Chapter
27
An hour later,
some nurses wheeled Nick on a gurney back to his ICU room. The results of the
tests wouldn't come for another hour. Meanwhile, the turning off of the
machines had been postponed until further notice. Everyone hoped that they
would not have to schedule another time for that. They prayed that Nick was
actually coming out of the coma.
They waited
another hour and a half, and finally, Dr. Mitchell came back to the waiting
room. He was studying some papers on a clipboard. When he looked up, Howie
noticed that he had a slight smile on his face.
"Well
everyone," he started, "I don't know how this happened. I can not
come up with a medical explanation. But Nick's brain activity level has
suddenly risen. It was nearly a flat line when he was first brought it,
signaling that he had suffered a massive head trauma. And it hadn't risen at
all over the past few weeks, which is a sign that he will never recover. But
now, the line has risen, meaning his level of brain activity is higher. This is
what I would call a miracle."
Everyone began
to cry happy tears and hug each other. "So he's going to be all right?"
Bob Carter asked.
"I can't
promise you that," Dr. Mitchell said. "He still is unable to breathe
on his own. But right now, it looks good. If his brain activity level keeps
rising like this, he has a good chance of recovery. However, he still might
have permanent brain damage."
"How much
brain damage?" Kevin asked, his smile fading.
"It's too
soon to tell. We just have to wait and see what happens." Everyone nodded.
They would worry about that later. Right now, all that mattered was that Nick
seemed to be getting better.
***