Gray Matter (Pt 2) (343 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.75 on 18 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by tiaprae (View user info) at 2007-02-28 18:12:56 EST
For reference: http://www.ubersite.com/m/99170
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I can't stop staring at the holes in my skin. I must look like a junkie, ridiculously skinny and full of track marks. I let my finger graze the bruise on my left arm where the nurse dug in with the needle trying to find my vein. How the hell did I end up here?
I hear a knock at the door, "Hey Nick, how are you doing?" It's my boss. I suppose you have to deal with this kind of thing when you're being hospitalized at your workplace.
"My tongue fucking hurts." I laugh. The least of my problems right now.
"We're going to have them do an MRI here in a few minutes, I just wanted to...you know...check in." He plods over to the bed. "They've fuckin' got you hooked up to everything don't they?" He laughed a bit. I think I prefer humor to pity right now.
"Yea."
"Well I can take you down to the MRI. Go on and get in the wheel chair." He unhooks my IV as I sit down. This is a bit awkward: my boss pushing me to get an MRI, It doesn't seem like it can be avoided. He puts his hand on my shoulder, in any other situation I would immediately assume this to be a creep-like move, "So this one is going to take a while, about an hour or so."
"Alright." An hour in an MRI machine, they're pulling out all the stops aren't they?
He parks me next to the machine. I take a moment to look around, it's strange being at the other end of this.
I lay down on the bed as he walks behind the wall where another tech is standing. "So you know the drill Nick, lay still, etcetera."
The whir of the machine starts and I close my eyes as I'm slid into the machine. I don't have any metal plates anywhere in my body do I? Sure as hell hope not.
I wake up to some one shaking my shoulder, "Nick? Have a good nap?" I'm on the MRI bed. My boss and the technician are chuckling to themselves. "You fell asleep" he informs me.
"Oh...did I?" I sit up and let the room spin for a moment. "Guess I didn't get too great of sleep last night."
My boss looks up at me as I transition from the machine to the wheelchair, "I suppose not."
I'm left alone in the room again. The results from the MRI would come back in a few hours...They want to keep me under observation for at least a full night. I just wish I could go back to my barracks, I hate laying here. I reach for the remote and turn on the television. At least I get the Discovery channel.
I picked up the phone from the side-table next to me. "Local calls only" was printed in a bold red. I set it back down. Fuckers. I reached for my pants and pulled out my cell phone. No, you're not supposed to use cell phones in the hospital, I know this, I don't care.
Ring....ring..."Hello?"
"Hey mom?" When was the last time I called home?
"Nick? Hi! What are you up to?"
"Mom...I'm...I'm in the hospital." I don't want to worry her, but I think that may be inevitable at this point.
"What? Why? What happened?" Shit. Yea, she's already worried.
"Well...uhm...I had a seizure last-"
"What? Oh my god..."
"Yea, they found a brain tumor on my CT scan and-"
"Oh Nick..." She interrupts when she's upset. It's excusable right now. "Why don't we come out there? We can be there by...well by tomorrow morning..."
"I don't have a place for you to stay. Don't worry, I'm alright, really."
"Why don't you come home? Will they let you come back here? There's a hospital-"
"I'll probably be here for a while, and I get free medical here, plus I should be able to keep working."
"Are you sure? Let me get your dad..." There's a break as she puts her hand on the phone, I can hear her muffled voice telling him what's going on.
"Nick? How are you?" He's much calmer than Mom at least.
"Apart from the obvious...I'm alright."
Looking through my phonebook, I send a few texts to people who may be wondering where I've disappeared to. I send one to Anna, "I'm being hospitalized." Yes it's vague, but I don't much feel like typing more than that into the phone. If she wants to know what's going on she'll text back. I let my head fall back as "Mythbusters" plays on the screen. I've seen this one.
I wake up to a nurse standing next to my bed, "Oh hi there hun, I'm just checking your vitals." She's older than the nurse from this morning. She nods as she looks over everything and then silently slips from the room.
I look at my phone, a new text message came in at some point. "What? What happened?" It was from Anna. Sweet girl. My response? "Brain tumor". I start letting myself drift back asleep when my phone beeps. "You're kidding me right?" Another beep, "How did you find out?" Another beep, "Can you have visitors?" And once again another goddamn beep, "If you can have visitors do you want any?" At least she can make me smile a bit. I let her know that I went to sick call this morning. But I feel the gravity weighing over my eyelids and decided not to wait for a response.
It's starting to get late, sunlight is no longer illuminating the room and at some point some one turned on the overhead lights. A knock at the door, "Nick?" It's one of the many doctors who I've seen during the day.
"Yea?"
"So we're going to start you on some medications..."
"Is there any update?" Tell me an update first, meds second. Jesus.
"Well..." He lets his glasses fall to the end of his nose and pushes them back up as he lets his gaze fall into line with my own, "We won't be able to operate."
"Oh..."
"But, chemo is an option, and although we believe it is most likely malignant, we won't know for sure until the biopsy." So not only will I be receiving radiation, but they're going to cut into my skull as well. Jesus.
"...Uhm...Alright, well what are the medications?"
"Quite a few. But the main two are the anti-seizure and the steroids."
"Steroids?" Don't steroids make things....shrink?
"It'll help shrink the tumor." He calmly replies. Yea, the tumor, but that's not the only thing that'll become smaller.
Fuck, I have a brain tumor, and all I can think about are my balls.
User Reviews
Submitted by mossimo1213 (user info) at 2007-03-13 19:00:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
haha you have an awesome knack for great one liners.
Fuck, I have a brain tumor, and all I can think about are my balls
and who hasnt been bored one night and thought this:
I let my head fall back as "Mythbusters" plays on the screen. I've seen this one.
Submitted by JoeyG (user info) at 2007-03-06 06:33:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by LittleMonster (user info) at 2007-03-06 05:12:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2007-03-05 14:16:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
like that last line.
Submitted by Alcoholocaust (user info) at 2007-03-01 15:12:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
this person needs an MRI:
Submitted by DesolateMisanthrope (user info) at 2007-02-28 21:12:42 (#)
Ranking: -2
the only thing you could do that would compel me to rate you positively is take your life.
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2007-03-01 10:45:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2007-02-28 21:16:23 (#)
Ranking: 2
i had an mri for 1hr 45 mins.
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And they STILL haven't figured out why your head is so ginormous?
Submitted by DrogoRoch (user info) at 2007-03-01 09:42:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Bloody hell this is good.
Submitted by manic_impressive (user info) at 2007-03-01 00:48:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by DesolateMisanthrope (user info) at 2007-02-28 21:12:42 (#)
Ranking: -2
the only thing you could do that would compel me to rate you positively is take your life.
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KILL YOURSELF BEFORE THE ZIONISTS DO ETS YOU FUCKING SCUMBAG.
Submitted by tiaprae (user info) at 2007-02-28 21:43:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Snare (user info) at 2007-02-28 21:25:58 (#)
Ranking: 2
Shit man,
I'm reading this and all the shit we went through when the old man died, all the same shit we're going through with my sister right now, its right there in an Uberpost.
I don't know if I feel validated or violated.
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Let's hope for validated?
Submitted by tiaprae (user info) at 2007-02-28 21:42:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by DesolateMisanthrope (user info) at 2007-02-28 21:12:42 (#)
Ranking: -2
the only thing you could do that would compel me to rate you positively is take your life.
----
:)
Submitted by Snare (user info) at 2007-02-28 21:25:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Shit man,
I'm reading this and all the shit we went through when the old man died, all the same shit we're going through with my sister right now, its right there in an Uberpost.
I don't know if I feel validated or violated.
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2007-02-28 21:16:23 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
i had an mri for 1hr 45 mins.
i had to be sedated - i freaked OUT.
Submitted by DesolateMisanthrope (user info) at 2007-02-28 21:12:42 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
the only thing you could do that would compel me to rate you positively is take your life.
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2007-02-28 20:41:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Amontillado (user info) at 2007-02-28 20:12:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
,jv
Submitted by TimetoDance (user info) at 2007-02-28 18:32:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I like this so far. I encourage you to keep it going.
Submitted by messmind (user info) at 2007-02-28 18:26:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Thou freaky earpit ! I Hope this is still fictional ?
Submitted by experima (user info) at 2007-02-28 18:16:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
and another great job
:)