John woke up wearing a hospital gown in unfamiliar surroundings. The last thing he remembered was Don Henley singing about how life could change in a New York minute, which seemed strangely prophetic given the circumstances. How long had he been here? Was he in a coma? John felt very alone in this moment, and wondered how bad his injuries really were. He was scared.
Eventually the doctor came in and explained to John what had happened. The accident had happened the day before, and he had lost consciousness for nearly 24 hours. His back had experienced some damage, and the original fear was that there would be some paralysis. A lot more tests were needed, but it looked like John would at the very least be off of his feet for a while.
John thought about his prognosis for most of the day. He had lived 30 plus years living exactly how he wanted, with very few consequences for his admittedly hedonistic lifestyle. John knew that he had no one to take care of him, although this was a thought he usually managed to put out of his head. Now a rainy day had finally arrived.
John found himself spiraling further and further into self-pity, and knew this was a dangerous road to go down. Although he didn’t have a family of his own, he did have people that depended on him, and he needed to start putting a plan together. He was particularly concerned about Kim, as he knew providing some stability and consistency in her life was vitally important.
John thought back to the previous morning, and the feeling he had experienced that something significant was going to happen, His sensors had known something was up, and the phrase “pending doom” that was in his head yesterday now seemed appropriate. Still, he couldn’t help but think this was also a kind of opportunity, although he was hard pressed at this moment to think of what that might be. He put it out if his head for a moment and began making a list. He had a lot of people to call.
Kim was particularly worried when he spoke to her, and he did his best to ease her mind. He was hoping he would only miss a week of appointments, and promised her he would do everything in his power to maintain their usual schedule. Still, he picked up on same disappointment in her voice, and a wave of guilt rose up in his troubled mind. He was a therapist, and although he often took himself for granted, it was becoming clear to him that his patients needed him very much. All of a sudden he felt very heavy.
All of the emotional activity the day had unexpectedly contained had exhausted him, and after finishing his calls, John fell into a very deep sleep. His dreams were strange that night, and included visions of a nursing home which John resided in located in the middle of a busy intersection. Suddenly a car bolted directly into the home, and before John could get out of the way, he jerked up in bed awake. Gathering himself, he looked around and saw that he was still in the hospital. He had to rub his eyes however when he gathered focus and saw both Dr. Paul and Stephanie sitting at the end of his bed, chatting like they had known each other for years.
Strange bedfellows.