Friday, June? 17?, 2011
Hospital again, Nikki-chan
Pain again, medicine again, sleepy cranky Niko again. But this time she knows why she's here - three more surgeries. Mama and the young ones came this afternoon. After they left, my tutor came. Mama brought you, Nikki-chan, and Maki-sempai brought print-outs and notes from a girl in the class Niko would go into as soon as she's ready. She brought a book, too. Apparently even in pain in the hospital Niko must be tutored. But it was okay, Nikki-chan. She's so kind, and Niko needed the company. Maki-sempai read from the book and quizzed Niko a bit for about a half hour (but with breaks).
Maki-sempai is very studious, as suits a person who will study medicine, I noticed she had a book on brain injuries with her, and she had a note card in it that fell out as she pushed it out of the way to put Niko's print-outs next to her. Written at the top was "gyakukousei kenboushou does not always obey Ribot's Law and it is not confirmation of the standard memory model. A competing theory holds that the sea-horse is active in fetching memories no matter how old." First of all, what is going backwards amnesia, it sounds scary. What on earth does a seahorse have to do with remembering anything? Niko is a little intimidated by Nishikino-sempai right now. Niko pictures having a little sea-horse in her head that fetches memories, but Niko thought Maki-sempai wouldn't think that was very good.
Next week, Niko starts physical therapy, and in addition to the therapist, my tutor, who spends even more time with me than Nozomi did, now, is going to observe so she can help Niko at home. Maki says Nozomi, also, has to be away for a while doing college stuff. Niko tries to understand how even good first-years can skip school to look for colleges. I guess that's something the elite can do. Niko won't lie, if she has to do painful therapy with no end in sight, at least Nishikino-sempai is nice and sympathetic to Niko. Niko will appreciate the company.
Did Niko over-step, I wonder? Niko asked her what gyakukousei amnesia was, who Ribot was, and what did a sea-horse have to do with remembering anything? Niko blames the medication. Maki-sempai, who is very tender-hearted, teared up immediately and couldn't speak for a while. She said when people have injuries to the head, sometimes they get amnesia just like in the movies, and that's called gyakukousei amnesia. She says Ribot was a French man who died a long, long time ago who studied it. She says there really is a thing in the brain called the seahorse that does fetch memories. It was called that because it kind of looks like one. She said most people that get that amnesia basically forget how they got hit on the head, and that's it. But some people lose "declaring" "diary" memories, and sometimes for a long stretch of time.
Niko asked Maki-sempai if she was going to work with people with head injuries. It sounds like a kind of sad thing to work with, though I guess they're probably grateful. She said, "kind of." She noticed the card and put it back marking her place in the book after she found it. Maki-sempai said more people with head injuries get "forward" amnesia - it's hard to make new memories, or they can't. Every day the slate is cleaned from yesterday and their lives are effectively over the last time they can remember. That sounds way worse than gyakukousei kenboushou. Nishikino-sempai agreed it was worse and backwards amnesia victims were more lucky. Especially if they couldn't remember being injured.
Maki-sempai made an effort to change the subject to cheerful things. She said when doing physical therapy at home, Niko can watch school idols. Niko can train herself to remember without straining anything. "I think you will be back on stage within about a year, Niko-chan," she said. Like Rin-chan, Maki-sempai is starting to get familiar with Niko sometimes. Anyway Maki says the secret to getting what you want done is to never ask what you can't do to advance, but only what you can do. From anyone else, Niko would have rolled her eyes, but Maki-sempai doesn't just say things like that, she lives them. When she left, Niko felt better, just like when Mama and the little ones visited earlier today.
To try out Maki-sempai's claim, Nikki-chan, Niko wrote in you although she's been dizzy and sleepy and in terrible pain the who-ole time. But now Niko has found her absolute limit, so oyasumi, Nikki-chan.
Maki-sempai is crazy, Nikki-chan!
I am turning on the little light Mama brought me and writing again. Why, nikki-chan? Because when Niko went to go to her hard-earned sleep, there was a lump in her pillow. And that lump was an egg boro-boro! The kind I sometimes buy Kokoa and Kotarou. It could only be the work of Maki-sempai, but how?
I think she took advantage of Niko's wooziness. Anyway, there was another one in the flowers, and Niko can see one in the windowsill now that someone will have to fetch for her. There may be more.
I suppose this is Maki-sempai's version of Easter-egg hunting. In mid-June.