The Longer Engagement

15: Sam Finds Out

Thursday, August 5th, 2021

It's been five days since Sam woke up, and he was finally able to have the ventilator taken out. The doctor and the nurses had moved him to a regular room, since he was progressing better than they expected. Everyone was visiting him when it was time to take the tube out. The room was a lot bigger than any of the other rooms he'd been in, and everyone fit easily.

"On the count of three, cough as hard as you can, alright Sam?" Dr. Miller told him. Sam nodded."1,2, 3." Sam started coughing as hard as he could, and he pulled the tube out of his throat as he coughed. Sam covered his mouth when it was all the way out, feeling like he was going to be sick, but he wasn't, because he didn't have anything in him to throw up."You did a good job, Sam. Most patience never have it out as fast." Sam made a grunt sound and smacked his lips. He coughed again because of how dry his mouth is."I'll get you some water." Sam nodded and let Brenda put chapstick on his lips. Dr. Miller came back with a cup of ice, and a water bottle. He poured some of the water in the cup and let Brenda hold the straw up to Sam's lips. "Don't drink it to fast." Sam nodded and took a few small sips, and then gargled some of the water and spit it into an empty cup. He drank the whole bottle in less than 5 minutes.

"Better?" Brenda asked. Sam nodded.

"My throat was dry." He said quietly, his voice cracking a bit. Dr. Miller told Sam about his previous injuries, but he didn't say anything about his spine. He didn't really say anything to the others either."Dr. Miller?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"Why can't I feel my legs?" He asked innocently.

"Sam, in the accident, your spine was severely injured. We operated on your spine, and did what we could. As far as the test shows, you could be paralyzed for the rest of your life, or you could be paralyzed temporarily. In a few weeks, we'll start therapy and we'll find out from there. I'm so sorry, Sam." Dr. Miller told him as nicely and as carefully as he could. Sam didn't say anything. He just nodded and looked down at his hands. Sam didn't talk for a long time, and when he did, he asked,

"Will y'all leave. I just..."He couldn't finish the sentence. Everyone left the room, but Brenda stayed. She wrapped her arms around him and let him cry.

Sorry it's short! More to come soon!