Yes, running a bit late - first these damned migraines then the damned Global Warming (a Snowy Halloween in Philadelphia? Really? And without power plus road closures so I can't leave the house with no electricity?) But I digress...

Medicalish Terms:

Orientation – People are checked to see if they are oriented (or orientated) to person, place and time. People should be "oriented x 3"; if they do not know who they are, where they are or when it is, that information is noted in the person's chart. Orientation can be lost temporarily or permanently and is part of an assessment taken by the nurse and the doctor at every assessment at every shift (8 or 12 hours) or when there is a change or before and after a procedure.

Transient Global Amnesia - Transient global amnesia is identified by its main symptom, which is the inability to form new memories and to recall the recent past. (Source - the Mayo Clinic Website)

OT – Occupational Therapy – Among the many functions of OT's is the physical therapy of the hands. However, per the AOTA Website (American Occupational Therapy Association): "In its simplest terms, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes."

PT - Physical Therapy - Identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention, and rehabilitation. This encompasses physical, psychological, emotional, and social well being. (I unfortunately went to Wikipedia - I'll redo this shortly - APTA didn't have a decent definition)

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Double Take

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Chapter 81

"Oh good, you're here Dick," Dr. Rick Tyler said as Dick walked in to Kori's room. "I'm sorry I didn't call first, but I had a cancellation and the Beltway wasn't bad so I made down here earlier than expected."

The men shook hands. As interesting as it was to deal with Jesse Chamber's husband, Rick Tyler, was a leading psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and offered to take the hour's drive to Lincoln to see Kori about her amnesia. Dick was relieved to have a top expert come in almost immediately. Kori's condition was most disconcerting.

"Thank you for coming Rick, I really appreciate you getting here so quickly."

"The first twenty-four hours are critical in cases of amnesia."

"Are you aware I do the dissociating, Doctor, uh..." Kori knitted her brow, "I offer apology."

"It's Dr. Tyler, Dr. Anders, but if you call me Rick that would be great."

Kori brightened. "And you must call me Kori."

"Very well, I will." Rick turned to Dick. "Have a minute?"

Dick nodded. He approached Kori's bed. "Sweetheart, I'm going to say hello to my friend Rick here for a minute and get caught up about your illness, all right?"

"Yes Richard, and then you will do the filling of me in?"

"Of course." He leaned over and kissed her hair. "Rest your eyes and your throat, all right? I'll be right back."

The two men stepped out of her room and into the private waiting area. "She's told me twice she has dissociative disorder already in the last fifteen minutes."

Dick nodded, trying to get his mind around things.

"From what I can tell from checking Kori's records and my conversation with her, she's oriented time two and she hasn't lost any intelligence. She's thinking rationally and she's remarkably calm about the situation without being detached. She just is exhibiting no short-term memory and no long term memory from after early June of this year."

"She's done ER and hospice nursing and is generally not easily rattled unless it's under certain circumstances, so being calm is her baseline. When will we know more about her memory?"

"Within twenty-four hours we'll know if we have more to worry about her short-term memory. As far as remembering what happened over the last eight to ten weeks give or take, well, we'll have to see. It may come back over time. From what I understand, it's safe to say she wasn't spending the entire time in a dissociated state."

"No, definitely not, she was in the present up until she got into the hospital. I wasn't even aware of the dissociative disorder, all I knew about was an issue with PTSD until right before she got ill with the anthrax."

"And the PTSD was from?"

"There was a bombing when she was thirteen. Her parents and brother were killed right in front of her. She told me about it after having a severe anxiety reaction in a thunderstorm. She's had other... um, circumstances that recently caused her to dissociate, but again, she hadn't told me she had the dissociative disorder, just the PTSD, until this past Sunday, but the bombing caused both." Dick looked away, feeling ashamed about the night that triggered Kori to dissociate: the night in the ER after Dick had injured his hand that Kori had seen him kiss Babs.

Dr. Tyler nodded, and Dick had the distinct impression that the psychiatrist was aware of the situation with Babs that triggered Kori's last dissociative break.

"Well with that ruled out, we have to come up with a plan. I'll go over things with her attending physician here, but basically we should wait it out until the morning and then at the twenty-four hour mark reassess it again if necessary. Hopefully the short term memory is just a case of transient global amnesia, and that could even resolve fully within the day. I understand you've barely left her side. Are you going to stay with Dr. Anders again today?"

"I plan to stay with her, Rick. I have to head over to OT for my hand, I've neglected it this week, but other than that, no, I won't leave Kori's side."

"Good, she needs that now. Take her to therapy if she's up for it, out of her room with you to see places to see if it triggers memories because she works here. It'll be good to place her in areas where she is familiar. As her memory returns, and I have a feeling it will, she'll feel more vulnerable not less, and she'll need your support more than ever."

"No problem, Rick, I'll do all that; I'll do whatever it takes."

And I'll never let her down again.

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As the afternoon went on, Kori began to realize she was asking things more than once, a first step to regaining her short-term memory. She was also gaining more of the memories from June and her birthday party and the happy memories right afterward.

Their only time apart was Kori's first shower in days. Kori felt so much better afterward and was told that she might be discharged within a day or two if she continued to do well.

If nothing else, Dick and Kori had fun. Kori accompanied Dick to his OT session and met Dick's therapist. She didn't ask too many questions about the injury itself, asking more about Richard's home program and about what she could do for him when 'they got home'.

That certainly piqued Richard's interest.

Dinner was brought up and for the first time Kori was able to eat a full diet, that is, solid food. At that point, Kori was assimilating information well, only forgetting things occasionally and remembered them when Richard prompted her. Kori joked that she was getting better too fast, that she was still an invalid and teasingly Richard fed her. Things devolved to the point where they were feeding each other.

"Kori, if you want to go home, you have to get better. Once you are home, than you can play patient again."

"I see your point Richard!" Kori agreed. "I cannot wait to go home," she added in a tone that was even more sultry than usual, and it was not just from the gravelly voice she had from being on the respirator.

After Dick had given the encouraging update to Dr. Tyler, he sat on Kori's bed, dying to kiss her, wondering if he kissed her deeply if it would bring her memory back. In spite of the bad memories, they could at least work on things; he wasn't comfortable filling in the blanks for her, still not quite trusting himself not to hurt her. And he certainly didn't want anyone else to give Kori an account of what had happened. As much as he regretted pushing her before away because he didn't deserve her, he had his reasons. Not that he planned to do it again.

So Dick wished a simple kiss would bring back all her memories, even if it was something that happened only in fairy tales, so he gave it a try and Kori happily obliged him...

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Kori definitely had an even better day the next day. She was more in the moment, and remembered everything she had done from the moment that she got up and much of the late afternoon and evening before. Dr. Tyler was in and encouraged by her progress.

"Kori, I think we can safely say that your short-term memory has recovered."

"Wonderful!" Kori exclaimed. "Forgive my enthusiasm. I am less concerned about the time lost over the last two-and-a-half months. As long as I remember things from this point forward, I will be fine."

"It still may return Kori, and we will be helping you work on it."

"Great, I will work most diligently."

"Don't forget getting your body healed as well, Kori," Richard added. "You've been through an infection that, well-"

"Nearly killed me, I am aware, and thanks to your diagnostic skills it did not, Richard."

"She right, Dick," Rachael said as she walked into the room. "Your attending is caught up in rounds but I'm saying hello before my ER shift. You are going to start PT today and I think they might even discharge you this afternoon."

"Glorious!"

"Sounds like she's ready."

"I bet you are too Richard."

"Absolutely."

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Once the decision was made for discharge, things happened quickly. Kori was put through the paces in Physical Therapy to make sure she was strong enough to be home without any assistive devices like a hospital bed, shower chair or wheelchair, medications were ordered for home, home care nursing follow up was set up. It was all a matter of hurry up and wait once every thing was in place.

Sitting in the hospital room alone, Kori looked at Richard. "Richard, I remember the ring you gave me that was your mother's. Is it off because of the edema?"

"Um..." Dick wasn't sure what he should tell her. He hadn't come up with how to explain things and didn't want to start that conversation at that point only to have it interrupted or overheard.

His sad look gave Kori pause and she tried to interpret it.

"Oh no, did I forget? Did we get engaged? Oh wait, I remember that new Doctor in the ER was worried about me being pregnant, but that I was not." She lowered her voice, "So we are, um, we have, have we made love? I can't imagine I would forget either of getting engaged or making love, but if I forgot going out of the country... of course that is not to say it is anything as significant as either as those events in my life..."

She got a dreamy look in her eyes, "Wow Richard, now I cannot wait to go home, although I imagine we will need to abstain until all of this has resolved." Kori looked down and pulled at her gown, indicating her residual ascites.

Now Richard was feeling all sorts of things as he thought of what to say: amused, aroused, confused. He felt like being a total cad and not telling her the truth about not making love and seeing what she might want to do now. But mostly he felt totally in love with Kori and wanted to make her dreams come true, which he interpreted to be engagement, marriage, making love... in some order.

And then he got a wave of sadness: she wouldn't want him when she remembered everything, if she remembered... or would she be able to?

"Richard?"

"Hmm?"

"Did I make you happy? Were things... I cannot come up with the correct word... glorious?" Her voice was timid, but hopeful.

"Oh Kori," he murmured he said anything, something that he had already wanted to do that he now wanted to do even more now that Kori had mentioned rings and other things: Richard kissed her deeply, their first real kiss in what had seemed like years. Kori responded with enthusiasm, melting against him contently.

As soon as they were fully lost in each other, there was a knock at the door. "Transport here, Dr. Anders. You're finally able to go home."

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To be continued...

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Thank you for reading, and reviews are always appreciated. And yes, she'd be discharged that quickly.