by: Marty Chrisman
Pain. That was the first thing he was aware of as his mind slowly fought it’s way out of the darkness. Unrelentingly pain. And a sense of loss that he couldn’t immediately identify. Bo? Had Bo been here? Somehow, he seemed to remember hearing Bo’s voice and feeling his touch. A touch that somehow reassured him. Bo was alright. He wasn’t dead and he wasn’t here, locked in this hell with no way out. He felt himself slipping back towards the darkness and he let himself fall back into the silence where the pain couldn’t reach him at least for a little while.
The nurse frowned and reached out to adjust one of the dials on the machine. She wondered what made it jump like that. The patient had been comatose for almost three weeks, ever since being admitted to the unit. He had life threatening injuries that should have killed him and he had already had 4 major surgeries and suffered a stroke.
She let her gaze rest on his face for a moment, so still and immobile. He was a ruggedly handsome man and relatively young. These were the kind of cases she hated the most. To see someone so young in a place like this fighting for their life. From professional experience she knew that even if he survived, he would never be the same man again. His body had simply been through too much trauma and his head injury combined with the stroke almost guaranteed some kind of brain damage.
She glanced up as two of his family members came in. The older gentleman and a younger man who had only recently starting coming to the unit. At least this patient had a close supportive family that was devastated by his condition and still praying for a miracle. She finished her assessment and quietly left the room.
“Hey, cuz.” Bo said, sitting down beside Luke and taking his hand in his. “I’m back again. Ya know ya gotta start waking up…..I’m not that good at keeping up a conversation by myself. I need ya to wake up, Luke.”
Bo? The sound of his cousin’s voice pulled him back from darkness and into the light. He was here, it wasn’t a dream. Luke could feel him. He could feel Bo holding his hand and hear his voice talking to him. He wanted to open his eyes, he wanted to see his cousin’s face but he couldn’t. No matter how hard he tried. He could feel Bo’s strength, flowing through his touch and into him. And he fought, fought to find a way to let them know that he was still there somewhere locked in the prison of his own mind.
Jesse looked at heart monitor, startled when Luke’s heart rate suddenly accelerated as Bo talked to him. “Bo,” Jesse said quietly “Look at the machine…at Luke’s heartbeat….” Bo glanced at the monitor and saw the increased heart rate. Turning his attention back to his cousin, he lowered his voice to a gentle soothing tone “It’s okay, Luke. You’re not alone anymore. I’m right here with ya. Try to take it easy okay?”
“Bo, I think he can hear you!” Jesse said, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice as he watched Luke’s heartbeat slow back to a normal rate at the sound of Bo’s reassuring words. “Keep talking to him but try not to get him too worked up.”
“Luke, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand or something.” Bo told him. There was no reaction at first, then he felt the muscles in Luke’s hand twitch slightly. “Come on, Lukas….you can do it if you try…” he said encouragingly
“His heartbeat’s up again…” Jesse told him watching the monitor carefully. He looked back at his oldest nephew “Come on, Luke….come back to us. Open your eyes…” Jesse said in an almost desperate voice.
Luke didn’t open his eyes but Bo felt a slight pressure against his hand. So slight he barely noticed it but it was there. He knew it was. “Luke, it’s okay….it’s okay. I know you can hear me. I know you’re in there somewhere….just take it easy and try not to force it.” Bo told him. Bo closed his eyes and concentrated hard, trying to connect with Luke and then he felt it, that old familiar feeling as their minds seemed to link somehow. He opened his eyes and grinned widely “It’s okay, Luke….I’m right here now and I ain’t gonna leave you….I ain’t going nowhere.”