Please Remember Me

Alex was becoming restless standing there and constantly changed his position. He finally dropped down to the floor in a squat position and cupped his chin with both hands. Even though his feet started getting numb after ten minutes he continued waiting.

He sighed and fussed inside but kept his cool. Worried that his father in law may also be anxious, he stood up to the go check on him. The moment he turned to head toward the room, the elevator dinged as it had earlier. The doors opened and two nurses stepped out pulling her bed. He moved to the side and waited for the doctor to exit the elevator.

A brief glance at her, he could tell she had not woken up. He turned to Dr. Sean about to speak but stopped.

The doctor must have noticed that he was going to bombard him with questions because when he made eyes contact with him he quickly said;

"Let go the room first."

Anxious yet obedient, he followed behind them fearing that there possibly will both good and bad news. He had tried to read their expressions, but nothing gave.

They got to the room and the nurses changed Zunnie's IV drip and made her comfortable.

"The good news is, she did move her hand to touch you. Were you speaking to her as you always do?" The doctor in charge spoke up after everything had been done.

Alex nodded, cleared his throat to find the words that he wanted to say;

"Yes, I've been talking to her every day I'm here. We all talk to her." He managed to say nervously.

"Ah, that's good, that's good. The other good news is that her MRI scans reveal an increase in neural activity in her brain. Her brain wave should become regular as time goes by and she could wake up sooner. We don't know how soon, but I'm guessing in one or two weeks. We don't know for sure whether speaking to her helps but keep doing it. Studies have shown that persons in a coma often hear us when we speak."

"Okay Dr. Sean, we will continue that…is there bad news?" Alex asked nervously.

"Um, well, I hate to be the one to say this but who else should. I'm afraid that she may suffer from neurological amnesia when she awakens. But it's too early to tell. Whether her memories can be recovered depends on the severity and cause of the damage. In most cases, if the brain damage is not severe, the amnesia will only last for minutes or even hours. I've seen incidents where persons recover their memory without treatment. However, when damage is considerable, memory often cannot be recovered. I'm not saying this to scare any of you, but please be informed. She might wake up and be fine but honestly, the chances of her not having some form of amnesia after hitting her head so badly are very low. Do keep talking to her. Talk about familiar things. We will also continue to achieve our best. I will come back later to check on her."

Alex and Wan Bai were quiet when the doctor and nurses left. Neither of them knew what to say to the other. He walked to the window and admired the afternoon sky. He had no strength left to sign those papers and do the work he had planned to complete.

With a heavy heart, he turned to look at his father in law. His head was bent, and his face was hidden by his large palm. Alex wondered what expression he was making. Worried that hearing about the amnesia may cause him discomfort, Alex walked up to him and placed his hand on his weak shoulders.

"She is strong, she will remember us all. Even if she forgets us we will help her remember."

"Ah, you're right son. I'm happy she's going to be waking up soon. Memories are important but having her open her eyes is more meaningful." He said then patted Alex's hand that was resting on his shoulder.

"It's getting late dad, head home and rest. I'll call if anything changes. Eyan said he would be here soon. I'm going to wait on him and tell the good news."

Alex helped him up and ushered him to Cleo who was waiting in the lobby to take him home.

Before they left Alex whispered to Cleo.

"Make sure he eats something when he's gotten some rest." He walked back to the room, turned on the CD player so she could listen to her favorite songs and prayed she was able to reminiscence everything before the accident.

Alex sat in the chair beside her, took her hand in his and kissed them.

"Honey, I'm right here, please remember me. Remember all of us. We love you."