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#More than 10 Chapters ahead on my : /TrikoRex
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Date: 04/05/2020 | Lockdown Week 5 | Time: 12:44 AM | Location: Freud & Croft Private Memorial Hospital ]
A hiss—steady, predatory—filled Rakim’s skull before the light did as he slowly regained consciousness. (Whhssss-tup ... whhssss-tup.) Air rammed down his throat in mechanical surges, and every pulse felt wrong, like someone kneading his chest from the inside. He subconciosly tried to swallow, but failed as plastic pressed against the back of his tongue and panic flooded in.
His eyes cracked open the next second as cream-coloured ceiling tiles blurred in and out of focus. He gagged in reflex as the rising of his chest intensified, causing the oxygen entering his body to flood his system. His already blurry eyes moistened as he struggled to lift his arms, but he could hardly exert his strength.
In panic, he managed to turn his head slightly as his heart started racing, causing the monitoring device to blare in alarm. At the edge of his unfocused vision, he spotted a figure dressed in a penguin suit reacting in a panic. In hindsight, it was a suit, but at that very moment, Rakim didn’t care; he just hoped whoever it was would help him out.
The man in question was so panicked that he almost tripped over the loose hospital overalls he was wearing. But he managed to stay upright after making eye contact, breathing a sigh of relief as the dread that had built up the moment the machines turned to excitement. "—He’s awake—Doctor! Doctor!" He immediately sprinted to the open door as the words tore out of him at the speed of a machine gun.
The clatter of hurried footsteps filled the corridor, echoing through the glass doors as the heart monitor screamed its alarm. Rakim on the bed had managed to regain some of his strength and started clawing at the wires and tube attached to his mouth. May, on the adjacent bed, had been in dreamland, jolted awake at the commotion, and immediately jumped off her bed.
Half-dazed, she saw Rakim thrashing, eyes wild in panic as he scraped at the ventilator tube. "Raki—stop!" she croaked, voice raw. Running to his side, she grasped his hands in an attempt to stop him from hurting himself. "Just focus on me, listen to my voice, I’ve got you."
While struggling to hold back his arms that were now pumping with adrenaline, she gently spoke into his ear. Despite struggling for a bit, she continued to talk to him, managing to calm his emotions as he took longer and slower breaths. "Just like that, you’re ok, babe," she whispered as tears streamed from her eyes, landing on his cheeks like droplets.
Rakim on the bed calmed down as he simply took in her scent and listened to her voice. Now that the initial panic was gone, his mind that had been in fight or flight mode cleared up, allowing his fuzzy vision to improve slightly. Even then, she still appeared blurry to his eyes, but he could easily recognise who it was.
Just then, a nurse charged in, followed by Dr Lui, passing by the man in the suit. "He’s refusing the Tube, but he is calming down."
Dr Lui crossed to the bedside, eyes flicking between the thumping ECG and Rakim’s flushed face. "Rakim, honey, can you hear me?" she asked, gloved fingers stabilising the tube-connector while the respiratory nurse checked the cuff. May wanted to move out of the way, but Rakim held onto her hand, not letting her stray too far.
Sending a deliberate blink at the doctor in response, the woman smiled in response, causing her visor to fog up lightly. She quickly checked his vitals before responding to him. "Good. You’re breathing against the ventilator. We’ll help you take over, but you must stay still for a moment."She turned to the nurse. "Pressure support down to six. PEEP five. Give him a PSAT."
The nurse attached a slender blue syringe to the airway port and drew a blood sample for gas analysis. Rakim’s chest rose again—slower, more under his own power now that the machine’s push had eased. May, still holding his right hand, felt the tremor ebb beneath her palm.
Rakim breathed slowly, his heart beating steadily once the doctor had completed her preliminary checks. Dr Lui nodded. "Okay, champ—time to lose this straw. Count to three with me."
One... two... three—she slid the tube free, barely scratching the side of his throat. Rakim gagged, coughed hard, then drew a shaky breath all on his own. Taking the offered Oxygen mask, he placed it over his nose and mouth, enjoying the scent of clean air.
"Good," the doctor said, assessing his figure as he greedily drew in oxygen as his body stabilised. "Deep breaths—through the nose if you can."
Rakim obeyed, drawing slow pulls through the mask until the burning in his throat settled into a dull rasp. May brushed damp curls from his brow. "See? Easy," she whispered, voice shaking with relief.
Dr Lui gave a gentle nod before stepping back following Covid distancing protocol. For this reason, only two staff members had come to assess the situation instead of the usual rush of bodies. "How are you feeling, Rakim?" she asked, her voice muffled but warm behind the N95 mask. The ventilator had been wheeled aside, its rhythmic hissing replaced by the quieter hum of the oxygen concentrator feeding his mask.
Rakim tried to speak but managed only a hoarse croak. His throat felt like sandpaper, raw from the intubation. May squeezed his hand in support before proceeding to pour him a glass of water at the side table.
"Don’t try to talk just yet," Dr Lui advised, making notes on her tablet. "Your vocal cords need time to recover. The swelling should go down in a few hours." She glanced at the monitors, satisfied with the steady green waves tracking across the screens. "Your oxygen saturation is good—ninety-six per cent on supplemental O2. Much better than when you arrived."
Rakim merely nodded in response as he slowly gulped down the contents of the glass in Mays’ hands. The water was lukewarm, but to Rakim it felt like a nectar he was receiving in the midst of a drought. He let the first sip wet his tongue instantly, invigorating his spirit.
The sensation of water felt almost foreign to his body, but like a long-lost love, his body craved for more. "Easy tiger," May mumbled as he took quick little gulps, letting the liquid trickle down his dried throat.
Dr Lui observed quietly, her practised eye noting the way his Adam’s apple moved with each swallow—a good sign that his reflexes were intact. "Small sips," she reinforced May’s caution. "Your stomach hasn’t had anything for days. We don’t want you sick."
She gave him a few more minutes to calm down, letting his throat adjust to being active again. "Ok, just give me nods and shakes."
"Do you know who you are?" She asked first just as May placed the half-empty cup back on the side table. Her answer was met with a nod before turning into a shoulder shrug.
"Is that a yes or you don’t know?" she asked for clarification, only to receive a nod from Rakim and for a second it looked like her brain short-circuited.
"I’m Rakim," his hoarse voice croaked out in response as he was seemingly unsettled by the detached glare the woman was giving.
"Then why did you say you didn’t know?" she questioned as her hand moved to note something down in her notepad. She once again received a shoulder shrug from the boy who sent her a serene smile as his eyes wandered around the room in wonderlust. "Sigh, I see that’s that famous sense of humour I’ve heard about."
"Now, jokes aside, what was the last thing you remembered?" She asked, her black eyes scanning him with scrutiny.
"Covid," he hoarsely stated before his head snapped to the side as if in panic scrutinising the figure of May next to him.
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