"Jes' up..." she said, gritting her teeth as she started to pull them towards herself. It hurt her newly stitched-up stomach muscles, but not like she was pulling them. It just hurt. By the time she got them up to the point where they'd stay on their own, she was sweating and crying from the pain and effort. "Thank ye..." she gasped, panting for breath.
Nurse Rose returned then with the doctor, who smiled at them. "Miss O'Connor, how are you feeling this morning?" he asked her gently, moving to the bedside and cranking up the bed so that Sinead could sit up a bit.
Sinead gripped the bed, getting a bit dizzy and maybe a little nauseous as well at the change in position. She swallowed hard before answering. "A bit dizzy, but otherwise like I went through a meat grinder," she said with grim humour.
The doctor chuckled a bit for her benefit. "Well, you have every right to feel that way. What we're going to do, Nurse Rose is going to help me change your bandages, and we'll go through the list of your injuries, and see how you're doing, alright?"
Sinead bit her lip and squeezed Cicero's paw. "A-aye, alrigh'..."
The doctor began with her head, unwinding the bandages carefully. It was not a pretty sight. She had patches of hair gone where they'd shaved it to get to her scalp, and the bare patches were criss-crossed with stitches. She had a cut going over her left eye, and the eye was red and bloodshot. She'd come very close to losing that eye, but the doctor said it would be fine now, though she may need glasses eventually. The nurse said she'd come back later with someone to trim up Sinead's hair so that the hair growing back would even up more quickly. He asked her some questions, checked her eyes with a reflector, and had her perform some simple movements to check her response time, understanding, and memory, which were fine if a bit on the slow side. They rewrapped her head tightly, Nurse Rose said to keep the stitches from swelling, but replaced the bandages over her eye with a simple white eye patch that looped around her head. Moving down to her broken collarbone and arm, he gingerly felt around her neck and shoulder, where the swelling was subsiding nicely. For her chest and abdomen, the nurse helped to position her gown and blanket to keep her decent and supported her to lean forward as he checked her lung sounds, her breathing capacity, and the stitches on her belly.
Sinead very nearly passed out as she sagged forward onto the nurse, but came to very quickly. She faintly heard the doctor reassuring her and telling her that it was due to the concussion, but that should get better in a day or so as she got used to moving around again. When it was all over, she gratefully sank back onto the pillows, feeling wrung out and exhausted.
Overall, the doctor was very pleased. "You are a very strong young lady, and very lucky. Other than a severe concussion, I don't see any other signs of brain damage at the moment, but we'll continue to monitor you. Your collarbone and arm should heal well, though you'll need the sling for at least a month to make sure that your collarbone knits together properly. Your lung sounds are good, and your breathing will improve as the bruising heals. We'll remove the outer stitches on your stomach in a week, but even once you're discharged, there's to be no heavy lifting, too much bending, or heavy physical exertion for six weeks, or you'll end up with a hernia. Now, I know you've had some water, but we need to get you eating. I know hospital food isn't the best, but I'd like to start you off with something a bit bland and not too heavy, but by tomorrow you may have someone bring in food for you, if you'd prefer. Do you have any questions?"
Sinead felt a bit overwhelmed at all the information, and shook her head no. "Not a'th' moment, but mebbe later?"
"Of course, I know it's a lot to take in right now," he nodded.
"Um, cin I get out of bed, t'go to th' facilities?" she asked suddenly, blushing bright red.
The doctor stepped back, and let Nurse Rose move to her side. "Yes, but only under nurse supervision for right now. We don't want you to faint or black out and have a fall, alright?" Nurse Rose tied up the back of her gown and carefully helped Sinead to swing her legs off the bed, and lean against her as she helped her to her feet.
She felt old, like an invalid, and completely embarrassed as she leaned heavily on the nurse. Her face was red and her ears down, not looking at anyone as she shuffled along into the toilet.
Once they were in the toilet room, the doctor turned to Cicero. "Do you have any questions, sir, about your wife's condition?" he asked, incorrectly presuming their relationship status.
