The Edge of Tomorrow
By
Bruce Memblatt
The Edge of Tomorrow
By Bruce Memblatt
Published by Bruce Memblatt at Smashwords Copyright © March, 2010, Bruce Memblatt
Join us tomorrow for another installment of The Edge of Tomorrow, brought to you by…
“Another shot of adrenalin, Sarah.”
“One-two-three and wait.”
“Again…one-two-three and wait.”
“I think we have a pulse.”
“One more
time….There.” He seems to be stabilizing,” Doctor Simon stated
as he wiped the sweat off his brow.” He was clinically dead for
less than a minute. I had another case similar to this one. The
patient’s left anterior descending artery was almost completely
blocked by plaque, but a small hairline passage sent a trickle of
blood to his brain and saved his life. Nonetheless his heart did
stop beating momentarily.”
“Should I tell his family? They’re out in the waiting room.”
“Yes, please. I’ll be there in a moment.
He hasn’t come to yet. It may be a while. The patient I spoke about
remained in a coma- like state for nearly a week, but still Justin
could come around anytime. There are no hard and fast rules. ”
“I’m on my way, Phil. I’ll just turn off the TV.” The nurse said as she stepped carefully away from the bed.
“You know leave it on for a while. The sound coming from the TV may stimulate his senses. Either way it’s not going to cause any harm.”
The small waiting room on the fifth floor of St. Agnes was just a few doors down from Justin Clarke’s room near the end of the hall. The room where family members waited for good news, or bad, or none at all had a sense of sad abandon about it. Its tattered furnishings like the patients that populated the small hospital conspired to remind life was a transitory affair. Justin’s wife sat on the couch. Her hands steadily flipped through a magazine she had no interest in while his nineteen year old son stood by the window fidgeting aimlessly with the controls on the radiator below, as if he’d developed a new sport to pass the hours. Nurse Rodgers was a portly woman with a pleasing demeanor. When she entered the room she felt a sense of relief. She didn’t have to report Justin Clarke had died.
“Mrs. Clarke?”
Paula quickly threw down the magazine. She was about ready to burst as the waiting for news was nearly as tormentful as any bad news could possibly be. She faced the nurse. Kevin placed his hand anxiously on his mother’s shoulder. Their eyes grew with anticipation as Sarah drew closer.
“He’s stable.” Nurse Rodgers said calmly. A small smile emerged on her lips.
“Thank God, and Dr. Simon too.”
“It was touch and go for a minute and there’s still a hard road ahead but we’re hopeful’, she said calmly as she could as she looked directly into Paula’s eyes. “Dr. Simon will be here in a moment to fill you and your son in on the details. Personally I want to tell you both how happy I am that things are improving for Mr. Clarke.”
“Thank you, Nurse Rodgers. When can we see him?”
“When doctor Simon comes in he’ll let you know. Justin isn’t awake now and he’s been through quite an ordeal. He was actually clinically dead for a few moments.”
“Dear god.” Paula held her chest, as Kevin’s grip grew tighter. A realization grew inside her, in that moment she saw her future as a possible widow. The empty rooms the lonely nights spread out over year after unforgiving year. Even if their marriage wasn’t without its wrinkles what would become of her if something awful happened to Justin. And there was Kevin who seemed to need his father now more than ever since the sorry trouble with the police last year.