Chapter 60 Memory Tests
When he awakened again, Ryan was still sitting beside the bed, waiting patiently. He had no idea how long he had been out. “I would really rather be somewhere else right now,” he said. “Anywhere else. How long was I out?”
“Not more than five or ten minutes,” Ryan answered.
“I don’t really have much sense of time right now,” Evan said. “These damned meds probably. Suppose that we can get them stopped?”
“It probably depends on what you can remember,” Ryan said.
“I think I remember everything,” Evan said. “Except for the part of coming off the hill. That stuff was pretty blurry, and I was in and out a lot.”
“What do you remember?” Ryan asked.
“I remember that filly slipping in the shale up along the ridge trail. You know that place where it comes up and around the point after you cross that saddle with the big pine tree right in the bottom of it?” Evan began.
“That’s about where I found you,” Casey said, interrupting Evan as he stepped into the room. He was carrying a large box with Stetson printed on the outside and a design that Evan recognized. “Good to see you awake.” His tired eyes brightened as he stepped forward to shake his hand. There was an awkward moment as Evan extended his left hand; though they were used to using the right hand for the greeting, they managed to pull it off. Bob entered the room behind Casey with another steaming cup of coffee.
“Evan was about to tell me what he remembered,” Ryan said.
“I’ll test his memory a little bit,” Casey said. “Do you remember the promise I made you just before I pulled you up off the ground and put you on ole Cherry?”
“I sure do,” he beamed. “I’m guessing that’s what’s in the box?”
“Yep,” he said, pulling it out. “It’s as close a match as I could find. It may not be the right color.”
“It’s pretty close,” Evan grinned. “I ain’t exactly sure what color the other one was originally.” He turned the new Stetson over in his hands. “It’ll take a bit to get it broken in good like the other one.”
“Hell, you gotta damned near wear one out before they fit right, anyway!” Bob boomed.
“There sure is a lot of noise coming out of this room,” Evan’s nurse commented as she stepped through the door. “He must be awake.” The cowboys got out of the way so that the nurse could tend to Evan. “How are you feeling?”
“I hurt a little, but I’d be doing a sight better if somebody would bring me a steak dinner,” he replied.
“That’s a good sign,” she said. “I’m not sure that we can get you a steak dinner. I’m not sure what kind of diet they have you on.”
“He bumped his head an’ broke an arm an’ a leg!” Bob boomed. “What the hell kind of a diet should he be on?”
“I’ll have to check his chart,” she said.
“You’re likely to have a mutiny if you don’t get the boy a steak,” Bob laughed.
“We need to do some memory tests with him and then we’ll have a pretty good idea as to what’s going on,” she said. “If we have to do any more surgeries, a steak dinner might not sit well on his stomach.”
“My memory is fine,” Evan said.
“If everybody would leave us alone a minute,” he was about to recite what happened. “Would that be memory test enough for you?”
“It’s not exactly the test, but if he remembers everything, then it certainly is a good sign,” she responded.
“Good,” Bob blurted, taking over. “Tell us what you remember.”
“Well, we were coming around that point right after you leave that saddle with the big pine tree right in the middle of it. The sun was going down, and when I crossed over onto the East side of that ridge, it was pretty dark because of the shadow, but when we started back up that point, right there where the trail crosses that patch of shale. Anyway, the sun was right in my eyes, that filly’s eyes too. She took a bad step when that flash of bright light hit her, and she started sliding a little. She panicked, and I tried to help her out, but she went down. When she did that, I kicked my feet loose.
“Well, when I lit on that shale, I started sliding. I think one of her hooves tagged me a little bit. Just grazed me, but it was enough to knock me off balance, and the next thing I know, I was tumbling down that slide. I felt my arm go when I tried to catch myself. I’m not sure about my ankle because about that time, my head hit. There was a flash of bright light and then everything went black. Sam was licking my face, and it was dark the next thing I knew. From there, I was in and out. I was able to sit up after the sun came up this morning and fixed a couple of splints. I remember heading over to that patch of quakies where Casey found me. I got hold of a sapling and cut off a piece to chew on. I was pretty well played out, and when I sat down again, things went black, or I slept. I’m not sure which. I was pretty much in and out the rest of the time. Just bits and pieces flashing through my head as we came off the hill.”
“What did you chew on?” the nurse asked.
“The bark of a quaky tree,” he replied.
“Why?” She wrinkled her nose as she asked the question.
“Pain killer,” he replied.
“You people aren’t the only ones that know a thing or two about medicine,” Bob added.
“That explains a hell of a lot,” Doctor Akers said, entering the room. “Native Americans used aspen and willow bark as a painkiller, and it also works as an anti-inflammatory medication as well.”
“Hey, Doc,” Bob said, extending his hand. All of the cowboys took turns greeting Doctor Akers.
Doctor Akers went to the head of Evan’s bed. He pulled out his light and opened Evan’s eyelids wide so that he could look at his pupils. “The good thing about your use of the bark is that it very likely helped the swelling on your brain. That’s probably the reason that you are awake now. I would expect the kind of bump on the head that you took to have you out of it a little longer.”
“He’s always had kind of a hard head,” Bob interjected, grinning.
“Um, hm,” he replied. “How’s your memory?”
“He just finished with a pretty detailed account of the accident,” the nurse responded.
“Did you?” Akers asked.
“Yes, sir,” Evan replied.
“Can you do it again?” he asked. “It might provide me with some information that will be helpful. That, and I’m curious to know how an experienced rider like you ends up in this kind of shape.”
Evan recounted the story again for Doctor Akers.