Characters belong to SM and the beautiful music that inspired this piece belongs to Ryan Tedder and his band of musical geniuses. The rest is all from me.
Chapter 9
-2013-
The days that followed Bella's return to consciousness were anything but easy to
witness. Still we all kept strong, and with support from friends and loved ones,
my wife made a full recovery.
At first, she could only keep her eyes open for a few minutes at a time. She'd
wake periodically throughout the day, but would fall asleep again almost
instantly. It took about a week for her to get to the point where she could stay
awake for longer stretches of time, but once she got there, the first thing Bella
did was try to remove her breathing tube. Dr. Weber said this was a common
thing, as the presence of the tube was typically anxiety provoking for conscious
patients. It took four nurses to keep her from destroying the ventilator and
injuring herself further, and after that they switched her to a bed that came
equipped with restraints. Angela gave Bella just enough of a sedative to keep
her comfortable but still conscious, and explained that they would have to wait
another few days before attempting to wean her off of the ventilator.
By the end of the following week she was able to breathe independently, and
the ventilator was fully removed. She still wasn't speaking though, and Dr.
Weber tried her best to offer me some reassurance.
"It's like riding a bike for the first time after being off of one for years," she
explained. "You're a little shaky for a few miles or so while your legs get
acclimated to the pedaling motion, and it might take falling down a few times
for you to remember how to balance yourself and stay upright. Think of Bella's
speech as the bike and her vocal chords as the nervous rider. Those vocal
chords have been dormant for over a month. Bella seems to remember the
basics of speaking, as evidenced by how she tries to move her mouth and form
words, but her vocal chords aren't used to working. They need some time to
learn how to ride that bike again."
Though she had trouble with her expressive communication, Bella's receptive
communication skills didn't seem to suffer. She understood words and phrases,
could answer yes or no questions with a nod or shake of her head, could point
to pictures of family members and friends, and was able to write out longer
answers to things. She knew what year it was, that I was her husband, and that
we had three children. She knew the name of the town we lived in and how old
she was. All of these were good signs, because it meant that there was a good
chance her cognitive abilities weren't altered by the accident.
Tanya brought Kate and Riley up to hospital each day after school, and the
minute they entered the room Bella's eyes would light up. They would sit by her
side, showing her schoolwork they did well on and telling her every last detail
about their day. We'd trek down to the cafeteria around dinnertime, bringing
our trays back up so that we were able to eat when Bella did, together as a
family. It wasn't what we were used to, but it became our new routine, and the
look on Bella's face each night as we packed up to leave told me that she
enjoyed it.
Once Bella's condition became stable, Dr. Weber had her transitioned to a
rehabilitation facility. Speech continued to be an ongoing struggle, though Bella
was able to say a few words by the time she left St. Mary's. After a month of
working with a speech therapist, my wife was able to put together sentences,
though they didn't always make sense. It was difficult to watch how frustrated
she got when she couldn't express herself the way she wanted, but at the same
time I was just happy to see her awake and alive.
Three months after Bella returned to us she was given the green light to truly
come home, to our house in Bruno. Despite my protests, Rose and Alice set up
a little party for her, inviting close friends, family, and a few of the staff
members from St. Mary's. I thought my wife wouldn't be ready for such
festivities, but it turned out she loved it.
"I think she's having fun." Rose elbowed me in the side and tipped her wine
glass toward where Bella stood. She was laughing at something Angela had
said, and I couldn't deny that it certainly did look like she was enjoying herself.
A ripple of emotion bubbled up inside me, leaving me feeling choked up and
almost breathless. Four months ago I wasn't sure if I'd ever see my wife stand
again, let alone walk through our front door. Now there she was, moving
between guests and greeting them with hugs while sipping on a bottle of her
favorite craft beer. Her mere presence made our house feel like a home again,
and for the first time in a long time, everything felt complete.
Later that night, after everyone had gone home and Alice and I had finished
cleaning up, I joined Bella in our bedroom. She was standing in front of the bay
window that overlooked our land with her palms pressed flat against the glass,
watching as the last rays of sun disappeared from the sky.
I stepped up behind her and slid my arms around her waist. She leaned back
into me and tipped her head onto my shoulder.
"I'm so happy." She didn't have to say the words for me to know how she felt.
Her emotions were alive everywhere in all her features, from her eyes to her
smile to the rose colored glow that covered her skin.
I tightened my grip on her and bent my head down, resting my chin on her
shoulder. I pressed a kiss into the skin below her ear and whispered the words
I'd been waiting so long for her to hear.
"Welcome home."
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