nurse "so, can you tell me what happened".
"I was just walking down the hallway when I heard him scream. I came in and saw that he was holding his chest and was struggling to breathe. I gave him some oxygen which seems to be helping him". She looked over at Ryan and gave him a reassuring smile.
The doctor looked back at Ryan "Are you feeling better now?"
Ryan's chest still hurt, but not as bad now that he was able to breathe. All he could do was nod at the doctor's question.
"Ok, well I would like to get some x-rays of your chest to make sure there is nothing we missed. I want you to take it easy for the rest of the day Mr. Wolfe. I know you had some visitors earlier today and you got yourself all excited so let's try and not do that again until you're feeling better". The doctor felt like he was scolding him, but he knew how lucky Ryan was to come out of the bus accident alive.
The doctor turned to the nurse and gave her some instructions. He then turned back to Ryan and gave his leg a pat "I'll be back to check on you later".
Ryan watched the doctor leave and decided to sink back into this pillow on the best. He felt like he was feeling better so he decided to take the mask off his face.
The nurse who was with him saw him remove his mask "I think you should leave that one for a little while longer".
Ryan started to say something, but when he realized nothing was coming out he cleared his throat which seems to help a little "I'm feeling much better". He would have said more but he starting coughing and found the nurse putting the mask back on his face. He tried to wave her off, but he was feeling very weak and she won the battle.
"Now I said you should leave this on for a little while longer and I meant it". She was trying to be strict, but she could not help but give him a smile as she said it.
Ryan just nodded his head and closed his eyes. The oxygen did make him feel better. Before he knew it he was sleeping again.
Seeing that he had fallen asleep the nurse replaced the mask with the tubing that provides oxygen just through the nose. She thought it would make him feel more comfortable. After she checked a few things she went out to the nurse's station and made sure that tests the doctor had wanted performed were ordered.
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By the time Eric was done with his shift it was about 7 at night. He knew that visiting hours were over at 9 so that gave him about 2 hours to see Ryan. He had promised he would stop by and he didn't want to disappoint him. He knew that other people had already gone to see Ryan, but they said he was resting most of the day and had been unable to talk with him. Eric thought it was probably better they hadn't; Ryan really did need his rest.
When Eric arrived at the hospital and was on his way to Ryan's room he was stopped by one of the nurse's "Hi, you're one of Ryan Wolfe's friends, aren't you?"
"Yes, I wanted to come back and see him before visiting hours were over. This isn't a problem is it?" Eric didn't know exactly why she was asking but he hoped there was nothing wrong.
"No it shouldn't be a problem, but we need you to keep your visit brief and try not to overexcite him. He had a rough time this afternoon. We don't know exactly what caused it, but earlier he woke up and was struggling to breathe. We ran some tests and luckily it was nothing, but we think he may have had a panic attack. This can sometimes happen to someone who has suffered some form of memory loss and is struggling to comprehend everything that is going on around them".
"Thanks, I'll sit with him for a while and keep the conversation simple". Eric could tell the nurse was ok with this response. He watched her walk back to the nurses' station before walking into Ryan's room.
When Eric looked at Ryan he noticed that he didn't look as good as he had before. He had to wonder what exactly happened earlier to make his appearance change so much. "Hi Ryan, I heard you had a little bit of excitement earlier; you had that nurse of yours all worried".
He stared at Eric for a few moments before continuing "Hey, thanks for coming back". He really didn't want to talk much, but it was nice to know that he had friends who wanted to see him.
Eric stood there feeling kind of awkward. He didn't really know what he should say. Ryan was being very quiet, which was very different from how he was acting earlier today. Eric sat down on one of the chairs and looked up at the TV that was on "So, anything good on TV tonight".
Ryan glanced up at the TV; he had almost forgotten it was on "Um, I don't know. To be honest with you I really haven't been watching it". He wanted to ask Eric if he liked watching TV and if so what did he watch, but he was not in the mood to ask any questions right now. Plus he didn't know if Eric would be able to answer his questions or not. He had a few other people stop in and see him, but it seemed like no one knew that much about him. He was feeling a little depressed about it all and just needed time to think.
Eric wondered what to say next, but the only thing that came out was "There is a game on tonight and I think we can catch the second half, do you want to watch it with me?"
"Sure, sounds good". Ryan handed the TV remote to Eric and watched as he changed the channel. He sat there staring at the TV for awhile but soon he found himself just staring at the TV not sure of what he was watching. He didn't try and fight the sleep that was started to overwhelm him. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
After watching about 20 minutes of the game, Eric noticed that Ryan had fallen asleep so he decided it was time to go. He turned off the TV and left the room. He decided he would come back tomorrow for another visit. He was sure that Ryan just needed more rest. He hoped tomorrow would be a better day for Ryan.
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Author's note: I think I was rushing things along to quickly so I thought I would slow things down a bit. Thanks for making me realize that Fergie. I hope everyone is still enjoying this story.