by: Marty Chrisman
Over the next few days even Bo started to believe that this place might be the best place for Luke. The staff was so caring and genuinely concerned about Luke’s welfare that the difference from the care at the hospital was noticeable. And no matter who was in the room, even if it was only the cleaning staff, they talked to Luke as if he could hear them instead of ignoring him because he was in a coma.
The family had just arrived one morning to visit Luke and was surprised to find his bed empty. When Jesse stopped a passing staff member to ask where Luke was, the aide smiled and told him that Luke’s therapist had taken him outside into the courtyard for awhile. The family found the courtyard and went outside where they found Luke sitting in a specially designed chair that leaned back like a recliner. His therapist, a pretty blonde named Cindy, was sitting beside him reading the Atlanta paper out loud to him.
“Hi, y’all” she said when the Dukes came into the courtyard. “I thought Luke might like some sun for awhile after being cooped up in the hospital for so long.” She grinned “Get that killer tan back that I bet he had before this all happened.”
The family members smiled and greeted Luke warmly. Cindy smiled as she noticed the way they all touched him in one way or another, Jesse picked up his hand, Daisy kissed his cheek, and Bo put his hand on his shoulder. It was obvious that they were a close and loving family and that made her job a lot easier. After they had finished saying hello to Luke, Cindy smiled and said “I have some good news for you. I started the range of motion exercises with Luke and he’s resisting me.” At the blank looks on their faces, she explained “Luke was in the hospital for almost three weeks without anyone doing any exercises or anything else with him, so that means that his muscles had already started to contract or tighten up and his joints had started to get stiff. Unfortunately that’s what happens with bedridden patients. So when I start working with them, it hurts and Luke is resisting me because he can feel the pain.”
“And that’s good?” Daisy asked in a confused voice
“Yes, it’s very good. It means that he’s in a lighter coma than he was before.”
“Does that means he’s gonna wake up?” Bo asked in an excited voice
“It’s a good sign. But coma patients don’t just open their eyes one morning and wake up. It’s a more gradual process than that. They start exactly the way Luke is now, slowly responding to their surroundings and the first response is generally reacting to pain.”
“That’s wonderful!” Daisy exclaimed with a huge grin
“You bet it is.” Jesse said now that he understood what Cindy meant when she told them she had some good news. They needed some good news about Luke for a change.
“Our nutritionist also changed the formula he’d been getting through his feeding tube and increased the calorie intake so he should start putting some weight back on.”
Jesse nodded gratefully. Luke had lost almost 25 pounds since the accident and he hadn’t been that heavy to begin with. The weight loss showed especially in his face which looked haggard and drawn, the bones sharply defined.
Cindy smiled and reached out to touch the back of Luke’s hand “And I’m going to be bringing him out here everyday to get some sun and fresh air again. How’s that sound, Luke?”
“You said he’d start responding more to his surroundings….” Bo said “How exactly?”
“Well, obviously reacting to painful stimuli, which he’s doing now. You may start to notice small muscle twitches, facial expressions, he may start making some movements in response to your voice when you talk to him. He’ll be able to hear you before he wakes up completely. That’s why we encourage everyone to talk to him even if he isn’t responding. He may even start making some sounds and appear like he’s trying to speak.” Cindy told them “I do have one question….he responds to pain when I move his arms or any part of his body above the waist but he doesn’t respond when I move his legs or anything below his waist….but the reports from the hospital didn’t say anything about any paralysis.”
“Wait a minute,” Bo said in an alarmed voice “Luke did say something while we still on the plane about not being able to move his legs. Dang it! How could I have forgotten something like that?”
“Bo, you were hurt yourself and worried about getting help. It’s understandable that you forgot.” Jesse told him soothingly.
“I’ll make sure that our doctor is aware of that and runs some tests to see if there are any injuries to his spinal cord that could be causing problems.” Cindy reassured them
“And we are done for now, so I will leave you all alone. Whenever you wanna take him back to his room that’s fine or you can just stay out here.”
Jesse thanked her and they all found chairs, sitting close to Luke and talking to him, including him in their conversations the same way they’d been doing ever since the accident.