Really touching story, thank you for sharing it. You made the right decision as it would be heavier carrying it with you. How's Lilly now?
Really touching story, thank you for sharing it. You made the right decision as it would be heavier carrying it with you. How's Lilly now?
First of all, thanks again for reading it. I changed the names, even though chances are rather small that one of the people that were with me that day will actually ever read it. But you never know, of course.
The first week, we all expected her not to make it. Neurology, however, is a very unpredictable field of medicine. Against all odds, she woke up, but her entire right side was paralysed. She had a lot of trouble speaking, but the first time she was awake as the surgeon came for rounds, she said: "Oh, hey, it's you. Don't ever quit your job and decide to become a hair stylist" (surgeons had to shave the top of her head, leaving her with what she referred to as an inverted mohawk), at which point we knew she'd be OK. She fought so hard to get to where she is right now (walking around, being as independent as she can be), but we begin to suspect she'll never return to work with us. The stress and stimuli of a large department that sees an average of 400 patients a day will probably always be too much for her to handle. Still, we're all glad she's still around. The first time, I saw her after she was awake and coherent, we cried together, because all I wanted was to help her that day, and she felt exactly the same about me.
I am glad to hear she is ok. It's difficult to deal with the injuries and life-long challenges one might face after an episode like that, but I am sure she will be fine. What doesn't kill you, does make you stronger. She probably needs people's emotional support more than physical. I hope everything works out for her. And you hang in there :)