Chapter 5: News of Loren's "Awakening" spreads.
See my Original A/N (added 19-01-2018 in Ch1) for the "they aren't mine, I'm just playing with them" disclaimer. To this, I now add "apart from any character created by myself". Summary: this is a fictional story, in a fictional Alternative Universe, about fictional characters who entertained us in a fictional TV series between 1995 and 2005. I simply wanted a more-positive outcome for one story-line in the "JAG" canon. After all, isn't that what fanfiction is all about? Mike (Moved up to a "T" classification from Ch5 onwards).
Now, on with Chapter 5 - News of "the Awakening" spreads and the hard work of rehabilitation begins. Loren's support network grows.
555-555-555-555
Start Ch 5 - Awakening - news spreads and the medics arrive for Week One of the Rehabilitation.
Tuesday, 28th May 2013
Room 1013, Long Term Care Facility
McLean, Virginia
08:25hrs EST - Rehab: working Day One (assessment day one)
After the Monday evening visit at the end of Memorial Day, Loren was slightly concerned about Carolyn and her obsessive addiction to wearing black.
Was it possible that the death of the unexpected father of Carolyn's lost baby (almost ten years ago) could have pushed the flame-haired lawyer over the edge? Loren rationalised that this interpretation of Carolyn's behaviour was unlikely, given that Carolyn was obviously running a high-profile and well-regarded law practice in Tysons Corner. Reassured, she put these concerns for her friend aside as she concentrated on developing the plans for ensuring her own return to fitness.
Loren and her care team had arranged an early start for the Tuesday morning, in anticipation of the visit by the US Navy and NASA teams. They were due to arrive "mob-handed" from the Walter Reed hospital (also known colloquially as "Bethesda" after its location in Maryland). The aim was to be ready for the first visitor at 09:00hrs, so Loren had impressed upon her carers the need for the military mantra of "hurry up and wait". As a result, her day had started quite early.
The debate over "what to wear for Tuesday" had rambled on for a while into the Monday evening. Carolyn's gift of a navy-blue USN sweatshirt and loose jogging pants had been reluctantly set aside for the time being, because Loren had realised the uncomfortable truth that she was likely to be poked, prodded, probed and sampled extensively during the "Invasion of the medics" on Tuesday and Wednesday, while the NASA and ESA scientists established their baselines and got familiar with their new "study subject".
The impending invasion(s) of her privacy was a prospect which she bore with equanimity. After all, it was existing medical science which had kept her alive (after the initial rescue and recovery) following her failure to walk on water some ten years earlier. Spending some time as a "lab-rat" (Loren personally preferred to use the term "guinea-pig") was, to Loren's newly-unselfish way of thinking, hardly an imposition at all. If the medics could learn from her (just as she had benefited from lessons acquired from earlier generations of comatose patients), then she simply *had* to suck it up and ignore any fleeting embarrassment regarding being "on display" for the medics.
Loren's final decision on her costume for the day ahead was "yet another day in this backless hospital gown and to hell with modesty". Before that, the early-morning Tuesday shower, with Loren able to balance in the sling and wash her own hair, represented another step forward on her road to mobility and independent living.
The suitcase from Carolyn containing her jogging clothes sat quietly in the corner, ready for her final readiness to dress up at some future date; she had realised belatedly that at some point she would also require underwear on her journey back to civilisation.
Loren decided that JC Penney were likely to win out over Victoria's Secret. She wondered idly what had happened to that red set from Victoria's Secret which Teddy Lindsey had presented to her? She had taken great delight in arriving in his office, with her uniform neatly buttoned up, looking every inch the demure Naval lawyer, then giving him a surreptitious "flash" of red when she sat down across the room from him. The flush on Teddy's face had been well worth the care taken to keep her secret concealed from her colleagues for the rest of the day!
Sitting in the cradle in the wet-room as she luxuriated in the waterfall from the shower, Loren tentatively explored the damage to the back of her head, using her fingertips as she shampooed her hair. Assuming that "everything feels bigger when you touch but cannot see", she was pleasantly surprised at the relative smoothness of the skin and the very slight sensation of the metal staples below the skin, which had held together the shattered section of her skull.
Once more, Loren was reminded of just how lucky she had been on that night, not only to have kept breathing and avoiding drowning, but also to have escaped any apparent brain damage. Reaching up, she assessed the length of her hair and reckoned that, from the way it was growing and how she had grown her hair in previous years, she would be able to style her hair into her pre-"swim" styles by the time she celebrated Christmas at the end of '13. She realised that she quite liked the idea of returning to a military-style "bun", which would sweep her hair away from her face and would also totally obscure any sign of the scar (and also cushion any unexpected impacts to the weak spot at the back of her head).
She recalled young Sergei's comment about mistaking Harriet Sims-Roberts for her, assuming that she had released her hair from what he called the "fist". Somehow, Loren preferred the term "bun" - without the technicalities of the French description of a "chignon".
However, she realised pragmatically that a choice of new hairstyles lay some way ahead in her timeline - quite some way ahead. For now, she just wanted to regain a little more control over her body every day. Today's new element of control was washing her own hair, as she rinsed out the shampoo and prepared for the conditioner.
She smiled at her mid-week morning care nurse - a tall, willowy blonde from Kansas called Jenny. "I know it seems silly Jenny, but being able to wash my own hair is another step forward for me in my recovery - just another bit of my femininity restored".
Jenny nodded her understanding and empathised: "Well, we have been caring for your hair since March of last year when the decision was made to let it grow back; previously we just ran a buzz-cut trimmer over you every second Friday before you were showered. Also, I personally appreciate not having to wear the full-body waterproof outfits to wash you, now that you can wash some parts of your body on your own. Trust me, your awakening makes our life so much easier as you do more of the washing yourself" she smiled as she handed Loren the bottle of conditioner.
Loren noticed, appreciatively, that the brands of shampoo and conditioner matched those from her apartment. The brand names were the same, although obviously some marketing team had changed the label design at some point in the past ten years (maybe more than once; hell she didn't know). She chalked up her ability to focus on this attention to detail as another item for which she needed to thank Tracy Manetti (and probably Carolyn as well) for ensuring that she was well-cared for during her Long Sleep. The scent of the conditioner triggered a happy memory for her and she inhaled deeply - this time managing to avoid choking on an inadvertent mouthful of conditioner-flavoured water!
Carefully avoiding dislodging her feeding tube, intravenous drip and several other tubes which still invaded her body, Loren made good progress in mopping water off her skin before her arms became tired. Jenny and another nurse then took over, dabbing her lower body dry, shifting Loren in the slings so that they could get to all parts of her body and then applying a light moisturiser. Loren was most appreciative that her skin had not developed any bedsores in the decade of her "Long Sleep" (as she had come to call it). She had to depend on Jenny to blow-dry her hair, however - drying her own hair independently was a task which would have to wait for better muscle tone in her arms at some point in the future, she had realised.
Returned to her bed and unloaded from the slings, Loren was dressed in a clean hospital gown and then allowed to rest, lying back on the bed as she sipped a fruit juice. Her steadily-increasing intake of food by mouth was currently limited to a porridge-like, high-fibre meal, which was designed to kick-start her digestive system. Any decisions regarding changes to her feeding arrangements would wait until after the Navy medics had examined her *and* in consultation with Dr Andersen and Loren herself. Everyone had expressed their pleasure at her awakening and the fact that *she* would have a major input to any major (and minor) decisions regarding her care.
Loren watched in fascination as the next tube of high-protein, high-nutrition breakfast paste was connected to her feeding tube and steadily delivered directly into her stomach. She knew that she had a long road to travel, but the experience gathered in caring for earlier coma recovery patients would, she knew, guide her carers as she returned steadily towards "normal life" - whatever that might ultimately be.
She was ready to admit (if only to herself) that she was ready to kill for a decent steak, but that lay some (or many) weeks/months away on the path of her recovery. Medical direction and experience would control the path of her cuisine and her diet, meaning that she would have to adhere to the mantra of her recently increased patience and tolerance of frustration. She was determined that "New Loren" would be a better human being.
Tuesday, 28th May 2013
Room 1013, Long Term Care Facility
McLean, Virginia
09:25hrs EST - Rehab: working Day One (assessment day one)
At 09:25hrs, the door opened and Dr Andersen walked in with a welcoming smile, followed by a dozen other white-coated individuals. He paused at the foot of the bed, to ascertain that he was welcome (Loren indicated this by the simple expedient of flinging her arms open wide and inviting him to "Come and hug your number one patient and lab-rat!" so he naturally obliged).
A round of introductions followed. Eight Americans, two Canadians, a Brit and a French doctor (the latter four from the ESA - the European Space Agency) were introduced. Everybody had, thoughtfully, been provided with huge name labels bearing their names, which were affixed to their lapels. Within a few minutes, Loren was surrounded by four US Navy medics together with eight astro-medical experts and researchers, all chatting happily as they lined up and co-ordinated their tasks.
A flip-chart was set up in the corner of the room, detailing their names, contact details and areas of specialism. Their specialisms covered heart and lung, blood flow in the extremities; lung capacity, sleep positions, skin care and maintenance; digestion, muscle mass preservation and finally "endocrinology and reproduction". Loren was uncertain as to what had happened to include this particular area of specialism, but she rationalised that two years in space was likely to generate some form of sexual tension within a mixed crew of healthy physical specimens.
After a series of examinations on the bed, Loren was put back into the hoisting sling and proceeded to be examined from many angles (one or two of which, she reckoned, would give Playboy magazine readers a headache!) as the scientists got to grips with becoming familiar with her body in the post-coma condition in which they had been introduced to her.
They would be monitoring and examining her for the next two years (on current estimates), so it was important that everyone knew the "year zero/day one" state of each respective part of Loren's body that they would be following. Mentally, Loren began to plan for Memorial Day of 2015 as her date of escape/release.
Other teams would look at the long-term data, but these were the people who would pick up the tiny changes and trace alterations within her body as Loren fought and worked and exercised her way back to full fighting fitness - which was her self-determined goal, without prevarication. She wanted to walk out of the facility at some point, returning to her life (whatever that might be).
Secretly, she harboured a desire to, once more, be "Lt Loren Singer USN JAG Corps". However, she realised that many obstacles, pitfalls and chance happenings lay between today and that one potential outcome for her future life. As the probing of her body continued, she found herself playing a game of "what if?" and she rapidly realised that the UCMJ (and any subsidiary US Navy code of conduct considerations) might not actually have a section on "Rejoining the service after resurrection". Loren Singer planned once more to be pushing boundaries - but this time, patiently and in collaboration with those many people around her who could help, assist and support her.
Andersen led the first case conference which took place around Loren's bed so that she was fully-involved in all the discussions, proposal and the decision-making. As Andersen explained "You, Loren, are at the centre of this project. We have studied your unconscious form for some ten years and now we can interact with you and gain knowledge as we bring you back towards fighting fitness.". He paused, before continuing with a smile: "That is not a prompt for you to relapse into pugnacious and troublesome, please Loren! Also, with my apologies, this session will extend longer into this afternoon than we had originally planned - because the physiotherapist who will be working with you each day this week has been delayed on her flight in from Toronto, so please do not wear yourself out before she arrives later this afternoon".
Everyone (including Loren) laughed. Andersen continued to explain the process of electric stimulation which had been used to keep Loren's muscles moving, along with physical therapy and manipulation to prevent her joints from seizing up. Overall, Loren had to admit that her carers had done an excellent job, considering that she had been totally unable to interact and co-operate with the PT teams over the decade of her Long Sleep. This was one potential method to keep deep-space astronauts fit during the journey (or during some form of stasis if that would help the really deep-space journeys which were being planned for the distant future).
Several hours passed, working steady through every part of her body, comparing current situation/performance with "optimal" (and setting stage targets on the road to recovery of what everyone agreed would be the target of "full mobility"). Loren felt energised, uplifted and confident that these dozen experts held the key(s) to her long-term goal of eventually walking out under her own steam.
The US Navy team were interested in heart/lung fitness and mental alertness. The NASA/ESA team were particularly interested in muscle mass and muscle tone - they had to develop exercise systems which would keep the Martian voyagers fit during the interplanetary transits. Experimental equipment and exercise arrangements on the International Space Station had provided good data, but Loren's ten-year hibernation gave the Martian teams a far-greater opportunity to measure the recovery from long-term stasis than would be feasible with fully-sentient volunteers lying flat in a laboratory - as one of the Canadians put it succinctly: "even if we *PAID* someone, we cannot ask them to lie flat for two years!".
Loren began to feel a steadily-strengthening impression that she was valued, as the plans evolved for her return to fitness.
A working lunch was provided on a table set up in the corner of Loren's room (considerately, the table was placed out of her sight-line because she was still fed by tube) and the discussions continued. Nutrition was determined to be the next area for study. This meant that Loren's current liquid-direct-into-stomach delivery would need to be reverted to "nutrition by mouth" in due course - not one of the Martian astronaut trainees had expressed a desire to have a feeding tube implanted (even in an experimental phase!). So it was clear that Loren would need to continue with the work to mobilise her throat, saliva glands and her swallow reflex as a matter of some urgency.
"Lab-Rat Loren" had her work cut out! Nevertheless, Loren pronounced herself "up for the challenge" and the detailed plans were drafted. The US Navy teams had completed all their examinations and would plan to return after three months, some time around Labour Day in early September, then again after a further three months - just before Christmas, then again in Feb/March and May/June of '14 to complete the first year. It was agreed that the NASA/ESA teams would visit fortnightly, on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month to monitor progress, maintain contact and undertake what the NASA team termed "mid-course corrections" as a nod to the old American Apollo space programmes.
With good progress made, the meeting broke up around 3:00PM and the astro-medics faded away, to write up their results and to plan the activities for the second day of the assessment, departing with the cheerful farewell call of "we shall see you tomorrow, Loren". Dr Andersen and Jenny remained with Loren as she relaxed back onto her pillow, before Jenny delivered the next instalment of the nutrition, while the occupants of the room awaited the arrival of the delayed British physiotherapist inbound from Toronto. With the feed delivered, Jenny headed back to the nurses' station leaving Loren with Dr Andersen.
Tuesday, 28th May 2013
Room 1013, Long Term Care Facility
McLean, Virginia
15:15hrs EST - Rehab: working Day One (assessment day one)
Dr Andersen sat down alongside Loren's bed and sighed as he relaxed. He took her hand in his and smiled into her eyes. "Well, my favourite space-faring guinea-pig, I believe that I can say 'the girl done well' in today's sessions".
Loren smiled and rested her head back on the pillow. "Well, Doc, I reckon that today's success is partially down to you successfully preparing everyone involved so thoroughly - including me".
Andersen nodded: "Why thank you ma'am. Before the physio from ESA gets here, there is something personal that I want to cover with you".
"OK, go ahead Doc - is it secret (because I notice that we are alone)"? Loren fluttered her eyelashes provocatively and raised an eyebrow to frame her question.
Andersen chuckled. "No, it is nothing like that. The gynaecological team who tended to you after the caesarean left a note in your file entitled "unfinished business". Basically, when you woke up they wanted to follow up on the aftercare and wound care, which is apparently much easier and thorough with a conscious lady than an unconscious patient." He grimaced before continuing. "The lead female gynaecologist explained something about flexibility internally when the body is awake".
He raised his hands in surrender: "Hey, I just do coma aftercare; normal married life does not prepare me for these in-depth matters, which is why we need to arrange a transfer trip for you, on some future date, to get you out for a check-up".
Loren smiled: "Doc, I am sure that it will be fine - as a woman, I am all in favour of regular breast checks and cervical smear tests - and I am ten years overdue for them, so I would be keen to get back with the programme as soon as possible. So would you please 'make it so' when convenient? I would love to breathe fresh air and smell the flowers".
"OK, there are a couple of things that we need to arrange. Your body has been at a constant temperature for ten years in this climate-controlled room, so we need to be certain that you can handle temperature changes. The reason for this is because, in some long-term coma patients, their bodies lose the ability to self-regulate the body temp. Over the coming weeks, we shall progressively wheel you out to the day-room, where you can see outside and encounter a cooler room. But the other thing we need to do is protect your eyes, so the first trips to the day-room may be at night".
"My eyes? Why?"
"Because you have seen no daylight for ten years and, since you awoke, this room has maintained low light levels. We learned a lot from 33 Chilean miners in 2011, who spent 69 days trapped down a mine in the dark before being rescued. This means also, when you finally go out, we'll have you in heavy-duty shades to protect you from any risk of eye strain".
"OK Doc, that makes sense". Loren relaxed, as another step on the path to her restoration slotted into place.
Just then, a young brunette woman walked in, dressed in a polo shirt, jogging trousers and trainers, with a sweatshirt tied around her waist; on her polo shirt, she bore the NASA and ESA crests, beneath a UK Union Flag.
She walked up to the bed with her arm outstretched in greeting and introduced herself with a British accent. "Hello Miss Singer; I am Deborah Cromwell. I am your physiotherapist supplied by the European Space Agency (in conjunction with NASA). You are very important to us, because what you have slept through is a remarkably accurate replica of what our astronauts will go through as they travel to (and back from) Mars in the mid-2020s. So I am here all this week to learn, to get you mobilised and to track the re-generation of your muscle mass, your fitness, your physical co-ordination and to check your skin condition. I hope, to start with, that you would consent to call me Debbie as we sit, chat and get acquainted with one another".
Loren took the proffered hand and shook Debbie's hand, with the reply: "Oh yes Debbie, I heard the Mars travel story this morning (and over the weekend when I woke up), so I am familiar with what NASA and ESA are expecting (or hoping for, at least) from me - and yes, please call me Loren".
"OK Loren; I have two parts to my involvement with you. The first relates to mobilising you following your C-section; although it was ten years ago, your body's long-term stasis means that we should treat the scar as having happened far more recently. Although the old advice for mothers after a C-section was 'be gentle for six weeks' there is a growing body of evidence that indicates we should treat the recovery from a caesarean as we would, say, knee surgery."
Debbie patted Loren's hand. "So, we are going to get you back to full fitness over a longer period of six to 12 months. I expect your core body to be back to perfection a year from now. The second priority - rebuilding your overall fitness and monitoring for the Mars missions - will run in parallel and could take us even longer. Loren, our mantra will be: 'Push but stop if it hurts; we shall build slowly to get you a very healthy body' and I intend to be with you very step of the way, visiting you once or twice every week for the next 12 or so months".
"Debbie, that makes good sense to me - OK, I am in your hands for the next two years - presumably you will leave me with exercise sheets and diagrams, so that I can explain to my friends and also so that I can do some top-up exercises in the evenings and at weekends?" Loren was determined to make good progress; Debbie smiled at the realisation that she had an eager and motivated patient on her hands.
Debbie put Loren through some pretty gruelling assessment tests - mobility, dexterity, strength of grip; hand-eye co-ordination, hand-feet coordination (Loren realised that she was experiencing a very slight "tug" from the area around her caesarean scar, so she told Debbie) and (with people supporting her on both sides) balance.
By the end, Loren was sweating and panting like a horse after the gallops - leading her to log with Jenny the need for a shower afterwards and then a lie-down to recover. Debbie nodded and stepped away to the phone, to make arrangement for the following sessions. As Loren's breathing returned to normal, Debbie's phone conversation finished. Loren wanted to start providing feedback on the session, so she spoke up.
"Debbie, was anyone able to check my fitness or muscle mass after the first year and the second year?"
Debbie smiled and replied: "Well, given that I was still in grammar school in England, I know that it wasn't me in 2004 and 2005. But I will check. You're thinking of running a comparison year-by-year over the decade, I presume?"
Yes; if I reached this level of unfitness after ten years in space, fair enough; but if I crashed to this level of unfitness in the first year, then your astronauts will not be fit enough to erect the base station on Mars when they land after resting through the interplanetary transit".
Debbie smiled: "Loren, that is a very good point - and that is *exactly* the purpose of these studies, using you and other long-term coma patients around the world. I was up in Toronto yesterday monitoring a similar long-term coma patient. You and I will be working together for quite some time to come, so may I offer to bring you a decent coffee in the mornings when I arrive, but starting on Friday of *next* week please? Remember that we'll have a unique opportunity to monitor your reaction to caffeine after ten caffeine-free years, so it mustn't muck up my first week of heartbeat and BP readings".
"Yes, that would be lovely; and if I have to wait a week or so for you to take my start-of-exercise readings, then that first, wonderful, coffee will be my reward for my patience. I like this project!" Loren was looking forward to being useful; her long-term career and employment worries had been kicked into the long grass and she wasn't going to worry yet about what the next ten years held for her.
Taking the Friday (her "Awakening Day") as "Day One", this Tuesday was "Day Five"; she was in for the long haul and she would have to be realistic about how long it would take for her decade-immobile body to regain strength and mobility. The impatient and self-obsessed Loren of the past had no place in 2013, although her steely determination would be crucial in driving her through those days when everything would appear to conspire against her.
The "Ice Queen" personage that had been Loren Singer had truly died and been left behind for good in that freezing river.
Loren realised that she had received a gift which few people are ever given. She had been reborn in that river and she would become known as a determined yet more-compassionate member of the human race as she progressed towards a return to full life.
Tuesday, 28th May 2013
Room 1013, Long Term Care Facility
McLean, Virginia
17:55hrs EST - Rehab: end of working Day One (assessment day one)
When Carolyn and Lorna arrived for their evening visit, Loren heard them before they appeared, because Carolyn had reverted to her knee-high, high-heeled black boots for her daily tribute to Pete, but they were paired with a royal blue skirt-suit over a plain white blouse and matching silk scarf - very much in keeping with the professional image of a successful family lawyer. Lorna wore her school uniform and carried her hat. Loren assumed that the weather was warming up, as neither Carolyn nor Lorna was carrying a coat.
Loren had lots to discuss with Carolyn and Lorna when they visited her during the early evening. Lorna's school would be running a project which would report every month on her progress - Lorna was obviously the lead contact for the school project and she took her duties seriously. She told her mother that the monthly progress interview between Lorna and her mother would be held on the last Friday of every month - so the upcoming Friday would see the first interview for the school project. Loren was happy to relate all that had happened during the day and how she was building a good working relationship with her blonde British physiotherapist.
Loren kept up her arm and leg exercises during Carolyn's visit. She rested for a half-hour after their departure, reading from her laptop which was propped up on a long-armed stand over her bed. Eventually the weariness in her muscles began to fade and she dimmed the overhead light then pulled the bedding up to her chin. Within five minutes, the room resounded to the sound of a snoring Loren.
Tracy checked in for her night shift, took Loren's stats at 23:00hrs and smiled as she left the peacefully-resting Loren to slumber. The treatment plan from the British physiotherapist had been propagated and discussed among the nursing staff during the nursing shift handover; Wednesday would being further exercise, more visitors and a further half-step forward on the mobility path.
Tuesday was drawing to a close. Loren slept through the night and Tracy's overnight notes would begin the debate in the morning about cutting down on Loren's need for sedatives.
Wednesday, 29th May 2013
Room 1013, Long Term Care Facility
McLean, Virginia
09:00hrs EST - Case Conference, Day Two (assessment day two)
Loren and her care team had adjusted to the rhythm of the study team following the first day. She was washed, showered and breakfasted by 08:51hrs, with time to sip some water before Andersen led in his team for the second day. After the preponderance of Bethesda-based US Navy questions yesterday, today was steadily moving into considerations for space travel and the long-endurance space-flight considerations for which Loren's stasis would be informative. The NASA and ESA specialists outlined their areas of interest and Loren became once more the subject of some fairly intimate and uncomfortable examinations. Debbie and Jenny hovered in the background in case assistance was required.
The team had introduced her to several items of measuring kit which they would be fitting onto (and into) her body - including what one of the female researchers (a cheerful brunette from Seattle called Jennifer) described as the "techno-bra" - an upper-body harness of sensors which wrapped around the subject's body and could be worn under her loose clothing. Loren looked to Andersen and held up her arm, hoping to establish the day on which he planned to remove the intravenous drip (at least) to allow her to pull on her sweatshirt without restriction. He checked her charts and replied with the fairly-positive response of "soon, Loren; soon".
Jennifer had designed then developed (and worn the prototype of) the "techno-bra" and she assisted Loren as she was strapped into the contraption of carbon-fibre webbing, sensors and the plethora of signal cables which ran down her back. Jennifer admitted that she had designed the bra for an upright human form, to measure when the subject was walking, running, climbing or cycling. Loren's semi-reclined position had necessitated some swift design modifications, but Loren was able to put her gown back on and allow the sensor web around her chest to start taking readings. Jennifer checked on her laptop and pronounced herself satisfied, informing Loren that they hoped to get an initial full week of readings - including overnight and across the weekend. Loren looked longingly at the suitcase which contained her jogging top, then raised a quizzical eyebrow to Andersen.
Loren explained her desire to be clothed at some point in the near future once the intimate probings had ceased.
Andersen nodded. "Well, your urinary outputs are fine; the extra fluids which we have counted into you this weekend are all accounted for in the flow out of your kidneys. So we'll move you to 100% fluids by mouth on Friday and then (at that point, dear Loren with a roll of drums!) we shall remove the intravenous bag. I will leave the "shunt" under your skin in place for a while (in case you need to be rehydrated in a hurry) but on current plans, by Friday lunchtime your arms should be free and unencumbered to get that sweatshirt on. Remember that Jennifer's cables from the 'techno-bra' will have to run down your back, but that should present no challenges to us. We shall increase the fibre content in your food, to help with *that* mobilisation. Everything is looking good, Loren, but you need to understand that it will not all be sorted today or even this week".
Loren smiled her gratitude; "Thanks doc, that gives me a goal. I'm very happy to be working this way with you. So, what's next, exercise?"
Andersen nodded and beckoned over Debbie Cromwell. The British physiotherapist moved in and began a discussion on exercises; within a half-hour, Loren was removed from the bed and sitting on a supporting bench whilst her feet and legs used a floor-mounted set of cycle pedals. This was an introduction to what would be Loren's life for the foreseeable future.
"Loren, if you are ever to be able to walk out of this facility, the hard work that lies ahead is mainly down to you. Others will come up with a plan, the support and the motivation, but ultimately the key responsibility for success lies with you, Loren herself".
Thinking through the prospects, Loren realised that she would not want to have it any other way - she was in charge of her destiny, for the first time since Teddy Lindsey's manic assault over ten years earlier.
By the time that the visitors had packed up on the Wednesday afternoon, ready for their return flight to the Marshall Space Centre in Alabama, Loren was close to tears with the indignity of the probings and, more importantly, the realisation of just how weak she was. Ten years of near-stillness had robbed her of significant muscle mass; she would not be recreating the "JAG-a-thon" any time soon.
However, she took comfort from the fact that she *did* now have a clear goal - full mobility in two years, to mimic the end of a round-trip to Mars. She now had Monday, June 1st, 2015 in her sights - a goal which might change over time, but that was the date by which she wanted to present Andersen and his wonderful team with an empty bed and room which were no longer required. By that date, she wanted Room 1013 to have the metaphorical "room to rent' sign hanging outside! Her 104-week countdown had begun, with 733 days to go.
The old "Loren" lay behind her in the past - she had shed her skin as the new collaborative Loren emerged. With a ten-year career gap, she could no longer even dream of becoming the first female JAG. That career goal lay in tatters on the riverbed of the Potomac, but she could be the fittest - and best-documented - post-coma survivor ever researched! The TV documentary film crew, who were supporting Lorna's school project, would be providing a two-year record of her recovery - the resulting documentary should inspire others in a similar situation
Loren now realised that she existed to help others, no matter what her original goals and drivers in life had been way back in 2002. She smiled to herself; she was determined to embrace the change and, once more, to do her very best to achieve the outcomes which now lay ahead of her.
Wednesday, 29th May 2013
Room 1013, Long Term Care Facility
McLean, Virginia
18:20hrs EST - Rehab: end of working Day Two (assessment day two)
When Carolyn and Lorna visited that evening, Loren had regained her energy and the three women reviewed the day, the exercise plans and the likely timescale.
Carolyn was relieved. She had suspected that Loren might fall back into the old impatient mould of Loren "God grant me patience and I want it right NOW" Singer. Fortunately, that Loren seemed to have been left behind in the Potomac - "and a good place to leave her, too" thought Carolyn, admiring the still-driven yet somehow far more-human woman on the bed before her.
Carolyn had already told Loren that the prospect of handing over Lorna to her mother one day was not a prospect that worried her or caused her fear. Carolyn was confident that she had done an excellent job as Lorna's guardian, yet she began to wonder if Pete's loving spirit might be lining her up for some other purpose.
Whatever might lie ahead for her, Carolyn was certain that she would embrace the challenge and thrive on the opportunities that would be presented to her.
She returned to room 1013 to find Loren and Lorna reading through some news items on the laptop. Loren was already re-acquainted with finding her way around technology and was starting to research some of her former colleagues - along with "US Navy reinstatement after prolonged illness" procedures, which did not fill her with optimism following her first read-through of the document.
In parallel, Loren had decided not to raise her concerns about Carolyn's apparent "always wear black" obsession for the time being. She had thought about the matter once more on the Tuesday evening and had decided that, whatever problems her friend was experiencing, Loren needed to have gained a greater level of fitness before she began probing Carolyn's reasoning. Carolyn's royal blue suit on Tuesday (and a charcoal-grey suit on Wednesday with the inevitable black footwear) had helped assuage Loren's concerns. That particular sleeping dog was going to be left to lie asleep for a while longer.
Although Loren could obviously appreciate Carolyn's motivation to remembrance, the obsession with black was a little worrying (although Loren wished that she had been wearing warm long boots on the night when she met Teddy Lindsey on that fateful bridge). She reasoned that boots versus shoes on snow would have kept her legs a lot warmer on that January night - and flat heels might have saved her from slipping on the snow. She dismissed the thoughts as unprofitable - she would never be able to know "what might have been" on that fateful night on the bridge. She was just thankful that Carolyn's guardian angel Pete had been around at that precise time to rescue her from the river.
When Carolyn excused herself to check on progress with the nursing staff, Lorna took Loren through her day-planner from school. On Carolyn's return, Loren discovered that, universally, everyone was happy with the progress that Loren had made so far. Additionally, everyone was looking forward to helping Loren progress and to get out of the facility and home to her daughter.
"Isn't that a bit ambitious for now, Loren?" asked Carolyn.
"Oh yes, but there is no harm in planning ahead whilst my muscles recover from their torture" replied Loren sweetly.
Carolyn found it difficult to argue with that sunny approach to future life, and the three conspirators agreed the planned time to gather again on Thursday evening.
Wednesday, 29th May 2013
Highway between Long Term Care Facility and Carolyn's home
McLean, Virginia
19:55hrs EST
In the car on the way home, Lorna asked the question which Carolyn had been dreading - but expecting - for nearly ten years.
"Auntie Carolyn; where will I live when Mommy comes home from the hospital?"
Carolyn stifled a proud tear as she composed a sensible reply.
A phrase from an old article on child-rearing sprang to mind, written to mark the moment when a child leaves to head off to University: "They grow and they go".
She had realised that, one day, she would be in the equivalent position of a "proud parent"; but she realised that, as an equal concern, she could be very proud of having stood up as the guardian of record when Lorna was at grave risk of being swallowed up in the DC family services system. Fighting for custody of Lorna, backed up by Tracy Manetti, had been one of the most satisfying - and proud - experiences of Carolyn's life. Together with the unexpected loss of her Navy legal career, the experience had set the course for Carolyn's future life and work from that moment onwards.
"OK Lorna, let's talk about that. You know that I own the plot of land next door - on the right as we drive into the garage?"
"Yes; I like looking out, across the roof of the garage, over the trees there from my bedroom".
"Well, if Mommy is on track to be fit and released by the summer of 2015, I reckon that we shall need to start building her home in the middle of '14; so by the end of this year, I reckon that we shall need to start working with Mommy on her requirements for her new home".
"Yes, Auntie Carolyn; but where will I live then?"
The spiritual successor to Loren Singer's courtroom interrogations was alive and well and living in her 10-year-old daughter.
"Oh Lorna, we need to work out an answer to that question, in conjunction with your Mommy - and I haven't a clue how we will get to an answer".
Carolyn was proud that her face hadn't betrayed the wrench which she had felt in her gut at the prospect of actually fulfilling (and therefore potentially ending) her role as guardian when Lorna's mother returned (hopefully fully) to the Land of the Living.
Lorna had not sprung from her loins, but Carolyn had been there at the birth and she had tended to Lorna every single day since then. She felt that the only thing she did not have as a qualification for motherhood was a set of stretch marks - and she was *very* happy not to have those, every time she went swimming at Pimmit Hills!
When the day came for Lorna to fly the nest, Carolyn knew that she would be immensely proud on that day - because it meant that she had done a good job as Lorna's guardian. However she still realised that her life would change once more as she took a step backwards and away from this bright, lively, intelligent girl whom she had nurtured for nearly ten years.
Carolyn had also realised that, if Lorna did eventually spend more time with her mother, there would be a lower guardianship workload for her. This would in turn mean more personal "time for Carolyn", so perhaps Carolyn should start thinking about what Carolyn would want to do with her increased spare time. This required further thought!
"They grow and they go".
555-555-555-555
Thursday, 30th May 2013
Room 1013, Long Term Care Facility
McLean, Virginia
15:30hrs EST - Rehab; working Day Three (rehab day one)
The flipchart in the corner told its own story - Daily physiotherapy, Thursday psychological checks, Thursday exercise, Thursday dietary conference.
The process of mobilising Loren was gaining pace; she wanted to be mobile and, at the very least, disconnected from everything which had been done (as a necessity during her coma) to her body whilst she had been residing in the Twilight Zone.
Today, she would be weighed before and after the morning session, then again either side of the afternoon exercise and mobilisation session. The "guinea-pig" was beginning to thrive on her routine, but she was also looking forward to the two-day rest break which the weekend would bring.
Dr Andersen had been very clear, when he laid out the rehabilitation schedule, that Saturday and Sundays were "down-time" for Loren to relax and enjoy life, her friends and anything else unconnected with exercise and rehabilitation.
Debbie had arranged a Loren-specific programme of half-hour slots of exercise, morning and afternoon, followed by half-hour rest periods before beginning again. The long-term timetable included "coffee" at 1100 but not this first week - the schedule would include real coffee starting on the Friday of the following week (after the baseline readings had been taken by Debbie), "lunch" at 13:00hrs and a mid-afternoon refreshment break around 15:30hrs.
At coffee time, she looked up to observe a new arrival; what Jane Austen would probably have described as a "devilishly handsome gentleman" entered the room.
Although Loren's second thought was "he's too old for me" she greeted the man cordially as he introduced himself.
"Hi, the name is Susskind - Isaac Susskind. I have the role of looking after your psychological well-being and I hope that you will call me Isaac. I work alongside Dr Vera McCool in Bethesda, so I understand the pressures in the JAG community. But my role, as we go forward through your studies and the exercises, is to support *you* and to occasionally annoy you (so I shall apologise in advance) with a repetitive question - "how are you feeling?".
Loren sighed: "Isaac, it is good to meet you; I'll apologise in advance, for glaring at you when you ask that question too often. Deal?" She extended her hand.
Isaac laughed and took her hand: "It is so nice to get these new working relationships off to a flying start - as opposed to a flying stop!". His smile faded: "...but do please know Loren that I am here for YOU - not the Navy, not the hospital, not NASA, not ESA; I am here for *you* as my number one priority".
"That gives me comfort, Isaac. So, where are the ink-blots?"
"No, nothing like that - unless I see you looking stressed - but full marks for distinguishing psychology from psychiatry!" Isaac took her hand once more: "I intend to assist your recovery, never to obstruct it; so please, if you feel any problems, pressure, uncertainty or particularly fear or loss of control, you tell me - pronto! OK?"
"Got it, Doc - err, Isaac" Loren replied quickly.
Their talking session lasted through the "coffee break" on Debbie's schedule, then Debbie returned for the "16:00hrs torture session" as Loren had laughingly named it.
Even after this short period of mobilisation, Loren knew that she was improving. Every day, she would be one day closer to the exit door, the sunshine and life as a real mother to Lorna.
She just had to get through to Friday evening, so she had mentally allocated herself achievable goals for Thursday lunchtime, Thursday tea-time, Friday lunchtime and Friday close-of-play. Loren was determined to be as much in control of her life and rehabilitation as was possible. She hoped to justify Dr Andersen's plan of removing her drip and continuing with 100% fluids by mouth.
She had also decided that, once Lorna and Carolyn arrived on Friday evening for their social gathering, she would formally declare herself "off duty" until Monday morning came around.
Unfortunately, Thursday night coincided with a halving of Loren's dosage of overnight sedatives.
Her heart monitor set off an alert at 02:30AM and she awoke, from a dream/nightmare about the river, to find the nursing team gathered around her bed in a semi-circle of concerned faces.
By mutual agreement, a cup of herbal tea (rather than what Loren politely described as a "chemical cosh") soothed her mind and she subsequently slept through until the dawn. Friday's sedative were upped slightly, to 75% of her previous maintenance baseline.
The plan was to reduce the daily dose by 10% every couple of days, aiming for sedative-free nights by the end of June 2013. It was clear that the previous 50% cut had been too close to "cold turkey" to be successful.
Loren dropped back to sleep around 03:15hrs and she slept through until breakfast. The river did not re-enter her dreams for the rest of the night.
555-555-555-555
Friday, 31st May 2013
Room 1013, Long Term Care Facility
McLean, Virginia
18:45hrs EST - Rehab; the end of working Day Four
On arrival, Carolyn and Lorna inspected the flipchart and could see the slowly-increasing scores of Loren's initial exercise plan. Small steps were starting to add up. Andersen had reviewed her urinary function and was confident that the intravenous drip could be dispensed with, so Loren greeted her visitors in her new Navy Blue sweatshirt.
The change of outfit was a minor comfort for her, because she was still strapped into the "techno-bra" which she would be wearing across the weekend so that resting readings could be monitored for the NASA team. She was pleased that the slightly baggy sweatshirt covered many of the "lumps and bumps" of the techno-bra which protruded from her upper body. More than that, it felt *good* to start wearing normal clothes, which in turn brightened her outlook on life.
Loren sat, propped up on the pillows, looking triumphantly tired. She hugged both of her visitors and then proceeded to ask about what was planned for the weekend.
Carolyn was adding a cycling machine to the rowing machine and cross-trainer in the first bay of her garage in Old Dominion Drive - which she used as an impromptu gym, first thing in the mornings and, occasionally, in the evenings after a stressful day.
Lorna had admitted that the long-distance cycling was still a slight strain on her growing legs, so she and Carolyn realised that a bit more stamina was needed in her legs, as the summer cycling season started. This would enable Carolyn and Lorna to maintain their guardianship bond long-term, as the relationship dynamic shifted with the arrival of Loren back in the world of the living during the upcoming two years.
Carolyn was planning to discuss "future relationships" with Loren, but only when Loren asked.
Loren's next question came out of left-field.
"Carolyn, some time in the coming month, would you mind, please, tracking down Tracy Manetti? I need to thank her (preferably in person) for the work she did on the guardianship with you, plus the work on protecting my assets. I also want to talk to her and also start setting up a Living Will in case something happens to me during my recuperation. I also want to find out about where I stand with the Navy".
"Yes of course, it will be my pleasure. But don't forget that Tracy is still military - I think she may have had a child (or two), then come back to the Pentagon where her godfather was SECNAV when you were last awake. So while you would need her for questions about the Navy, do please remember that my practice could deal with the Living Will (or any Will), especially as the Courts have granted me an enduring power of attorney for your affairs - the courts also have regular reviews with me, to make sure that all is above board and I plan to petition the court to hold the next review here in your room so that you will be fully involved and consulted".
"Thanks friend; I thought about it last night and, foolishly, I considered asking Tracy Manetti precisely because I didn't want to add to your workload with all the wonderful care that you are bestowing upon Lorna".
"No problem and I am not in any way offended - if you wish, I can hand the Living Will job to one of my apprentices as a learning exercise. However, I shall fit in with *your* wishes, Madam Client and track down Tracy". Carolyn made a small bow in Loren's direction and the two women hugged again.
"OK, forget the Living Will for now, but I *would* like to speak with Tracy and thank her for protecting my interests - and getting you all the authorisations that you needed to have in place and so that you protected me so well over these past ten years".
Loren wanted to ensure that Carolyn understood that she was so grateful.
Carolyn nodded: "Fear not, I shall get under way after the weekend as it is too late to call Tracy on a Friday evening; I know an old JAG lawyer who may be able to help".
"Oh crap, please not Harmon Rabb?"
"No, Bud Roberts - he made Commander when Chegwidden retired and we stay in touch periodically: Harriet was very helpful when we were planning Lorna's care following the birth".
Loren nodded. "Yes, I guess that must have been quite stressful, handling a nursing child and working out a legal framework for her care, when the building was full of lawyers looking over Tracy's shoulder?"
Carolyn smiled ruefully: "Let's just say that there were some long and exotic and erudite theories running around - especially as no-one knew for sure who Lorna's father was. The blood group work eliminated both of the Rabb men and also Lindsey, based upon his blood group from military records. I am glad that you have now entrusted me with the secret of Declan - which I shall protect until I die, of course".
"Well actually, it is on the back-story of Declan that I want to consult Tracy - she would have access to some government resources which would make it easier to ask about Declan as I decide whether to make contact in due course - and only *after* I regain my fitness. So next week, you will become the second person to share the secret of Declan, sharing with one other person - Tracy Manetti".
Loren was clearly only comfortable with inching forward on the subject of making contact with Lorna's biological father.
"Fair enough Loren, but remember that we now have a fairly-pervasive Internet; most things can be found at the click of a mouse. But of course I don't have his surname - yet?"
"Hmm, no indeed you do not - and I want it to stay that way for now, dear friend! But I shall entrust Tracy with that piece of information - in confidence. You see, I need to find out about his circumstances before I think about deciding to introduce him to his daughter. He is probably married with a wife and three children and there is no way that I would disturb that family dynamic after all these years".
"You know Loren you are so considerate these days - I almost wonder what they did with the old Loren when they brought in the nice clone!"
"Oh don't worry Carolyn - it definitely *is* me under here, although I intend to be a better human being from now onwards - I obviously won't become the first female JAG because I don't have enough years left".
Carolyn sighed: "and Loren, I shall eat my hat if you go back into the Navy".
The two women chatted for another quarter-hour before Loren's exercise-tired body began to fade away towards sleep.
That night, the 75% dose of sedatives had the desired effect. Loren had also worked out that physical exercise, causing her to be physically tired as well as mentally exhausted, should be a good combination to assure nightmare-free and restful full-night sleep.
By 07:30hrs on the Saturday morning the experiment would be proven to have worked, as Loren arose from a deep, restful and dreamless night of sleep.
Saturday morning would see everyone enjoying a lazy start to the first day of the weekend.
The next week of hard work would start on Monday.
End Ch. 5 - "Awakening" - news of the awakening spreads.