Disclaimer: I do not have personal experience with survivors of this affliction. I did research and have attempted to be as accurate as possible within the story frame. I apologize if anyone finds an inaccuracy offensive.

Point of View: Robert Goren only

My mind is numb – separated from the rest of me, and not connected. I recognize that I am in a hospital room with machines and people surrounding me. There are noises I can't decipher- are they voices or machines? I don't know.

People step in and out of my view so fast. Sometimes someone looks at me and they seem to be talking to me but I don't understand what they are saying. Only noise comes from their mouths and their faces blur.

I have questions. What is happening to me? How did I get here? When I catch someone's eye, I can't get the words out. I know what I want to say but the words slip from my grasp. The person moves away before I can find them again.

I see a clock on the wall and I try to tell the time. The numbers, however, swim in and out of focus. The harder I strain to see them, the more they move away from me.

A man stands over me, asking a question and wanting a response. I listen, listen hard, but I can't understand him. It is as if there is a wall of glass between us. He doesn't appear surprised that I can't answer. He nods and moves away.

I wonder if you are here somewhere. I know there is no one else who would come, who would care.

I am exhausted from the effort to connect with this world of strange speaking, fast moving people. I let myself slip into the quiet of darkness and sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

This time when I open my eyes, the room isn't full of people and machines. It is quieter, calmer, until a woman suddenly appears on my right side. She smiles at me as she wipes the right side of my face. She says something that seems familiar but I can't quite identify.

I am confused by the fact that I didn't see her until she was right next to me. I don't miss things around me. The explanation must be that they have medicated me.

I wonder who this woman is. She has a job, a task, authority. She isn't a doctor, she is a doctor's helper, a…I can't think of the word I want.

I want to ask her name. I rush to get the words out before they are gone. They feel slippery. Even when I get them to my lips, my mouth seems unable to form them.

I try to touch my face but my arm won't move. I struggle to sit up but the she puts a hand on my shoulder. It is heavy and I don't have the strength to fight her.

NURSE! She is a nurse. That is the word I wanted.

Maybe when I wake, I will find this is all a confusing dream.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Opening my eyes later, I realize this nightmare is real.

Just moving my eyes around the room, I become nauseous and dizzy and have to close my eyes again.

I feel like I am on a crazy carnival ride where the ground moves and tilts. Everything feels liquid. I can't find my internal compass – that solid core that tells a person which way is up and which is down, what is real and what is fake.

Opening my eyes, I spot you sitting in a chair. Ahhhhhh…I've found solid ground.

You…her…name…Aim?…E?…Eames! Yes, Eames. Your name is Eames. How could I forget your name?

You haven't seen me yet so I have a moment to watch you. You look so tired. You are wearing your worried frown.

When you notice that I am awake, you walk to the bed. When you smile down at me, I smile back. At least I try but my face doesn't feel right. Has another part of me rebelled?

You say something that sounds like "Hhhhheeee."

You see my confusion and frown. "Bowee?" First I forget your name and now I can't understand you. Panic rises up in me. What is happening?

You are scared although you try to hide it by glancing out the window. Looking back, you try to cover your fear with a fake smile. I don't want your fake smile, I want answers. What the hell is going on?

Slowly, concentrating on every letter, every syllable, I say your name. "Eames?" I am sure that is what I said until I hear myself. "Ears?"

I close my mouth in shock. This isn't right. I need to think.

I am agitated and frustrated and scared. Really scared. Alarms sound, a buzz rings in my ears. A wave of nausea rolls over me. I see your lips moving but I don't have the energy to figure out what you are saying…if I even can.

There are people around me. I don't like the way the crowd pushes you back, out of my line of sight. I try to reach out for you but you are gone, swallowed up by people.

Hands hold me down, bodies lean against me. The blackness swims towards me again and I go with it.