DARK DAYS AND DARKER NIGHTS

"You think I can get out of here soon?"

Miles was awakened by a nurse coming in to start his morning routine. "Good morning, Dr. McCabe. Did you sleep well?" she asked as she began checking his vital signs.

"Okay. I guess," he replied, still trying to wake up completely.

"I have some good news. Your temp is almost back to normal," she told him, checking the thermometer readout.

"You think I can get out of here soon?" Miles wanted to know.

"You'll have to ask your doctor," she answered as she went to fill a basin with warm water. "Ready for a bed change and bath?"

"I guess so," he replied. It wasn't like he really had a choice.

A short time later Miles was lying back in the bed staring up at the ceiling when he heard the door open. Seeing both Dr. Katron and Dr. Lawson, he asked "What did the CT show?"

"Dr. McCabe, I didn't get a chance to see the CT scan until I got off at midnight. I checked to see how you were and was told you were sleeping. I didn't think you'd appreciate being woken up," Dr. Lawson explained.

"Not particularly," Miles admitted.

"Well, the CT did not show any bleeding or increased swelling as I suspected it wouldn't. Your head injury is healing with no signs of infection or other complications. However, post trauma headaches are not an uncommon occurrence. And they do sometimes manifest all the classic migraine symptoms," Dr. Katron explained.

"Is there anything that can be done?" Miles asked.

"I can prescribe some medication to take at the onset of the headaches which will lessen the severity of the symptoms. But that's about all I can do for now," Dr. Katron replied.

"Okay."

"The headaches most often diminish with time. And most migraine sufferers can function fairly normally. I see that shouldn't affect your ability to practice medicine," Dr. Lawson said encouragingly.

"I'm going to go ahead and order the meds so they'll be listed in your chart the next time you experience another headache," Katron told him.

"Whatever," Miles replied. He looked over at her. "Do you think you could make an order in my chart for a cup off coffee?"

She shook her head slightly and replied, "I'm afraid not, Dr. McCabe. Caffeine can be a contributing factor in triggering headaches."

"What about lack of caffeine?" he asked.

"Since you've been off it for over a week, I pretty much doubt it. Dr. McCabe, I'm sure you're seeing these headaches as a setback to your recovery. But they're something that can be handled," Dr. Katron told him. "Right now let's just take it one day at a time."

"Easy for you to say," Miles stated, the frustration evident in his voice.

"I need to finish rounds but I'll be back in later," the neurosurgeon told him as she and Dr. Lawson made their exit.

Miles sighed and went back to staring at the ceiling as if trying to count and memorize the holes. Now that he was off the ventilator and feeling better he was beginning to feel depressed as he started to realize just how long he was going to be hospitalized. And he still couldn't remember what had happened to put him in there.