be honest, the effort seemed to wipe him out. After about six minutes he conked out.”
“Oh. What about this morning? Has he been awake today?”
“We actually decreased the sedative level about an hour ago in the hope of trying again. That’s why we called. I’m hoping that if he regains consciousness and you’re here, he might be able to communicate a bit more.”
“Of course,” Jessie said. “How long will it be?”
Dr. Badalia glanced into the room.
“How about now?” he offered. “It looks like he’s trying to wake up as we speak.”
Jessie looked over and saw that Ryan was indeed trying to open his eyes. It appeared to be a struggle, as if they were glued shut and he was trying to pry them open through sheer will. But it seemed to be working. They returned to the room.
“Ryan,” Dr. Badalia said. “There’s someone here to see you.”
Through squinted eyes, he watched as Jessie crossed the room and came over to him, taking his right hand in both of hers.
“Hey, babe,” she whispered. “It’s good to see you awake. Can you hear me?”
He looked like he was trying to nod. But whether due to the massive tube in his mouth or a lack of strength, he couldn’t make it happen.
“One blink for yes and two for no,” Dr. Badalia reminded him.
He blinked once. Jessie coughed to hide the sob of joy that rose in her throat.
“I know this is a lot to deal with,” she said. “But we’re going to get you out of here. It’s just going to take some patience, okay?”
He blinked again. Dr. Badalia stepped forward.
“Ryan, would you be willing to try a little practice exercise?”
He blinked yes.
Jessie was slightly annoyed. She had hoped to have a little time to talk to Ryan privately. But she pushed the irritation aside. The exercise was more important. Dr. Badalia continued.
“I’m going to ask Jessie to lay her palm flat with your palm on top of it. Then I’m going to ask you to raise a specific finger. Does that sound okay to you?”
Ryan blinked. Jessie unclasped their hands and rested her left palm on the mattress, then put his directly on top of hers. She looked up at him and smiled. His eyes crinkled, which she took to mean he was trying to smile back.
“I’d like you to try to raise your right index finger into the air. Can you do that?”
After what felt like an interminable pause, he lifted the finger slightly before letting it drop back down.
“That’s fantastic, Ryan. Now do you think you could try to do the same thing with just your pinkie finger?”
Ryan squinted and Jessie could feel his palm pressing weakly against hers as he managed to get the finger up just a smidge before it sank again.
“You’re doing really well, Ryan,” Dr. Badalia assured him. “Shall we try one more exercise?”
Ryan blinked once.
“Okay, this one is a little harder. I’d like you to try to pull all the fingers on your right hand inward to form a fist on top of Jessie’s palm. So whenever you’re ready.”
Jessie could feel Ryan’s hand shake slightly as he tried to curl his fingers in order to ball his hand into a fist. But nothing happened. He squeezed his eyes shut, clearly straining. One of the monitors off to the side began beeping faster than before.
“That all right, Ryan,” Dr. Badalia said soothingly. “You gave a great effort. It will come in time. Go ahead and take a break now.”
But Ryan clearly wasn’t stopping. His eyes were still squeezed tight and his open palm was vibrating on top of Jessie’s. His eyes popped open and she could immediately see that he was furious with frustration. The beeping was getting faster.
“Okay, Ryan,” Dr. Badalia said, his voice still as calm as always as he moved over to the bank of machines. “It looks like you’re getting a bit agitated there. So I’m going to sedate you a bit to relax you and help you sleep.”
Ryan’s eyes darted toward Jessie. He looked panicky, as if silently begging her not to allow it.
“It’s okay, babe,” she said, trying to hide the anguish she felt inside. “This just takes time. Rest for a while. We can try again later.”
He blinked twice, paused, and then did it again. And again. Only on his fourth desperate attempt to tell her not to let him be sedated did the medication start to kick in. His blinking slowed before stopping completely. His eyes closed once