Chapter 157 Surprise Blow

Chapter 157 Surprise Blow
Sade

She was watching me, and I could see confusion and a ton of anxiety and fear all over her face. I went over and hit the call button. When the nurse answered, I said she was awake, and we needed to have a doctor in here, please. Then I went back over and sat down beside the bed. 

“My name is Sade, and I’m your husband. It seems that there might be a problem, so I want the doctor to come in and speak to you before I say anything more.” She nodded, but I could see her trying to control her breathing as she was attempting not to panic. 

It was just over twenty minutes before the doctor came in. I held up my hand before he could say anything, “She doesn’t know who I am.” 

His eyes got huge. “Mrs. Russo, what do you remember?” 

“Mrs. Russo? What the hell? My name is Rain Baxter. Where’s my mom? Why am I here? What the hell is happening?” Oh shit, this was all fucked up. 

The doctor looked at me with huge eyes. “Okay, well, it seems that your recent brain injury has now affected your memory. We will have to perform some tests to see if anything else was affected. You were hit in the head with a heavy object and suffered a fractured skull. We had to perform surgery to help remove pressure when your brain began to swell. The swelling has now gone down, and you are healing well. You have been in a comatose state for about six days now. So, I am going to ask that you please try to stay calm. We are going to help you and see what we can do. Now, with the current situation, we will have to be careful what we tell you until your own memory returns. So, know that we are not trying to keep things from you, only trying to make sure we help you the right way.” She nodded, but now tears were running down her cheek. 

I got a Kleenex for her, and she eyed me, but she took it from me. I had no clue what to do with this situation. She was asking for her mother, so do I tell her that her mother is dead? Her father is now dead as well, but I am not sure she even remembers him at this point. 

“I’ll be right back.” The doctor says as he exits the room. 

We stand there awkwardly, neither of us knowing exactly what to say right this second. I am going to have to think about all of this. What do I tell her and not tell her if it comes down to it? She has two children at home who need her. I need her. 

The doctor came back into the room with a hand mirror and walked up to Rain, “Please look in the mirror.” 

She looked at him funny, but took the mirror and looked at herself. Her eyes got huge, and tears started streaming down her face. “How old am I?”  

My eyebrows rose at her question, but the doctor looked at me before answering, “You are twenty years old, Rain.” 

She threw the mirror down on the bed and covered her face with her hands as she cried. She is distressed, so now I want to know how old she thought she still was? How much is gone? How much has she truly forgotten? 

“What are the last things you remember, Rain? How old did you think you were?” The doctor asks her quietly. 

“My mom and I were living in a small three-bedroom trailer, out on Old Shandon Road. She was a secretary, and I was in second grade. I thought I was almost eight, but not quite yet. I had been trying to talk my mom into letting me have a slumber party for my birthday. But that is not the face I know.” My eyes were huge. 

Oh my god, she has lost twelve years. She has lost more than half of her life. What the absolute fuck am I supposed to do? The doctor once again looks at me with distress. He understands how big this truly is. If she has lost this much, how do I help her get it back? 

“Okay, Rain, what we are going to do is slowly show you things and see if anything sparks a memory in any way. Sometimes it’s the smallest thing that can help when someone has amnesia. We will work on all of this together, one step at a time. In the meantime, please try to relax. The more stressed you are, the more it may make it harder for you to remember.” 

“Sade, may I speak with you, please?” He nodded his head to the door.

“I’ll be right back, Rain, and then we’ll talk a little bit.” She just watched both of us leary. 

When we left the room, the doctor closed the door behind us. “What the fuck are we supposed to do, doctor?” 

He rubbed his face. “Right now, go to your house and gather some pictures. Make sure they cover as much of her life as you can manage. We will see if those will help trigger her memories to return. With this being caused by a physical brain injury, there is a possibility that her memory will never return; you have to be prepared to help her if that is the case. You will have to reintroduce her into her life and help her adjust. It might be a rather long drawn-out process.”

I ran my hands through my hair and sighed, “Okay, let me let her know what I am doing, and so she knows I am coming back. What do I tell her about her mother? Do I tell her she was killed in a car accident so she knows she is not going to show up here?” 

“Yes, let’s do that while I am here; that way if we need to help her with her anxiety I can do that.” I nodded, and we went back into the room. 

“Rain, I’m going to go and gather pictures to bring back and show you and see if it helps. We need to let you know something though, sweetheart. Your mother is not coming. She was killed in a car accident a couple of years ago, baby.” She looks at me, and the tears start, and her lip quivers, then the sobs start in earnest, and she’s hysterical. The doctor has to call for a sedative. I hold her while she sobs until she falls asleep. I am not honestly sure how I am supposed to navigate this.