Jenny's Miracle
Dr. Jenny Bold fell out of bed the morning Princess
Diana died. Cried with joy the day the Berlin Wall fell. Laughed with Nelson
Mandela during his famous walk of freedom, and cried out in horror when the
Today would turn out to be the most memorable of all.
Jenny's office stood at the end of a long, bright corridor. Black and white
pictures of Darwin and Curie hung on the cream walls. A pair of black pyramid
lamps stood beside a four-tiered bookshelf and the open windows, covered by
khaki vertical blinds, allowed the winter air in. She drank a cup of Rooibos tea and checked her diary for the day. Her notes
were bold and clear:
. Morningside Facility Med. students - tour of the facility - 11h30.
The Morningside Facility enjoyed a responsible social program thanks to Jenny
and her loyalty to the community. Truth be told, the groups of students that
came through the doors did not come to see Jenny, or the bricks of the building,
or the fancy technical medical equipment, although that was part of the tour.
They came to see Tomas.
An anorexic nurse entered her office and, with wide, darting eyes, announced,
'They're here. We've been invaded!'
'Thank you, Avado. I'll be there in a minute.'
Jenny gulped down her tea, picked up a pen and clipboard with pages of 'Tomas'
data, and walked into the corridor towards OBSERVATION LEVEL A. She stood in
front of the students and raised a hand. Silence followed. The power of the hand
was magical. For a moment she wished her own son were as obedient as this
group. Jenny's thin lips stretched into a smile. Golden hair hung off her ears
pageboy style. A gold ring hung from a chain about her neck and she wore no
make up. This was her job and she had no time to make herself pretty.
'Hi. I'm Doctor Jenny Bold and this is the place where I work. Allow me
to introduce you to a special patient, his name is Tomas Makena.
What you will see may shock you and you are free to leave the room at any time.
Please feel free to ask questions. Tomas had a motorcar accident fifteen years
ago and since then, he's been comatose. I know his body inside out but I cannot
tell you what is going on in his mind. I can only tell you what I believe. He
hears and registers everything that is going on around him. Interviews with
ex-coma patients have revealed that over 70% of them are aware of their
environment and know whether the people around them have negative, positive or
impoverished emotions.So be aware, you are being
sensed.'
Jenny turned and ascended a flight of steps into the glass chamber that was
home to Tomas. It was dark in-side. She flicked a switch and the students
gasped as the lights came on below them. Tomas lay on his back with white
straps secured to his head, across his tummy, knees and ankles. The bed
revolved about a single axis. Jenny's voice came through several speakers in
the observation room. Nurse Avado stood beside
the bed and pressed a button on the machine beside her. The bed stopped
rotating and settled in the horizontal position.
'As can be seen, the bed is in a permanent state of motion. This is to
enable his blood to circulate through the remotest veins of his body.'
A huge plasma screen showed the students a close-up shot of Tomas's body,
then his face and eyes with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Jenny explained, 'He cries a lot. His eyes often move about in their sockets
even tracking his care staff. Now, many physicians believe that he feels
nothing.'
The camera took a photo of his fingers.
'Sees nothing, and hears nothing.' The camera zoomed in on his ears.then cut to a close up of Jenny as she spoke.
'However we take a different approach to coma at this hospital. Where some
would see coma as a state of unconsciousness, we see it as an extreme altered
state of consciousness from which the patient has not been aroused. In the past
some have used aggressive arousal treatments. A 650-watt
light on one eye for one second, and then the other eye. Stimulating all
body senses can take up to eleven hours. Other caregivers test for loud
noises, noxious smells, and strong tastes like chilli, to stimulate the taste
of smell. We do not use these treatments in this facility. We believe that the
patient is already stimulated through physiotherapy, unexpected sounds in his
environment and carers talking. We try and meet the patient where he is. We
might not be able to shock him out of the coma, but we could offer him gentle
accompaniment by minimizing interruptions of his inner processes, and support
him to not only be talked to in a respectful way but also be listened to.'
A student interrupted, '.Listened to?'
'Yes. Watch nurse Avado, otherwise known as a coma
care worker.'
The camera panned across the floor and found Avado.
'She is matching her breathing with his rhythm. She is acknowledging that
wherever he is, is OK and she is encouraging him to feel all he is feeling, see
all he is seeing, hear all he is hearing. She watches for tiny signals in
response. We have achieved some success. Take a look at his chest, his
breathing changes when she talks to him and sometimes his eyes move. She has
been trying to get a repeat signal from him so that they can communicate
through a binary system of 'yes/no'. The sad thing is there has been no repeat
signal from his side. If he was cognisant of touch, and showed signs of
understanding, then from that point on she can find out about his inner world
and counsel him.'
She picked up two pieces of wood, and displayed them in the air.
'Some years ago we used these by hitting them together; we hoped to get a
response. We do not subscribe to this at all today. Our approach is love and an
understanding of the patient's situation by conversing with him. If one is to
believe that the brain's ability to heal is far reaching, then using this
approach must be seen as important support for his awareness levels.'
A young intern asked,
'Are these tests for those in deep state coma or also for those who have opened
their eyes? And what drugs are used to keep the patient from seizure?' He held
a note-book in his hands with a pen poised to strike the page as she spoke.
'The most common test used to assess people in coma is the Glasgow Coma
Scale which measures a patient's eye, motor and verbal response in a scale to
fifteen. A person in a deep coma measures fewer than nine on this scale. Care staff assess Tomas at least twice a day using this scale. As
for drugs, we use diazepam which is Valium, Dilantin, Phenobarbital and an anticonvulsant called Sinemet or Levodopa, which is
used for Parkinson's disease.'
A dark haired student asked,
'Is it true that patients who have opened their eyes know what is going on
around them?'
'Yes and no. Patients who have opened their eyes within the first few hours and
days of their coma have a better chance of survival.'
XXX XXX
'See you tomorrow.see you tomorrow.see
you tomorrow.'
Monica - he hears her voice singing in the expectation of another day. He sees
her standing in the doorway; young, fresh, the world waiting at her feet. She
waves to him as he reverses from the drive.
Another voice comes through, much louder, closer and more intimate, a woman's
voice.
Outside. One of two voices he has heard a
thousand million times showering him with words of love.
Rain pours down the windshield as he approaches the onramp to the highway. Her
perfume lingers on his hands and lips and neck. He wants a real commitment;
wants her to have the best jewellery, cars and homes all over the world.
He wants to take her and make children with her and not feel guilty about
touching her soft pink skin. He heads for the next off-ramp and passes a
gargantuan Cummins Freightliner cargo truck.
XXX XXX
A young lady with blonde hair off her eyes, bit
through her knuckles.
'He doesn't even know that
Jenny corrected her,
'True and not true. Not many people survive be-cause of complications that
arise from being immo-bile - they suffer pneumonia
and urinary tract infections. Tomas has an amazing constitution and has always
remained healthy other than his coma state. There have been individuals in coma
for eighteen and nineteen years in the
Tomas spasmed. Then calmed down. A student asked,
'Has he ever spoken?'
'No.'
Another student asked,
'If he does wake up, do you think his memory will be affected?'
Jenny responded, 'We don't know. The temporal lobes, in the front of the brain,
are responsible for encoding memory. There is no damage in that region. On the
physical side he may be recuperated, but his mental condition is unknown, and
there will of-course be psychological issues he will have to face
.'
Jenny was interrupted by another spasm. She remained silent and watched,
frowning at Tomas as his body buckled and writhed beneath the restraints.
He calmed down, the graphs on the machines stabilized.
Jenny grinned at the students, 'Enigmatic, but that's what coma is. Those who
have survived coma have often talked about near death or extra sensory
experiences. Many face the struggle of rehabilitation from brain injury, which
leaves their personality changed and with new physical challenges. Others say
it was a gift, a spiritual journey that changed the way they see the world. One
thing is certain - we don't understand the wonders of the brain or the purpose
of the body going into coma. Not fully.'
XXX XXX
.Into coma. Not fully.
.Into coma. Not fully.
Tomas's left leg is itchy and he wants to scratch but his arm will not budge a
centimetre. Jenny's voice echoing through his mind, but it is Monica's name
that escapes his lips in a broken whisper. 'Mnc!'
There is antiseptic in the air.
His eyes snap open.
Colourburst! His head explodes. Pink noses, pink ears
and several large pairs of eyes in white overalls and stethoscopes bend over
him for closer inspection, all drenched in a soft white aura.
'Oh my God! The man's awake!' A student cries out in
the front of the group.
His eyes move faster and faster in their sockets.
Jenny shouts, '10cc's Diazepam, now! Avado!'
Jenny knew he could slip back into the coma but he was more valuable to her
awake than in a deep vegetative state. Nurse Avado
fled from the ward. She returned a few moments later and soon the diazepam
flowed through his veins and the spasms decreased. Jenny sighed, relieved, she
said,
'Tomas, can you speak?'
He coughed and splattered like a car trying to start up.
'I am Jenny Bold. You are in the Morningside Facility. Do you know what your
name is?'
The words in his mind read Tomas Makena, a heavy
tongue struggled to find a voice.
'Dom Mkna.'
Speech path - he talks!
Auditory path, perfect!
Jenny asked,
'Do you feel any pain?'
No response.
His body twitched.
Valium hung on his eyelids. Jenny dabbed a wet swab
to his parched mouth, turned to the group of students, and said,
'Okay everyone, out! We have a recovery in progress.'
The End
Louis
Harris
Research: ComaCare - Cape Town
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|
Name |
Comment |
Date |
|
James Tobias |
Interesting article.
Points 3 - Very promising piece of writing |
2008-01-06 |
|
Barbara Durlacher |
Interesting piece of writing which
to some extent was spoilt by the use of too much medical jargon and detail. I
found it difficult to relate the obviously African name of the patient to the
love scene with - one presumes, a white woman - and Tomas' desire to spirit
her away to a life of luxury. It seemed somewhat unrealistic, and not
particularly clear or relevant to the story. I understand that you were
attempting to create a sense of mystery and horror with the description of
the accident, but it was not very clear what exactly had happened and in what
way Tomas had been injured and what bearing this had on his recovery or
otherwise. Points 2 - This writing needs a bit of editing and/or re-writing |
2008-01-11 |
|
Mandy |
Louis, I was captivated by this
piece. I think it could do with some minor editing but I really enjoyed it
and found it very interesting - Well done! Points 3 - Very promising piece of writing |
2008-01-13 |
|
Louis |
This is the opening chapter to my
novel published in 2006. Please keep that in mind when reviewing this
piece. |
2008-01-14 |
|
Ron |
Bearing in mind your own comment and
those already submitted, I have now re-read the piece. 1st time it not grab
me. Half of me wants to know more, the other half
doesn’t. A weird feeling. As an actor I once played a brain-damaged man in
his forties with the mind of a four-year-old and I related to all your
descriptions of stimulating all the senses. Your research is evident. At
times on the second read I wanted a sudden change in theme. Jump in Sci-fi!
That sprang into my mind. Well done. Going for a third read. Points 3 - Very promising piece of writing |
2008-01-30 |
|
James |
Congrats. Really enjoyed this. Also
on reaching "Scribe" status |
2008-02-15 |