Chapter 35

It's another sunny afternoon at Makhan Hospital. A nurse enters Sun's room for a routine check of vital signs and blood pressure. Aunt Mika is arranging a new set of flowers at a vase. The beeps from Sun’s heart monitor are the dominant sound in the room, followed closely by the footsteps of those that are inside when they walk.

The plastic barrier that surrounds Sun’s bed has been removed. Also, he is no longer breathing with assistance from any equipments whatsoever.

“Sawadee khun,” said the nurse to Aunt Mika.

“Sawadee nong.”

“Where is uncle?” asked the nurse as she puts the strap of her sphygmomanometer around Sun’s arm to manually take a blood pressure and compare it to what the monitor is showing.

“He went home yesterday to get some of our things, and probably get some sleep too. He’ll be back later tonight.”

“I see,” said the nurse, taking Sun’s blood pressure.

“How is our nephew?”

Despite listening carefully to Sun’s pulse, the nurse is able to hear Aunt Mika’s query. “His BP is normal. Heartbeat and pulse are also normal,” she continued. She, then, picks up a metal clipboard at a drawer beside the bed to see the latest results from the tests. “Yesterday’s tests show that his bodily function and chemicals are normal,” said she again, recording her measurements on the tablet that is with her.

“But why is he still not awake?” asked Nana Bea.

“It’s now up to him, P’. With his sedation stopped and ventilator removed, all we can do now is wait.”

“Ugggnnnggghh”

“What is that? Is that you, nong?” asked Aunt Mika to the nurse. There is a sound from the motion detector equipment whose nodes are attached to selected parts of Sun’s upper extremities.

“It’s from N’Sun. He moved. N’Sun moved,” said the nurse.

“How do you know? How can you tell?”

“The light indicator in his motion sensor is blinking slowly.”

“Uuuummmmmm.”

The nurse sees the fingers in Sun’s right hand moving heavily. The next that she sees is Sun’s head moving, trying to turn from one side to the other. The beeps from the motion sensor are now sounding in a steady fast pace, while the light indicator is blinking considerably quicker than before. The eyelids, too, are now trying to move up and reveal the orbs underneath it.

“He is trying to wake up. I’ll call Doctor Doom now khun,” said the nurse. She picks up the telephone mounted on the wall and sets it to intercom.

“ATTENTION DOCTOR JOHN DOOM! ATTENTION DOCTOR JOHN DOOM! PLEASE COME TO ROOM 702 IN ICU. URGENT CARE REQUIRED. DOCTOR JOHN DOOM TO ROOM 702 IN ICU. URGENT CARE REQUIRED,” said the nurse, which must have been heard in the entire building. She turns to Sun afterwards.

“N’Sun! Nong!” said the nurse as she taps Sun’s shoulders.

“Aaammmm…miiii…aaaaammmmmiiii…ka”

“Amika? Who is she, khun?” asked the nurse, looking at Aunt Mika.

“Aunt Mika. He’s calling me,” answered Sun’s aunt.

“N’Sun. Your Aunt Mika is here. She is here, N’Sun,” the nurse said. She is now giving Sun a slight shake to try and wake him.

Dr. Doom enters the room and asks the nurse what is happening, to which he was answered in detail.

“Give me some space, please,” said Dr. Doom. The nurse takes Aunt Mika, and they move a few steps away from the bed.

Dr. Doom takes out a small flashlight and check Sun’s eyes. After that, he turns to the ECG Monitor by the bed, which is beeping hastily.

“Slightly elevated heartbeat and blood pressure,” said Dr. Doom. Aside from the head and fingers, Sun’s body is moving now as well.

“Is he okay, P’Mho? What is happening?” asked Aunt Mika.

“He is a bit agitated from trying to wake up.” Doctor Doom turns to Aunt Mika to answer her question. “Nong! Nong! Wake up nong,” he continued, turning back to Sun, giving him light taps to the shoulders.

“Tttrreee..fuumm..uuunn…Exxxtterrr…Ggguummmpp…Gggummppy,” murmured Sun further, which no one comprehends.

“We’ll let him wake up normally,” said Dr. Doom. He now taps Sun on the cheeks. After a while, he sees the eyelids raise themselves slowly. He turns to the ECG monitor again, whose beeps are decreasing.

“Heart rate returning to normal. Pulse and BP too,” said Dr. Doom. He looks at Sun’s face and he can see that the eyelids have been raised halfway up. He stops his tapping on the cheeks.

“Pupils dilated,” he said as he raises the eyelids, one after the other, and flashing a light to each one. “N’Sun! Wake up, N’Sun!” he continued talking in a slightly louder tone. He, then, mutes the sound of the motion detector.

The ECG monitor’s beeps are now at normal speed. Sun, who has been lying in the bed of Room 702, fully opens his eyes and wakes up from his comatose.

“Heart rate stabilizing. Blood pressure back to normal. Patient is awake as of 13:05,” said Dr. Doom. The nurse immediately logs the info in the electronic tablet she has. Aunt Mika is in tears a few steps from the bed.

Dr. Doom turns on his flashlight again and points it directly into Sun’s eyes – one at a time – to see if the pupils will contract: they do. After that, he lightly pinches Sun’s fingers at random to see if he will react: Sun does.

“He is reacting normally to stimulus. Nurse, get a mentholated tongue stick,” Dr. Doom said. Aunt Mika, grateful at this development, starts sobbing behind her palms.

“Nong? Can you hear me?” asked Dr. Doom to Sun. Sun nods to affirm. Next, Dr. Doom asks the same question twice while covering Sun’s ear one at a time.

“Hearing is normal,” said Dr. Doom.

“Oh, Thank you, thank you,” said Aunt Mika, sniffing as she did. The nurse comes back with tongue sticks she was told to get.

Dr. Doom tells Sun to open his mouth and afterwards puts the flavored stick inside. “Close your mouth and try to swallow, nong,” said Dr. Doom. He removes the stick after and asks Sun, “Did you find it hard to swallow?”