Moments (Breath of Life Book 3) by Sara Marion Read Free Book Online Page A

any more light in his eyes.
     
    "We can turn them off in a moment, let's check you out first. Look straight ahead," he paused clicking on the light, checking his pupils. "Earlier one of your pupils was dilated and the other was not." He flicked the penlight from one eye to the other, "It looks like there is some improvement but one is still a little dilated."
     
    "So what does that mean?" Duke closed his eye trying to recover from the bright light.
     
    "Do you remember what happened?"
     
    "No, but Susie said I took one to the head."
     
    "Yes, you were standing by 3rd base from what we were told. You suffered a cerebral contusion. It's affecting your temporal lobe. The MRI showed slight swelling but nothing we are too worried at the moment since you are awake and talking. I didn't see any bleeding either so that's a good sign."
     
    "So what does that mean?" Duke wasn't sure he understood.
     
    "It means your brain is a little swollen from hitting your skull. You said your pain level was high, which doesn't surprise me, you may feel tired, irritable, dizzy at times and of course some memory loss, which we seem to have from the time of the injury. Do you remember the car ride here?"
     
    Duke thought about it. "No, who brought me in?"
     
    Dr. Maclyn looked at the paperwork. "It looks like a Ms. Jennah Carsten."
     
    Duke stared at him. He wondered why out of all the people at the game, Jennah brought him to the Emergency Room.
     
    "So I want to keep you overnight just to monitor you. We will be waking you up every so often to check on you, make sure the swelling isn't getting any worse."
     
    "Okay, so I get to go home in the morning?"
     
    "If all goes well tonight, possibly, more than likely the afternoon so we have a full twenty-four hours."
     
    "Can I get something for my headache?"
     
    "Not at this time. If you have a minor bleed we can't see, it may prevent blood clotting. We don't want you to continue to bleed and cause more pressure and swelling. In fact, you won't be able to take anything for the next couple of days."
     
    Duke sighed and the doctor gave him a tight smile.
     
    "Can I get you anything else?"
     
    "Am I able to use my cell phone? Is it even here?"
     
    "It is here. You may use it if you feel up to it. You still want the lights out?"
     
    "Yes, please." Duke turned his head and closed his eyes.
     
    The doctor handed Duke his phone that he grabbed from the drawer where his personal belongings must be. Duke smiled and the doctor turned and left the room after turning out the lights.
     
    Duke stared at his phone not knowing who to call. He just set it aside and laid back down. His head was too much for him to bear at the moment. He closed his eyes. He hoped sleep would come soon, especially if they are going to be waking him up every so often. He knew with concussions it would be every 15 minutes or so but he prayed it wasn't going to be like that. He would become one grumpy patient.

     
    EIGHT
     
    Duke awoke to a nurse shaking his arm gently. He groaned. This wasn't the first visit of the night.
     
    "What?"
     
    "Sorry sweetheart, just have to check on you."
     
    "I'm in a hospital, my pain is at an 6, I'm tired, it's 2013, what more do you want from me?"
     
    The nurse smiled at his irritation. Duke hated this. He just wanted to sleep.
     
    "Well your vitals seem to be fine. Get some rest, your ride just went to get some coffee. You should be released within a couple of hours."
     
    Duke groaned. They had the blinds closed so only a soft light filtered through them. He figured it was still early in the morning but apparently not, if they were releasing him already. The doc said it would be the afternoon before he could go.
     
    "The doctor should be in shortly," the nurse smiled and then walked out of the room.
     
    Duke closed his eyes. So much for having a good night's rest , he thought. He understood they had a job to do but did they really have to wake him almost every hour, asking the