Page 226 of The Bonus

I’m filled with disgust.

What is wrong with me. If I hadn’t chased her…she wouldn’t have slipped.

My phone lights up.

Graham Messing

Ahh, the neurosurgeon who I got to look at her scans.

“Hello.”

“Hi, is that Gabriel?”

“Yes.”

“This is Graham Messing. Sorry I took so long to get back to you. I’ve just gotten out of surgery.”

“It’s okay,” I stammer. “Did you look at the scans?”

“Yeah, I did. She’s taken a nasty hit.”

I close my eyes as I wait for his next comment.

“Look, as far as I can see, what the local doctors there are telling you is on the money.”

I listen intently.

“There’s substantial swelling, but it appears that she hasn’t suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage or a stroke. Her brain activity is normal.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that at this stage, all signs point to the fact that there appears to be no significant long-term damage. However, as you know, she didn’t respond to the medication last night, and as there was no evidence of a bleed, the doctors chose to put her into an induced coma. All brains recover differently, and given the information the doctors had at hand, I believe they did the right thing.”

“Why hasn’t she woken up yet?”

“It takes time. I’ll call her doctor and suggest that they start to reduce the coma induction in another six to eight hours. We need that swelling to go down to give her the best chance.”

“Okay.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “What about her ankle and wrist?”

“Don’t worry about them, she’s not moving, so she can’t do more damage there. They both pale in comparison to a brain injury. That is our only concern at this stage.”

“Right.”

“She’s in no immediate danger and in good hands. The induced coma is giving her time to rest and heal, but as you know, every case is different, so the times and outcomes will vary.”

I nod as I try to process what he’s telling me. “Okay.”

“I’ll check back in with you in the morning. I suggest you go home and get some sleep.”

“Okay, thank you, Doctor.” I hang on the line for a beat. “I appreciate you looking over things for me.”

“Speak tomorrow.” He hangs up, and I immediately text Debbie.

Hi Debbie,

the specialist neurosurgeon just called.

He confirmed what the doctors here said,

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