(aka Bike) Part 1332 by Angharad Copyright © 2011 Angharad
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They gave Trish a sedative, and I was allowed to cuddle her until she fell asleep. Sam Rose appeared a little later and I was invited into his office, a nurse promising to let me know if she woke.
“Cathy, I’m not sure of what’s going on in Trish’s head, and I’ll call her Trish for now, because that’s who I think she really is. The symptoms could be due to the bump on her head, it’s the frontal lobe which would have taken most of the impact unless there was a jolt effect as well, in which case anything could have happened. However, we can't see any evidence of brain injury other than the concussion.”
“I’m not sure I follow you, Sam. The amnesia, the blindness–don’t tell me she’s imagining that?”
“The blindness is well documented after head injuries and clears up fairly quickly, unless there is some organic damage to an area of vision, but it didn’t show in the scan. The amnesia was intriguing–she appeared to have forgotten most of her life. Yet remembered before her time in the home and with you.”
“You’re suggesting she imagined it or made it up?”
“No, even little Einstein out there isn’t that clever–if she was sixteen, yes and she’d keep it going until she punished you for whatever imaginary slight you’d given her. So it’s intriguing.”
“It’s funny before this happened we were talking about the healing I do and she wanted me to see if I could change her into a genetic female.”
“That would be a nice trick if you could do it, presumably on yourself first?”
“I don’t think it works like that, and I refused to do it on the grounds that I didn’t think it would work and at the back of my mind I had a what if scenario, which was even less satisfactory.”
“Which was?”
“What if the cause of some people’s transgenderism is an anomaly and the energy recognised it...”
“And turned her back into a boy..."
"Ouch, talk about convoluted–but you said you didn’t heal her?”
“But I did when she ran into the tree–it wasn’t conscious, I just felt it flowing into her.”
“So are you trying to tell me that the energy punished her?”
“I have no idea what happened–except she came to and told me I wasn’t her mother and her name wasn’t Trish it was Patrick.”
“I find the healing something of an irony, given your agnosticism.”
“Don’t you think that hasn’t occurred to me?”
“But then good people don’t have to be godly, do they–think Good Samaritan.”
“Sam, I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t think I compare with a character in a biblical parable.”
“Oh I don’t know, you pick ‘em up off the street, feed ‘em, clothe and house ‘em–all at your own expense, while others walk by–sound familiar?”
“You’re taking it out of context, Sam.”
“Yeah, okay–besides we know you have angelic status–so I’ll ignore the comparison.”
“Saaaam,” I protested and he gave a dirty chuckle.
“Dr Rose, you’re wanted in A&E.”
“Sorry, I have to go–I get to fix the bits the surgeons can’t superglue back together.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“What for? Look, I assume you’re going to hang around a bit longer?”
“I’m going back to my vigil,” I smiled.
“Good–okay, look, I’ve got some food arriving a bit later–I’ll give you a call.”
“I don’t feel particularly hungry,” I didn’t either.
“Good, that’ll leave more for me, I’ll give you a shout later,” and before I could protest he took off down the corridor.
At least he wasn’t frosty towards me–so things are better there. I made my way back to the children’s unit and sat with Trish. She was fast asleep and according to the nurse likely to stay that way for several hours. She loaned me a blanket and a spare pillow and I curled up as best I could in the chair beside my daughter.
Simon called by at nine with a flask of soup–he’d opened a tin of tomato soup and brought in a couple of slices of bread as well, plus an apple and some chocolate. I hugged him and thanked him. Before I could eat any of it, Sam sent for me and he told me to go, he’d watch Trish–“’Bout time I spent some quality time with her.”
I gave him a very old fashioned look and he fell about laughing.
I was directed to Sam’s office where we’d been talking beforehand, when I knocked he called me to enter and laid out on his desk was a set of Chinese takeaway food. At his insistence I tucked into special chicken fried rice and pork and mushrooms, some bean sprouts and water chestnuts–all washed down with a can of ginger beer.
He was just about to start chatting when he was paged again, “Sorry, I have to go.”
“Thanks for my supper, it was delicious, can I clean up for you?”
“No, I’ll do that later, you get back to that little girl.”
I made a toilet stop on the way back and returned to find Simon just finishing the tomato soup and bread. He got peckish.
After he left, I spoke to Trish and told her I was there beside her and she needn’t be afraid. I slept a little but during the wee sma’ ’oors I craved the comfort of my own bed, not the tribute to discomfort, the NHS chair offered–probably intended to stop visitors becoming too comfortable–in which case it worked. In the end I lay on my coat with the blanket over me on the floor–a very hard floor.
“Mummy, where are you?” whimpered a small voice during the night and I banged my head jumping up to comfort her.
“I’m here, sweetheart.” I stroked her hand. “Can you see, me?”
“No, Mummy, I think I’m blind.” She began to cry.
“It’s okay, darling, Dr Rose thinks it will pass in a short while,” I said one arm round her the other rubbing the bit of my brain which tried to move a twenty ton hospital bed.
“How d’you feel, my darling?” I asked her as she calmed down.
“Frightened, if I can’t read again or see you and the others or my laptop–it’ll be awful,” she began to sob again.
“Hush there, sweetheart, Dr Rose usually knows what he’s doing, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, Mummy.”
“I mean, he suggested you come to live with me when you wanted to become Trish, didn’t he?”
“Yes, Mummy, an’ I’m so glad I did–I hated being a boy.”
“You never were a boy, Trish, it’s just what other people thought.”
“That’s right, Mummy, a girl with an outie.”
“Not even that now, you’re a real girl.”
“Am I, Mummy, have I got girl bits?”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I don’t think so.”
“Oh well, at least I won’t have monthlies, will I–where I feel awful and get all crabby like you do.”
“I don’t get all crabby, young lady.”
“Hee hee,” she sniggered, “Nearly got you going.”
“I’ll shoot you, missy–the lip I get from you lot–honestly, I think I’ll send you all to the cat’s home.”
“Can we have a pussy cat, Mummy?”
“I’ll think about it if you get your sight back, otherwise it would be yet another hazard to fall over.”
“I can see, Mummy.”
“How many fingers have I got up?” I held a finger from each hand in front of her.
“Four.”
“That was a guess.”
“No it wasn’t, Mummy.”
I held up one finger.
“Two, Mummy.”
“You can’t see, can you?”
“I’m sure I will, Mummy, especially if Dr Rose says so.”
I hugged her but I was extremely worried how we’d all cope if her sight didn’t return. That would be a cruel outcome and I’d have to really reconsider what I felt about the blue energy.
Comments
Easy 1332
Hi
Well at least Trish appears to be back - for now. There is no telling with head injuries if Patrick will be back. Was it memory loss - or some type of split personality? Nah, I think I'm letting my imagination flow too much now.
Karen
Head injuries ...
... are something I'm personally familiar with but fortunately I've never experienced blindness. The main symptoms have been vertigo (motion sickness without the inconvenience of motion) or just head aches. I'm sure Trish will be able to see again - I certainly hope so. At least she seems to have regained her memory which is really the most important thing.
Thanks
Robi
Oh yes
Another part of the weirdness of head injuries is that the shock can disrupt communications among the various centers of your brain and as a result you do no remember responses to questions and such. That happened to me when I was hit by a big SUV and got a concussion in the back of my head. It is extremely disorienting. At this point Trish's injuries may very well cycle through different symptoms until it settles down.
I am still suspecting that the blue light healed her only so much such that she is cognizant of her foolishness and serve as an object lesson to her. Trish for all her good points has really become a bit of an arrogant little girl and needed to be curbed big time.
Kim
Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 1332
Maybe the Blue Light is over and letting Trish heal naturally.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
I'm a bit surprised that the energy isn't
flowing just from Cathy touching and hugging her little girl. Poor Trish, so much of what she enjoys depends on her being able to see. I hope her sight comes back soon.
The sight thing.
I wouldn't be too worried about the gender issues, loss of sight is far more disabling though some say loss of hearing is an even worse disability.
Cathy's right to wonder about the impersonality of the blue light. Almost as if it's simply a physical force that follows pure logic and functions as that logic determines.
Interesting chapter Angie, looking to see where it goes.
XXX
Bev.
Growing old disgracefully.
The Blue Light is a conundrum of course
As far as we know, it is not directly controllable by Cathy. I think that has been its behavior throughout its existence. It is too bad in a way because Cathy cannot exercise discretion and is thus is not a fully trustworthy custodian of what is an incredible power.
Kim
Trish can see
However, she is seeing double right now. Cathy held up one finger from each hand for a total of two, Trish said she saw four fingers. Next Cathy had one finger up and Trish said she could see two.
Ang, do you realize that one hundred and eleven dozen in Hobbit-speak is eleventy one dozen? (Self-professed Lord of the Rings expert...)
*sighs* Things are never simple.
Things are never simple, are they?
Cathy doesn't KNOW Trish doesn't have her girl bits now. (I don't recall any abdominal scans... It was the head they were worried about, wasn't it?) After all that's happened, having to deal with Patrick instead of Trish might be a tad difficult. Blindness? Not fun, but it could/can be done... I've known some blind folks do amazing things on computers... But, it's not easy/cheap! (If that's the way you're going with this, it's a good thing Simon's all but made of cash!!!)
Glad Sam's not so upset with Cathy now...
Didn't Cathy do the energy thing TWICE with Trish? Once out in the fields, and then again in the hospital???
Time will tell (well, time and our wonderful editorial staff).
Thank you,
Anne
P.S. I do hope you don't go with Karen's suggestion of multiple personality disorder... Getting the personalities to integrate might be more than a little difficult, and might be tough on you (& your readers).
I think what Sam told Cathy
I think what Sam told Cathy is actually all they can really do right now and that is wait it out to see if Trish gets her sight back natually by the slow healing process. As one person pointed out tho, maybe she does see now, but only by double vision which definitely can be caused by blow to the head.
an impact
like that could have easily detached a retina or caused other eye problems. Glad that trish is back, at least for now.
Easy as 1332.
Angharad,
I couldn’t resist reading this episode. I have broken my once a week longer read, as I knew I would not last long without knowing if Trish will get better.
Like many of your readers, I suspect most, I have an affinity for Trish’s character. By that I mean I wish her well in all she does, so please don’t be too hard on her future.
As a Maureen-a–like, perhaps you could give her a problem instead.
Love to all
Anne G.
Wondering
Yes, I'm wondering about aspects of Trish's conversation with Cathy, specifically:
“Oh well, at least I won’t have monthlies, will I—where I feel awful and get all crabby like you do.â€
This struck me as slightly strange. We know that Trish is intellectually very gifted, even though her emotional development is more typical of a seven-year-old. I know she's very interested in her own bodily development, and procreative matters, but this jarred somewhat.
Thanks A+B: still wondering, too, where this story arc is going.
Possibly Surprised
Bike Resources
Bike Resources
Like I said,
I hope Trish can remember what happened before the accident. She has some learning to do.