Welcome to Neverland

I became aware of sounds and a steady beeping.  When I opened my eyes, things were a bit fuzzy.  After a minute or two I realized that I was in the hospital hooked up to machines. There was a nurse hovering over me.  Her name tag said Dotson.

“Hey, you are awake.  You gave us quite a scare.”

“Where am I?”

“Well sweetie, you are at OU Medical Center in our beautiful Intensive Care Unit.” 

“Why?” 

“You were in a pretty serious accident and needed critical care.  I need to let the doctor know you are awake.  Just give me a minute and I’ll go and get your husband.” 

Well, thank God.  Keith was here and he could explain everything to me.  She left the room and a man entered with tears in his eyes.  He came toward me smiling and was reaching for my hand.

“You had me so worried.  I knew you would come back to me.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

Before he could answer the doctor came into the room and started looking me over and having me look at lights and answer questions.

“Welcome back.  I am Dr. DeMonte.”

“What happened to me?”

“You had a pretty serious car accident five days ago.  Do you remember anything about the event?” 

“No, nothing.”

“It was a pretty severe crash and you were airlifted from Ardmore to us here in Oklahoma City.  You have been in a coma since you arrived.  Miraculously, you sustained no major injuries.”

Nurse Dotson stepped back into the room smiling and I asked her if she would go and get my husband.  She looked a bit confused by my request.  She looked over at that man that was standing in my room and he looked at her. 

“Marcy, it’s me, Mark.”

“I’m sorry.  I don’t know you.  I need someone to go and get my husband.”

At this point, Dr. DeMonte looked up from my medical chart and asked everyone to leave the room.  He pulled up a chair by my bed and sat down.

“Do you know the man that was just in your room?”

“No.  I really need for you guys to go and get my husband.”

There was an awkward silence at this point when Dr. DeMonte said, “That was your husband.”  I emphatically replied, “No, that was not my husband.  My husband is Keith King.  I’m sure he is out in the hallway if you will just go get him.”

Dr. DeMonte got very quiet and said that he felt a few tests might be needed.  He stated that I seemed to have some form of amnesia, which was not uncommon after the head trauma I had suffered in the accident.

Panic began to take over when I said, “Look, I don’t know what kind of joke you guys are trying to play here, but I need you to go and get my husband and I mean now or I am going to start to scream.”

Tears began to stream down my face and I felt a crushing weight in my chest.  What was happening and where is Keith?  I couldn’t breathe and all I wanted to do was scream, then I don’t remember anything.

Dr. DeMonte looked up and said, “Thank you nurse for giving Mrs. Thompson a little something in her IV to relax her. I think we may have a bigger problem here.”

Dr. DeMonte walked out into the hall and asked Mark to come with him.  They went down the hall into an office.  The doctor asked Mark to sit.

“Mr. Thompson, your wife has no memory of you or your life together.  She was quite upset when I finished talking with her and we have given her something to make her relax.  I am going to run a few tests in the morning just to make sure we aren’t missing something and to determine if anything else is going on.”

“How can she not remember me or our life together?”

“She had a very serious accident and is lucky to be alive.  It may just take some time.  Her brain may still be healing.  It is not uncommon for brain trauma patients to experience some amnesia.  I must admit it does seem a bit odd because she is convinced that not only are you not her husband, but her husband has a name, and it’s not your name. I’m going to go check on her again and I want you to check back with me in the morning.” 

“Do you mind if I sit in here for a bit?  I need to make a few phone calls.”

“Sure,” Dr. DeMonte responded. “Take your time.” 

Mark took out his phone and dialed Carol, Marcy’s sister.  Carol answered the phone on the first ring.

“Mark?  I have been waiting for your call.  You said she was awake.  Is she ok?  Tell me what’s going on.”

A moment passed and Carol could hear what she thought was Mark crying.

“Mark! Talk to me.  What’s going on?  Is she OK?”

“She is awake and seems fine physically.”

“Oh thank God.”

“Well, it’s not quite that simple.  She doesn’t know who I am.” 

“What do you mean she doesn’t know who you are?”

“They called me into her room because she was awake.  She looked up at me when I came into the room and there was no recognition in her eyes when she saw me.  Then she asked the nurse to go bring in her husband.” 

“Well that just makes no sense.”

“The doctor said it is not all that uncommon for there to be some amnesia following a traumatic brain injury.  She was very upset when she was told ‘I’ was her husband.  She kept demanding they go get some guy named Keith King.  She thinks ‘he’ is her husband.”

Things got very quiet for a moment when Carol asked, “Do you need me to come?  I can move some stuff around in my schedule and be there in a few days.” 

“Let’s give it some time first.  Let me feel her out.  If she remembers you then it might be good to have you here.  If she doesn’t, I think it could make matters worse.” 

“That makes sense.  Call me later.” 

“Will do.”