Page 7 of One Little Memory
She bit her lip. Being pain free would be great but she didn’t want her thinking to get any fuzzier. The idea of losing her ability to think was terrifying. “Um, I think I will try and stick it out a bit longer. It’s not that bad.”
“I’ll get you some Ibuprofen for the headache. That should help but don’t be shy about asking for something stronger. You’ve been through a lot and there’s no point in being in pain.” He stared at her for a moment. “No memories have come back?”
“No,” she managed to croak out. Her throat was dry, and there was currently a lump the size of a golf ball lodged in it.
Dr. Cahill offered her a glass of water with a straw off the bedside tray. “I was wondering if you would like to try something with me.”
“What?” she asked. What could he possibly want her to do?
“Muscle memory is a real thing. I want to see if we can activate it a bit. Maybe we can figure out a few things.”
“How do you mean?”
He brought out a pad of paper and a pen from his pocket and put them on the tray. Then he swung the tray over her bed. She propped herself up against the thin pillow.
“I’m going to ask some questions, and I just want you to write down whatever comes into your head, okay?”
She stared at him for a second but gave a small shrug, which she immediately regretted. “Okay, I’ll give it a try.”
“Okay. Just write whatever comes into your head.”
She picked up the pen and waited for him to speak.
“What’s your favorite animal?”
A picture of a cat popped into her head so she wrote down cat.At least my ability to write wasn’t impaired.
“What’s your favorite ice cream?
Chocolate.Less hesitation this time.
“What’s your favorite season?
Fall.It was really working.
“Where do you prefer, mountains or beach?”
Beach. Caribbean to be exact. Hope flared in her as she recalled the trivial details she liked.
“What’s your name?”
Jo— The pen stopped. Her mind went blank. Nothing. She didn’t know her own name. Panic rose in her chest again.
“Hey,” Dr. Cahill said. He reached out and touched her arm. “It’s okay. You did really well.”
“I don’t know my own name. How stupid is that?”
“It’s not stupid. You suffered trauma to your head. What we know about brain injury is that typically, the effects aren’t permanent. You just need time to heal. You did really well. We learned a lot.”
She rolled her eyes. “What? That I like cats and chocolate ice cream? That’s not exactly helpful.
He smiled. “We also learned you’re right-handed. You write cursive beautifully, which is not something a lot of people who are our age do so much anymore. And you’ve traveled. “You know you like beaches in the Caribbean. That means you must have a passport.”
She sighed shakily. He was right. They were learning some things about her. She took a deep breath.
“You just need to be patient.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m going to finish my rounds and then come back and check on you in a bit. Breakfast will be arriving shortly. After that, I want you to rest up.”
“Okay. Thanks, Dr. Cahill.”
