Alive on Opening Day (17 page)

“
Now, Clara, I’m sure
he’ll feel much better after a good night of sleep,” he
said.

She pursed her lips and
looked at him with wide-open eyes, appearing almost
angry.

“
And then,” David
continued, “we’ll get him to the doctor first thing in the morning.
Deal?”

Clara hesitated. “I guess
so,” she said, giving her husband a sheepish look.
“Dave?”

She only called him “Dave”
during very personal or trying moments, and he felt protective of
her as her eyes pleaded with him.

“
What, honey?”

“
Would it be weird if I
slept in the chair next to his bed tonight?” she asked. “You know,
just in case he wakes up in the night and needs me for
something?”

David squeezed her hand
and stood, stepping to her side.

“
Nope, not weird at all,”
he told her. “In fact, I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

—

After a few bouts of
fitful sleep, David woke up on the floor of Dan’s bedroom, early
rays of sunlight winking through the venetian blinds and splashing
across his eyelids. He rubbed his eyes and rolled onto his side to
look toward the rocking chair next Dan’s bed. Clara waved to him
and whispered, “Good morning.”

Even in the low light,
David could see his wife was brooding. He looked at the motionless
lump on Dan’s bed and stood with a start, rising to his feet in one
motion.

“
What’s wrong?” David
whispered hoarsely. “Is Dan OK?”

Clara stretched her arm
across gloom, reaching for her husband.

“
He hasn’t moved since we
put him down last night,” she said, looking to Dan. “But he’s
breathing regularly.”

David rubbed his eyes.
“What time is it?” he asked.

“
It’s 6:30,” Clara told
him. “He’s been out for almost 11 hours now, David.”

David leaned forward and
put his palm on Dan’s forehead, then he caressed the young man’s
cheek and squeezed his shoulder. Dan did not flinch.

“
Well, he feels cool
enough, but you’re right: he’s not moving at all,” David told her.
“I think we need to get him to the doctor.”

Clara shook her head. “We
don’t need to go anywhere yet, Dave,” she said. “I called Dr. Parks
during the night, and he said he would come over as soon as he
could. Should be sometime this morning.”

David hesitated, staring
intently at his son. After several seconds, he said, “Well, he does
seem to be breathing fine, so there is probably no real harm in
waiting a bit longer. You want to have breakfast with me at Chez
Hodges?”

Clara gave him a quizzical
look, missing the reference. “We can’t go anywhere now, David!” she
scolded.

“
Not even to Chez Hodges?”
he repeated, before adding, “Otherwise known as ‘Our Kitchen’? I’m
cooking.”

She managed a mild smile
and nodded. “Alright, then, as long as you’re cooking, I guess I
can’t refuse. Can you make the coffee first?”

David nodded.

“
And
make it
strong
, OK?”

“
You bet. Just as soon as
I call in to work to let them know I won’t be in for a
while.”

—

David and Clara had just
finished off their first pot of coffee and a light breakfast of
toast, eggs sunny-side-up, and juice when there was a knock at the
door. David dropped the last scoop of grounds into the coffee maker
and fired it up again, then walked to the front door. Dr. Parks was
standing on the stoop, and he waved at David through a side
panel.

David swung open the door
and greeted Parks with,“He’s in the bedroom, doctor. He hasn’t
moved since we brought him home last night.”

“
OK,” Parks said, not
acknowledging the lack of social niceties. As he passed the
kitchen, Clara joined him, and the three walked down the hall to
Dan’s room.

Parks knelt by Dan’s bed,
using his stethoscope to listen to the young man’s chest, neck,
arms, and legs. Next, he clasped Dan’s wrist in his hand and took
his pulse. Finally, he pulled out a penlight and used it to examine
Dan’s face, pausing on his eyes. After his examination, Parks stood
and motioned the Hodges into the hallway.

“
How is he, Doctor?” David
asked.

“
First off,” Parks began.
“I want you to understand that Dan does not appear to be in any
kind of distress. I don’t think he will die, in other
words.”

Clara gasped, and David
cringed at the callous words. “You don’t
think
he will die?!” David
exclaimed.

Parks held up his hands in
a “stop” motion, and said, “I’m sorry … I’m sorry. That must have
sounded crass. I just wanted to emphasize that Dan’s condition does
not appear to be life-threatening.”

He looked from David to
Clara, then continued once he was satisfied they were a bit
calmer.

“
However,” he went on,
“all of his external symptoms seem to indicate he is heading back
toward a state of hibernation.”

“
What do you mean?” Clara
asked, “What symptoms?”

“
Well, he’s obviously
sleeping soundly,” Parks said, “and his pulse is very
slow.”

“
How slow?” David wanted
to know.

“
At the moment, his heart
is beating only about 25 times per minute,” Parks said, a grave
look on his face. “That alone would make it nearly impossible for
him to maintain consciousness, but I suspect his hormone levels are
spiraling again, as well.”

David pulled Clara close
to him and kissed the top of her head.

“
But,” Parks went on, his
voice lightening.

“
What is it, Doctor?”
David asked.

“
I don’t want you to get
your hopes up too high, and it’s no guarantee … of anything … but
his eyes did react to the light when I shined it on
them.”

“
Is that good?” Clara
asked, pulling her face out of David’s chest.

“
Yes, yes,” Parks said.
“It means he is not yet completely, um, comatose.” He hesitated to
use that word, but it was the one that fit. “What’s more, once I
perturbed him, Dan went into REM sleep.”

David and Clara looked at
each other. “What’s REM sleep?” Clara asked.

“
REM stands for ‘rapid eye
movement’,” Parks explained, “and it’s the stage of sleep where we
dream the most. It usually happens shortly after we fall asleep,
and then periodically throughout the night. When Dan was
hibernating last winter, he exhibited no REM at all.”

“
So does that mean Dan is
waking up?” Clara wanted to know.

“
It
appears that he at least might be
capable
of waking up,” Parks said.
“It does seem to be, at least to some extent, a reaction to my
flashlight, but the presence of REM sleep means Dan’s
unconsciousness is not quite as deep as it might appear. I believe
Dan will wake up at least one more time … but the overall trend in
his condition over the last few weeks point to a pending
hibernation.”

“
You’re telling us we’re
going to lose our son again, aren’t you, Doctor?” David asked,
defeat in his voice.

Parks’ shoulders slumped.
“I’m afraid that appears to be the case, David. We will need to
take some blood to be sure, and I would like to transfer him to the
hospital.”

“
Can we wait until he
wakes up, at least?” Clara asked.

“
I think
that would be OK,” Parks said. “Besides, it will be easier to move
him when he’s awake. I
would
like to go ahead and take the blood sample now,
OK? That way, I can get the tests going yet this morning and we can
build a treatment plan.”

Clara nodded and squeezed
close to her husband again.

Parks stepped back into
the bedroom and emerged again two minutes later, fastening his
medical case.

“
I’ll get these to the
lab, stat, and you let me know the moment he wakes up, OK?” he said
to the Hodges, who nodded. “I’ll be in my office the remainder of
the day if you need me.”

“
Thank you, Dr. Parks,”
David said and walked their visitor to the door.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Alive on Opening
Day?

David and Clara spent the
rest of the afternoon alternating between watching Dan sleep and
pulling themselves out of his room to
let
him sleep as soundly as
possible. It was a strange position to be in, because they
desperately wanted their son to wake up, but they felt like they
shouldn’t disturb his slumber.

“
Can’t we just wake him
up?” Clara asked her husband at one point.

“
I don’t
know that we could, honey,” he responded. “And besides, I don’t
know that we
should
. Maybe we should wait to hear
back from Dr. Parks and then ask for his advice. He’ll know more
soon, I’m sure.”

“
OK,” she said in a
whisper.

Both Hodges were
encouraged to some extent by Parks’ earlier report that Dan’s eyes
were moving — David was familiar with REM sleep from a psychology
course he took in college — but they were eager to see him fully
awake. If Parks’ assessment were to be believed, Dan might not be
with them for long, so the sooner they could speak with him the
better.

Late in the afternoon,
David called work again to let his boss know Dan’s status and to
confirm he wouldn’t be coming in to the office that day. He needed
to be home in case Dan woke up, and he needed to support Clara. He
didn’t know if he would be in on Thursday, either, but if Dan’s
situation didn’t change soon, David would miss at least the morning
hours.

Luckily, David still had
most of his vacation time left, and his boss understood about the
short notice. It was more of the equity David had earned through
years of hard work and dedication to the company.

Around 5 pm, the Hodges
checked on Dan again and, noting no further developments, headed to
the kitchen to make some sandwiches for dinner. They had called
Gabbie to give her an update on Dan’s condition, and she was
planning to come over around 6 to eat and to sit with Dan for a
while, and to let David and Clara spend some time with
Troy.

All in all, it was a quiet
evening at home, the sort that would have made them all happy under
different circumstances. With Dan lying unconscious in the next
room, though, and a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the small
family, the mood was somber and matched the darkness creeping
around the edge of the trees outside the Hodges’ home. Sitting at
the dinner table, the three adults made small talk, all of them
avoiding the serious discussions they needed to have. Little Troy
helped in those efforts and gave them all something to focus on
when he cried or fussed or pumped his baby fist as his nervous
system tried to figure out its optimal motor pathways.

Finally, when dinner was
done and the dishes were cleared away, Clara and David settled in
on the sofa, and Gabbie slid Troy from her arms to Clara’s. The
young lady straightened her spring dress, combed her hair with her
fingers, and walked toward the bedroom in silence.

David and Clara had been
playing with Troy for about five minutes, an elixir that brought
them some semblance of peace, when Gabbie shrieked from the rear of
the house.

“
He’s moving!” she
called.

David sprung to his feet,
and Clara struggled to be gentle as she rose, careful not to jar
Troy. David put a hand under his wife’s elbow and applied just
enough pressure to help her stand. Then the three of them hurried
down the hall toward Dan’s room.

“
Come on! He’s moving,”
Gabbie yelled again just as the Hodges reached the
doorway.

“
Shhh!!” Clara shushed,
remembering her earlier conversation with David.

“
But
he’s
moving
!!” Gabbie enthused.

David squeezed his wife’s
shoulder and pointed toward the bed. There, under the sheet and
blanket that had lain in the same configuration for nearly 24
hours, Dan was not just moving, but thrashing about. He kicked at
his covers with his feet and struggled to pull his hands out from
underneath. It was evident he wanted to be free of his covers, and
David moved forward to help in that effort. As he leaned to grab
the top of the sheet, Dan’s hand popped out from the darkness and
clasped his father’s wrist.