-
-
Ryan's first session with Dr. Kelger was scheduled for 2 hours after lunch. The doctor had asked that Brian also attend so that he could provide a sense of security for his son. From what he was told Ryan's memories were playing tricks on him ever since he returned home from the hospital and there was no telling what he would be like at the beginning of the session.
As soon as they arrived at Dr. Kelger's temporary residence they found out that he was staying with Dr. Felton. The house where the sessions were to occur was a nice two story home set in what could only be called an all American neighborhood. It also showed that the doctor had done well for himself.
Dr. Kelger was at the front door to greet them, "Hello, please come in. I thought we would have our first session in the back yard". He led the two men through the richly furnished home into the back where it looked equally impressive. "Please take a seat by the garden. I hope you like ice tea". He poured each one a glass and handed it to them after they sat down.
Brian was impressed by his surrounding, but had to wonder how this would help his son, "this is a nice place that Dr. Felton has, but it seems like an unusual place to hold your sessions".
Dr. Kelger considered Brian's impression and replied "I thought the first time we met we should do it in a nice and relaxed atmosphere. I assure you Mr. Wolfe; your son will have the best treatment regardless of where his is". He took a sip of tea before continuing "so, you're probably wondering why I wanted both of you to attend. Well the reason is simple; I just wanted to have you both listen to each other on what you remember after the first accident". He turned to Ryan, "Now Ryan, I understand your memory is not that clear at the moment, but I just want you to listen to your father first. I am hoping by listening to him that your own memories of what happen will begin to emerge; with a little help of course".
Brian didn't know what the doctor was talking about at first, but as soon as he heard him mention the word 'help' he had an idea, "are you going to put him under again like Dr. Felton did?"
Dr. Kelger nodded "Yes, I would like to try that again, but this time I would like to video tape it. I am hoping that when Ryan watches it back at a future session he can see your reaction and also hear what he was able to remember at the time. I have tried this with other patients and have had great success. So are you both up to this?"
Ryan was quiet up until now. He was having a hard time figuring out much of what the doctor was telling him, but for some reason the doctor had a calming presence and he trusted him. "Yes doctor, I am ready".
Brian nodded his agreement as well.
The next two hours went by and before they knew it they were done. Brian had to admit to himself that this doctor knew what he was doing. By the end of the session Ryan was acting more like himself and it could only be attributed to what they talked about. Dr. Kelger had asked Ryan for his journal and they went over everything that was written inside. He had to admit he was surprised by the amount of information that his son had recorded in one day's time. He was also surprised by the content of the information as well. He wondered why he never thought to do this for his son before, but as Dr. Kelger pointed out several times in the last two hours; there was no point in dwelling in past regrets. One must look toward the future while remaining firmly planted in the present.
Ryan and his father thanked Dr. Kelger before leaving.
Before heading home they made their way to airport and picked up Elana Wolfe; Ryan's stepmother.
The three of them spent the rest of the night acting like a family. Brian hated to leave in the morning, but his business would suffer if he wasn't there. He was just grateful to Elana for being able to come here and stay with Ryan while he saw Dr. Kelger. He knew she would call him each day and keep him informed on Ryan's progress.
-
-
The start of the next day saw the departure of Brian Wolfe. He had a taxi take him to the airport since he didn't want to have Elana try and maneuver her way through Miami on her first day here. He also didn't think Ryan was up for the drive since he could not rely on him remembering his way home.
After his father left Ryan told Elana he was still tired and headed back to his room for some more sleep.
Elana took this time to look through the kitchen for items they would need to pick up from the store. She was in the middle of making her final list when she heard Ryan moving about in the other room. Before she could go and see exactly where he was, she heard the shower start up in the bathroom.
By the time Ryan came out of the bathroom it was time for lunch. Elana was relaxing on the couch when he walked into the living room, "Hi Ryan, are you feeling more rested?"
"Yeah, I think I am. So what do you want to do today?"
"Well for starters I thought we should go to the store and get some food. Your kitchen doesn't have much for me to work with. I made a list of things that you need, but I thought you could take a look at it to see if there was anything else to add". She got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen table where the list was. "Here, you can take a look at it in the car. I thought we could grab a bite to eat before we headed to the store; I'm starving".
Ryan thought the idea of food sounded like an excellent idea and let Elana know it "Sounds good".
The next three hours were spent at one of the restaurants that Elana liked and then at the grocery store that she had shopped at last time she was in town. They spent a lot of time at the store going up and down each isle looking for everything on Elana's list. Ryan had also added a few items to the list, but mostly the stuff he picked out was stuff he saw after arriving at the store.
After they had gotten home and put away their purchases Elana suggested they go for a walk. As they walked they talked about everything. Ryan was really enjoying his time with his stepmother, but he had to admit to her that the only thing he remembered about her was when she came to visit with his father before. She told him that it was all right that he couldn't remember. She was just glad that he remembered something.
The rest of the evening was very low key and by the time Elana crawled into bed, she was exhausted. She knew that the day had also worn out Ryan since he had gone to bed 30 minutes earlier. Before turning out her light she called Brian and told him all about her day.
-
-
Over the course of the next week, Elana got a chance to see what Brian had been telling her about Ryan's memory. Every morning he seemed to be a different person. She never knew what he would have forgotten from day to day. Sometimes his memory changed several times during the day and she could see why he couldn't be left alone. Many nights she talked to Brian over the phone about what they would do with Ryan if his memory never stabilized. She had already accepted the idea of having him come back home to live with them, but she also knew he would miss Miami. If there was one thing that was the same, it was his love for this city and the job he had. He had told her on many occasions that he couldn't wait to be allowed back to work, but she just couldn't see it happening.
Another thing she had to wonder about was these sessions that Ryan was attending. She usually just dropped him off and then would pick him up when he was done so she never knew what they talked about. Since she never saw any obvious changes, she wasn't sure how effective Ryan's time with the doctor was. She had asked Brian about the first and only one that he had attended one of Ryan's sessions and he told her he was confident in Dr. Kelger's abilities, but he honestly could not say too much about the doctor since he only sat in one time.
Today when she picked Ryan up, she could see that he was upset about something, but when she asked him about it he just withdrew from the conversation. She had not seen this side of him yet and it worried her. The rest of the night was the same so she had decided to confront the doctor on what they had talked about.
Before she went to bed, she called Brian just as she did every night and she was happy to hear him say she was doing the right thing. But he also had to remind her that it had only been a week and they needed to give Dr. Kelger more time, but if they didn't see any kind of improvement soon they would make the decision to bring him home.
-
-
The next day when they drove to see Dr. Kelger, Ryan was surprised to find out that Elana wanted to come in and talk to the doctor. As usual he had forgotten things and whatever had been bothering him yesterday didn't seem to be bothering him today. She didn't know if he had just forgotten it or if he had worked through whatever was eating at him.
Ryan introduced his step mom to Dr. Kelger and the three of them walked to the back porch to talk. Elana could tell that the doctor was surprised by her visit, but after they had a chance to talk when Ryan left the room he understood why. She had asked him what had occurred the day before and told him how Ryan had acted. She thought it was odd that the doctor didn't seem surprised, but after he told her what they had done she understood it a little bit better. She remembered Brian telling her about the videotaped session and that Ryan was going to get to view it at a later time, but she was shocked to learn that yesterday was the third time he had watched it and each time there were moments that seemed new to him even though he had just seen it the day before. This would be tough on anyone to go through, but the doctor assured her it was part of his treatment; something which he had done before and with great success.
When Ryan's session was done Elana had a better feeling about the doctor, but still had her doubts about some of the methods he was using. She could also tell that Ryan seems to be a little different after they had left. It was almost as if he enjoyed having her there; which gave her a good feeling. It had always been difficult to act like his mom when he was growing up. She never wanted to replace his real mother, but it wasn't hard when he couldn't remember her.
On their way home Elana decided to stop at the bank to take care of something. Ryan was feeling a little tired so he decided to stay in the car while she ran in. She was glad that they had a branch of her bank here in town; but her visit was not to obtain money from her account, rather it was to clear up an incorrect charge she had gotten the week before.
As Elana entered the bank she was happy to see it was almost deserted; she didn't want to keep Ryan waiting. She went over the information desk and asked to speak to someone about her problem. She was directed to a set of chairs and asked to wait until someone was available. As she sat there watching the little bit of activity that was occurring she found herself exclusively watching a group of 3 men who had walked in and were now at the one counter. They were starting to hover around the counter in a way that was making her suspicious.
The 3 men suddenly split up as one went over to the door; one went over to the information desk and one stayed at the counter. For some reason the men's change of location worried Elana. She had watched enough crime shows to realize what may be happening. She soon didn't have to wonder as one of the men went behind the information desk and grabbed the woman. Once he had the woman secured he shouted to everyone in the bank, "If you do as you're told, no one will get hurt, ok?"
Elana froze in her seat. She was so frozen with fear that she didn't hear one of the men shouting for her to go over to where the other customers were. It took a nudge from the man who had been guarding the front door to make her take notice and do as she was told.
It was also at that moment that someone came through the front door of the bank as it was no longer being guarded by one of the men.
-
-