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Post by freebirde on Jul 8, 2022 12:59:49 GMT -6
Now just got to keep the Lookie Lous from smudging the prints on the bottle in the back of the truck.
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tsam
New Member
Posts: 8
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Post by tsam on Jul 8, 2022 13:26:20 GMT -6
I’m really enjoying your story
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Post by gipsy on Jul 8, 2022 18:54:55 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by kiwibutterfly on Jul 8, 2022 23:50:55 GMT -6
Ohhh boy.....don't stop here
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 9, 2022 6:37:28 GMT -6
-12-
Merv slowly opened his eyes, his mind was blank, he hadn’t been dreaming, couldn’t recollect where he was or what he’d been doing. He felt very strange and totally discombobulated. His eyes didn’t open much but he could tell it was very dark. The confusion made him feel lost, he couldn’t see anything but he sensed he wasn’t in a familiar place. He felt like there was something important he was to remember or do but everything was a thick fog. He knew he hurt all over. In the sort of groggy dream state he was in he felt like he was wrapped in seaweed or fouled line while swimming. Was he drowning, he felt a panic rise in his chest and he struggled to get free. He began pawing at whatever was binding him, trying to free himself. A shrill, warbling alarm suddenly shocked his ears which only added to his total confusion.
As he was trying to understand what that loud ass noise was and as he tried to make any sense of who, what, when and where; a door was flung open and bright, blinding overhead lights came on causing pain and forcing him to try and shield his eyes. As he tried to peek from under his hand he could only make out a light bluish colored blur coming through the door. That blurry blob was followed by two more. He couldn’t get his eyes to focus, the light was so bright, like he was looking into the sun. Then he heard a woman’s voice which made him freeze on the spot… “Mr Cole… Mr Cole… it’s OK… calm down Sir, relax… you're safe. You’re in the hospital Mr Cole, there was an accident.” Merv stopped squirming trying to understand and process what she’d said. “Mr Cole, I need you to stop moving and lay still right now. We’re going to fix the wires and tubes you just pulled loose but before I do I’m going to give you a little more medicine to help you sleep.” Merv sort of heard and understood, his brain felt like it was running in thick mud, everything was slow and taking effort. He slightly nodded his head, or at least he thought he did, and then he was out again…
Day 4 - Late Afternoon - The day after his late night wake up, Merv came to again as he heard someone stirring about in the room. Again it was a woman’s voice, he thought a different one from the last voice he’d heard. “Oh, are you deciding to try joining us today? We heard you tried to make a late check out last night, don’t you like the room service?” He was squinting hard due to the bright light. “Oh here, let me close the blinds and turn off the lights, that’ll make it darker in here.” He could hear the tinny sound of window shade being lowered followed by the distinctive click of a light switch. “There, that should be better. Just stay there and relax and get your bearings. I’ll go get the Dr to have him come in to see you.” Merv just slowly moved his head. As he lay there listening to the low beep of some monitor… the beep was calming and he felt his breath in rhythm with it as it lulled him off to sleep again.
Day 5 - Mid Day Merv came to and found his parents sitting next to him. His Mom was shocked to see him awakening so she quickly left to run to the Nurse’s station. He could hear his Dad’s voice. “Hey Bud, can you hear me, it’s Dad. You gave us a heck of a scare. Can you hear me?” Merv gave the slightest nod of his head. A nurse entered the room with his Mom hot on her heels. The nurse did a few checks on him like blood pressure, pulse and temp. “OK Mr Cole, the on-call Doctor has been notified and should be here in a few minutes. he's on his way down.” “Merv…” “Excuse me Sir, what was that?” “Merv…” with a slight nod of his head towards his Dad “He's Mr. Cole.” The nurse and his Mom both chuckled slightly, his Mom wiping tears away hoping that a sense of humor, even if a bad one, might be a good sign of where her Baby boy was at in his healing.
The Doc came in about 10 minutes later and checked his charts and tried asking a few questions. He then told Merv that since he was now fully conscious, the Doc was going to send him down for an MRI and x-rays and that when that was done the Doc would be back in the afternoon to go over them and discuss what they show. As the doc left his Mom wanted to play 21 questions but thankfully his Dad headed her off telling her now wasn’t the time. Merv kept saying how tired he was, asking where he was, what happened. Before either of his parents could answer he was back out.
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Post by frankie on Jul 9, 2022 7:25:08 GMT -6
Oh man, this is a great story. I'll bet I check it several times a day to see if there's an update. Keep 'em coming.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 9, 2022 8:51:06 GMT -6
Day 6 - After many days of only partial awakening and the briefest periods of consciousness Merv finally came full awake. He noticed he couldn’t see from his right eye and his left arm felt like it was encased in concrete. As he glanced around with his left eye he could see his Dad. On hearing the rustle of the pillow his Dad was out of his chair and next to the bed. “It’s OK bud, take your time to adjust.” “Water” “Sure, give me a minute to run and grab some. What was 5 minutes felt like an hour to Merv as his Dad returned with a big hospital issue mug with a flex straw. “OK let’s first set you up so you don’t choke on this.” With that his Dad started slowly raising the bed till Merv was somewhat upright. “There that’s better, after everything all we need is you choking on water.”
Merv’s mouth was hot, dry and felt like he’d gargled with superglue. A small sip helped wet his tongue enough to let it move around in his mouth trying to loosen his cheeks from his gums and the rest of his tongue from the roof of his mouth. He followed that with ever larger sips rinsing his mouth and relishing the feel of the cold liquid going down his dry throat. The water seemed to bring him to another level of alertness.
In a gravely rough voice he was able to say “Thanks.” His Dad could see the look of confusion on his face, the same one that he would have when he was little and would be hard asleep and he’d have to wake him for school. “Merv, do you remember what happened?” Merv gave his head a slight shake. His Dad paused, he’d been sitting here for several days wondering how to tell him what happened. “There was an accident, well no that’s not right, you were attacked and robbed and beaten while you and your friends were camping.” In that instant it was like the dam was removed and all his memories and what had happened came rushing back. He urgently croaked out “Jimbo?!? Matt?!?” His Dad saw he’d immediately gotten anxious and upset. “Calm down Buddy, Matt and Jimmy are here in the hospital too, you’re all safe. From what we’ve been told you’re all safe thanks in large part to you.”
Later that afternoon two of the nurses came in and helped get him out of bed and moving. Once they had him on his feet his first trip was just back and forth the length of the bed twice and it totally exhausted him as he shuffled his feet along like some old man. The nurses would come back in about every hour and walk with him a little more each time. Merv thought the worst part was getting in and out of the bed, he was so stiff and everything seemed to ache. Then he’d also have to have, as he’d dubbed it in his mind, his rolling stripper pole that held his IV bag and monitor. By about the 5th time they’d had him up he did notice a difference in how he was starting to limber up and he could walk further each time. After the evening meal they let him do a loop around out in the hall. As they returned him to his room he asked if he might be able to go see his friends. The nurse said she would need to see if it was OK with their Docs and also told him if it was he’d have to ride in a wheelchair.
About a half hour later she came in and said that they could go see his friend Matt but his friend Jim was still in critical condition and not able to have visitors other than family. That came as a major shock, he’d assumed Jimbo was healing and getting better. To know he was still unconscious concerned him greatly.
The nurse wheeled him down to the elevators and took him to another floor and down a rat maze of halls before stopping at a door that looked the same as his. The nurse knocked lightly on the door frame. Merv could hear sounds from a TV as she eased open the door and wheeled Merv through.
“Holy shit! Look what the cat, err foxy nurse dragged in.” Matt’s laugh sounded good to his ears… “You watch it Mister or there might be a mix up in your treatment records and you might get scheduled for a couple enemas…” “Sorry Ms Jansen.” Matt quipped and gave a wink. “See how they treat me, especially this one… I think she has it out for me.” Hearing the banter made Merv smile, the first in a long while. “So I see you’re being your normal pain in the ass self!” “Oh so he’s like this all the time, not just a show for us?” Nurse Jansen asked. “Sorry but yep, that’s just him.” Merv quipped back. “OK, well I’ll let you boys talk a bit but your Doc said half hour and then I have to get you back to your room.”
As the Nurse left Matt looked at Merv “You look like hell man, look like you had a bull stomp all over you.” “Well I imagine that is how I feel.” Matt’s face took on a somber look. “Thanks Merv. If it hadn’t been for you we’d probably all be dead. You saved us.” Merv felt embarrassed at the attention and tried playing it off. “Yeah OK, you’d have done the same.” “No, not yeah OK and no we wouldn’t have done the same, we had no idea to do what you did. I mean that thing with the floor mats, seat covers and leaves; I’d never have thought of that.” Wanting to change the topic Merv switched the topic, “How’s Jimbo?” Now it was Matt’s turn for a somber face, “He’s not good man, I don’t think they know what to do for him, he’s basically in a coma. Tanya was telling me it’s a waiting game right now.” Matt could see the questioning look on Merv’s face “Sorry that would be Nurse Jansen to you uninitiated.” “Have they let you see him?” “No but his parents stop by when they’re in and give me updates. They’ve also stopped up to see you but said you’d been out of it too.” Wanting to change the gloomy feel, “So it’s Tanya, is it? Little familiar to be on a first name basis with your nurse aren’t ya?” It was Merv’s turn to watch Matt squirm and turn a bit red. “Well what can I say, I have a way with the ladies.” “Since when?” “Well since her. I don’t know maybe it’s like Stockholm Syndrome or something but since she’s been coming in I can’t talk with her enough. I think she sort of feels the same as she’ll stop in for part of her breaks to sit and talk. If I ever get out of here and get these casts off I might ask her out, see if she’d like to go dancing.” “Dancing? Is that what you kids are calling it these days?” The new voice caught Merv by surprise as he turned his head slightly to see a man and a lady come thru the door. “It is oldman… Merv let me introduce you to my parents. This is my Mom Mary and my Dad Mark. Mom, Dad, this is Merv.”
His Dad held out a hand to shake Merv’s “Nice to finally meet you Merv, which it was under better circumstances.” His Mom walked over but rather than shaking his hand she leaned down and gave him a gentle hug and whispered in his ear “Thank you for saving my son, my baby.” She gave a light kiss on his cheek before standing back up. He could see that when she’d pulled back see had tears welling up in her eyes. Merv wasn’t sure what to say, the only thing that came to mind was “Your welcome” he thought how underwhelming that statement was in response to hers but other words just didn’t come to him.
They all turned as they heard a light knock on the door frame, it was Tanya, err Nurse Jansen. “Sorry to interrupt but Cindarella’s clock is about to hit midnight and before his chariot turns back into a pumpkin, I need to get him back to his room.” Mark spoke up “We understand. Well it was great finally getting to meet you Merv. Can’t wait till you’re feeling better and we can talk with you more.” “Have a good night Bro and no flirting with the nurse, that’s my job.” Tanya laughed “Flirting? Is that what you call it, I thought you just had a mental deficiency from your injuries.” Merv and Matt’s parents all chuckled… “Wow, tough crowd… OK in that case, take her away…”
As he got back to his room and into bed he was exhausted. “Thanks for taking me down there.” “You're welcome. I was likely headed down to see him anyway.” Merv grinned “He’s a good guy, but don’t tell him I said that.” She smiled “well have a good night or at least a few hours sleep before they come to wake you up and check your vitals.”
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Post by gipsy on Jul 9, 2022 11:17:54 GMT -6
Thanks for the update. So where are the cops asking all kinds of questions?
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 10, 2022 18:25:47 GMT -6
13
Day 8 - Late morning - Merv stirred as there was a knock on his door. “It’s open.” He was surprised to see a uniformed State Trooper step in. He introduced himself as Trooper Stein with the Virginia State Police. Trooper Stein asked if Merv might feel up to speaking with him to provide a statement and to answer some questions and see what he could fill in for their investigation. Merv told him to come on in but told him he was still a bit fuzzy on things himself. Stein asked if it would be OK to set up a camera to record the interview and Merv said he didn’t mind. With that the Trooper pulled a small tripod from his briefcase and set it up along with a digital video camera. Merv raised his bed up to a better sitting position where he could see the Trooper better. Trooper Stein asked if he could attach a small wireless mic to the neck of Merv’s hospital gown. He then went over and turned on the camera. As it started, Stein made an intro with the date, time, location, persons and the case the video was in regards to.
With that complete the Trooper asked if Merv could tell him what he could recall about the attack, any details and anything he could remember seeing or that occurred at their campsite. So Merv did just that, as he spoke it seemed to become clear in his mind like a movie he was replaying. He told the Trooper about coming back from fishing and finding Matt down on the ground and witnessing the altercation and then the assault on Jimbo. He told him about the horror of watching him drop like dead weight and seeing him strike his head on the log. He remembered trying to talk the thugs down in hopes they’d just let them be. He told them about their accusation that he and his friends had tried running them off the road and how that was all BS as they’d never left the river or camp that day. He then described how the one guy hit him repeatedly with the shotgun while the other held the pistol on him but then once he was down on the ground they both proceeded to kick him till he blacked out.
The Trooper asked if he recalled when and at what point they’d shot him. Merv looked at him with a stupefied look, “Shot me, I wasn’t shot.” “Oh, I’m sorry Mr. Cole, I assumed the hospital had informed you during your treatment. Yes Sir, you were shot. In fact they shot you in the head. That wound by your eye isn’t just from the beating. While they were cleaning that up the doctors realized it was also a bullet wound. It was hard for them to tell initially with the swelling and severity of the wound. Apparently the bullet went in just below your right eye and appears to have deflected off your cheek bone, sort of ricocheted or glanced around the bone and exited out your cheek about an inch or two in front of your ear. We’ve not yet been able to recover the bullet but we believe from the size of the wound it appears to have been a twenty two round. That was lucky for you, a larger caliber most likely would not have deflected. This isn’t just a robbery and assault investigation, it’s an attempted homicide investigation.” This news rocked Merv to his core, making him realize how lucky he was to be alive.
With this new knowledge Merv tried to really focus and recall step by step and any details he could. Having an eidetic memory, more commonly called a photographic memory, was about to pay off in more than good grades in school. He was able to provide a lot of detail on what was taken, what he’d seen occurring as he came into camp and then the attack up till he blacked out. That included a description of the attackers; what they looked like, what they wore and he did mention that they were dressed “city country” not like someone truly from the country. He also was able to give a detailed description on their truck. As he was rewinding the movie in his head one key item popped into his mind, the truck's license plate number. At the mention of that item the Trooper sat up and asked him to repeat it about 3 times as he wrote it down, checked it and rechecked it. Trooper Stein then asked to be excused for a moment to make a phone call. He paused the video, pulled his phone out and went out into the hall for a couple minutes. When he came back in he restarted the video, explained the pause and resumed where he left off, first explaining to Merv that he had needed to relay that critical detail to the other investigators so they could immediately start searching DMV records.
Trooper Stein then proceeded with the interview and asked Merv why they were even out there, who knew they were there, any sort of details. He explained that his two buddies from work had surprised him for a guys getaway weekend, trying to help distract Merv from his divorce that had just finalized the morning they’d left. He told him he didn’t think anyone besides the three of them knew where they were going since they themselves really didn’t until they got there. Trooper Stein then asked him to tell him about what happened from the time they left the apartment to arriving at the campsite which he did, telling him they’d only made the one stop to gas up, eat and use the bathroom.
Stein asked him to clarify a couple things and then asked him to describe everything that happened when he regained consciousness. So he spent the next few minutes trying to give the details until he recalled crawling onto the beach but then everything was a blank until a few days ago when he finally came to. Trooper Stein asked where he’d learned to do what he did with covering his buddies up. He said he just improvised with what he had learned from things from Scouts and Wilderness Survival merit badge. Trooper Stein smiled at him. “Did you make Eagle?” “Yes” “Me too, Troop 342. See, just goes to prove all those naysayers out there who say what will Scouts teach a kid. I always point to things like what you did here or like what those boys a month or so back did when that Amtrak derailed. Those Scouts from two different Troops were on their way back from Philmont and thankfully they were in the right place at the right time. They were the actual first responders, rescuing people, guiding them out of the wreck, administering first aid until the police, firefighters and ambulances arrived. They saved lives and assisted dozens that day. One of those boys even had the difficult duty of trying to help and comfort the truck driver in his last moments. How many ‘kids’ from any public school, any ‘kid’ off the street would have any idea what to do, much less be so knowledgeable and able to organize in a moment's notice to save lives.”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to get on a tangent.” “Not at all, I saw that story in the news, made me proud to be a Scout, to see those boys jump in without hesitation or having to be told.” “Well don’t sell yourself short, from what the Doctors have told me you were pretty amazing in your own right.” “What, how’s that?” The Trooper then surprised him again when he said the doctors were crediting Merv with saving not only his own life but also the lives of both of his friends that night. “The Docs said they are still shocked that after the beating you took, being shot in the face and having your hand and wrist broken in about 6 places you were able to take care of your friends by having the ingenuity to use the seat covers and leaves to keep them warm and to then drag yourself into the river and float in 60 some degree water for over 4 miles to find help. And only then did you collapse from the effects of your wounds, exhaustion and hypothermia. That there is going above and beyond.” As he spoke Merv had looked down at the huge mitt where his left hand was to be. The Docs told him it was still there but that for now it was all held together with screws, pins and wires.
“Well I should have enough for now. I’ll pack up and let you rest. Thank you for your time and the info you provided, it might go a long way to finding these guys and letting us bring them to see their day in court. As things progress I or other investigators will be back in contact with you.” Trooper Stein then stood, stopped the camera and began packing up. Stein laid his business card and a pamphlet on victim services on the hospital bed table. He offered his hand out and Merv gingerly shook it. “Mr Cole, you did one hell of a job and your friends have you to thank for their lives. I promise you we will do everything we can to track these animals down and bring them to justice. I wish you a full and speedy recovery.” “Thank you and I hope you do find them. Have a good day and stay safe out there.” “Thank you, have a good afternoon.'' With that the Trooper gathered his briefcase and left.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 10, 2022 18:26:21 GMT -6
Thanks for the update. So where are the cops asking all kinds of questions? They were coming... when seconds count...
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Post by gipsy on Jul 10, 2022 20:42:18 GMT -6
They are minutes away. Thanks for the update.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 11, 2022 19:42:12 GMT -6
14
Day 11 - The older shift nurse came in after breakfast and told him he’d likely be getting discharged in two days, as long as everything looked good with his last couple labs. She said he’d need to start his rehab when he got back home and she stressed the importance of him keeping with it in order to ensure he got full mobility, strength and use back in his hand. She let him know the Orthopedic surgeon would be in later in the day to check his hand and wrist and to clean and redress it and to discuss with him what sort of exercises he’d need to do as part of his rehab.
When the Doc came in about 2 PM he introduced himself “Good afternoon. I’m Doctor Levin the ortho that put your paw back together. I hope you're not a southpaw. The last couple times we met you were out cold.” Merv immediately liked the guy and the way he tried to play down the situation with some humor. “Now I don’t want you to worry, I’m one of the best if I do say, and I do say it. Everything went as I planned and things went back together very well. What I'm going to do right now is get all of these bandages off and get you cleaned up so I can see how you’re doing, I’ll explain the erector set that is in your wrist and hand. I hear you’re an engineer so you might like the small suspension bridge I’ve built into your hand. I’ll explain everything in as much detail as you want on what I had to do to fix your brokenness. You likely aren’t going to like seeing what I had to do and you definitely won’t enjoy the feel of what I’m about to do. If it starts to get unbearable let me know and we'll take a break. OK?” Merv nodded his head. OK, give me a few minutes and I'll be back with a cart and someone to help me.
It was about five minutes later when Doc wheeled in a cart and Nurse Jansen was following him. They sat him up in bed and Doc pulled the cart close and rested part of Merv's arm on it, supporting his elbow. He was as delicate unwrapping things and before he peeled back the last layer he explained to Merv that he was about to see wires protruding from his skin into an apparatus and explained it was there to keep things in tension while the bones healed. He explained that once everything was healed up he'd need to have another surgery to remove most of the pieces of hardware. “OK, Here we go.” As he pulled the cloth back Merv’s normally stout stomach felt a bit queasy. “How ya doing Merv?” “OK I guess, not sure what I thought, but wasn't totally prepared to look like something out of the Terminator movie.” Doc chuckled. “Yeah isn’t the easiest thing to see for most people, and even more so when it’s their body.”
“OK, now the hard part, I have to clean this up. I’m not going to BS you, you’re not going to like me while I do this but here we go.” More than once Merv flinched or felt his eyes water in the corners. He could tell the Doc was trying to be gentle and quick as he worked. “OK worst is over. I have to say things look to be healing very well and I’m really pleased with your progress. Look to have good blood flow everywhere and your incisions are healing nicely. You must of had an amazing surgeon.” He smiled broadly and winked at Merv. “I did, only the best erector set builder for me.” Merv quipped back. The Doc had a deep laugh.
“Well it all looks good, no signs of infection. How's it feel to you?” “Besides the aches, not bad, other than it itches, I so would love to starch at it.” “Well you can't, but that's a good sign, shows it's healing. Now I want to talk to you about something else. Once you go home I'm going to be prescribing you some pretty strong pain killers. So you're not going to be able to drive when you're taking them, and don't do something stupid like drink alcohol while you're on them. Try and take them as sparingly as you can. I mean like try to wait until the pain is nearing unbearable. This stuff can become very addictive, very quickly. I hate to give it but it's about the only option. And don't think it can't happen to me. I'd be lying if I did tell you I've had people anywhere from a 15 year old wrestler, to a 30 year old Mom and house wife to a 75 year old man get addicted to this stuff and then when they couldn't get it, they turned to things like heroin. I'm not bullshitting when I tell you that you're dancing with the devil. So again, no taking them every few many hours or on a set schedule. Take something like ibuprofen or naproxen sodium (Aleve) which will help with the inflammation and some of the pain.” Merv appreciated the warning and planned to head the warning.
Since Doc Levin knew Merv lived almost three hours from his hospital he gave him a list of Ortho’s close to his home area the he could pick from for his follow ups and with. “Merv, this is a list of Doc's back near the city. I've listed them in order of my top pick on down. I don't know which ones may or may not have ability to take on new patients. I'm going to make a call to the first guy on the list. We did undergrad together and then residency later on. He's the second best ortho I know.” Merv started to ask who the top was but paused and smiled “After you?” “Smart man, you catch on quick. Seriously though, Pete is a world class Doc and he has a lot more resources there in the big city. If you watch any of the pro sport teams in and around the district, if they have problems, Pete is who they all try to see.” “Thanks Doc I really appreciate all the great care and also the cautions on the meds.” “No problem. Now I think they are looking to release you the day after tomorrow so that morning we'll redress all this. Nurse Jansen, did I forget anything?” “No Doctor, I believe you covered all the bases.” She winked at Merv. “OK, then I'll see you day after tomorrow.” With that he stood up and was going to start cleaning up things. “I've got that Sir, you have other patients.” “Thank you Tanya, just don't want people saying I'm messy or to lazy to pick up my own messes.”
“Doc is great isn't he?” “Yeah I liked him but then you all have me hopped up on happy pills.” “Not much we don't.” “Hey how's Matt doing?” “How should I know?” she said coyly with a sly grin and reddening cheeks. “He's doing very well, that friend of yours is a big flirt.” “Really? I've never seen that from him. Maybe it's the target of his interest bringing that out in him. Do you think I could go down to talk to him a bit later on today?” “I'd think so, I'll check with the Doc to make sure though.” “Thank you.”
Later on Tanya came in and wheeled him to Matt's room. As she wheeled him in he saw Matt light up but it wasn't cause Merv was there. “Hi Tanya.” “Hi Tanya? What about hi Merv 'ol buddy?” “Ehh you're old news, she's sweet and pretty.” “Are you saying I'm not sweet nor am I pretty?” "Have you looked in a mirror? You were fugly before that mega shiner you got.” “You boys play nice and I'll be back in about an hour.” “Thanks.”
As Tanya left the guys got talking. Merv found out Trooper Stein had also been to see and talk with Matt. They talked very little about the day that brought them here. They spoke some about work and the projects they'd been working on and they spoke about Jimbo. “From the little Tanya has been able to tell me Jimbo is still in a coma. She says all his vitals are good and from everything they see, he should be awake. Sounds like he's a bit of an oddity.” Merv looked at him and they both started to laugh... “That describes Jimbo alright, an oddity.” “I just wish they'd let us see him, maybe something familiar would help snap him out of it.” “I hear you man. Hey they're letting me go home tomorrow.” “Hey, that's awesome. I was told I should go the following if I pass the last few tests or labs or something. You got to be ready to get out of here?” “Well yes and no. I'm seriously going to miss seeing Tanya everyday. I'm serious, I think I'm falling for her. But I don't know, I mean long distance makes it a little hard to try and date.” “Well I could run over you with the car and give you an excuse to stay here and for her to pour out her pity on you.” “FU” “Love you to brother” Merv laughed.
The next day around mid morning there was a wrap on the door and Matt was wheeled in by Tanya and Matt's folks followed behind. “Hey slacker, just coming to let you know the warden commuted my sentence and I get to go home.” As he glanced up over his shoulder at Tanya he said “Yep, No more of these prison guards being mean to me.” She lightly slapped his shoulder and then they heard his Mom say “More like they can't stand your whiny butt complaining 24/7” He turned towards her, holding a hand to his chest “Mother you wound me. Here I am, your child and your taking sides?” “You better believe it, us girls need to stick together.” she said as she looked to Tanya and winked. “Jeesh, see what I have to deal with?” “Oh yaa, sure you don't deserve any of it.” Merv said.
“OK Bro, my folks are going to take me back to my apartment. Give me a call when you get back to Jimbo's place. ...err are you still staying there?” “I uhh... well... I hadn't thought about it. For now yeah, at least till he gets out and on his feet.”
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Post by gipsy on Jul 11, 2022 20:11:29 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by biggkidd on Jul 14, 2022 11:51:08 GMT -6
Story is going really well. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 14, 2022 15:52:48 GMT -6
15
It ended up being 2 days after Matt left that Merv's parents were there for his release from the hospital. They’d been there the first few days until he regained consciousness but then they'd had to go home to jobs and to take care of some important things. His folks would drive him the 3 hours back to Jimbo’s apartment. The hospital the guys were in was even further away from ‘home’ than the park had been but at the time of the assault it had been the closest hospital with a Level 1 Trauma unit. Merv's parents had been trying to talk him into coming home with them to convalesce so they could take care of him but he said no, that he needed to do this on his own and that he needed to get back going and back to work ASAP.
He thanked the nurses that were there for their great care and he was able to finally stop by and check on Jimbo. He was still unresponsive and in the coma. He was very worried about him. As they wheeled him in they gave him a few minutes for him to sit with Jimbo. “Hey man, I hope you can hear me. You need to knock this mess off and wake up you slacker. I'm betting your faking this just so you don't have to pay up on that bet you lost and that bottle of whiskey you owe me.” Merv could feel a tear in his eye. “Come on man, you got to pull thru this. You round out the three musketeers. You got to pull thru, do you know how hard it is to find a dork engineer.” Merv reached over and took Jimbo's hand and then hung his head and said a long and heart felt prayer for his friend.
Matt was out of the woods for the most part. They'd kept him as long as they did for fear of a possible punctured lung or lung collapse with all the broken and cracked ribs he had. He’d had surgery for the broken collarbone. The day before when Merv had been down talking with Matt as he was getting ready to leave, Matt’s parents came in. It was the first time he’d ever met them. So after introducing them to his parents he was trying to make his exit to give Matt and his family their privacy. Before he could go Matt’s Mom gave him a hug and kissed his cheek and his Dad shook his hand. They both gushed to him about saving there son’s life. Merv blushed bright red, his face hot. He tried to play it off saying if the tables were turned, Matt would have done it the same. He didn’t know why but he felt guilty like the entire ordeal was his fault since they'd been out there for Merv.
Matt said he’d call and check in each day and asked if he needed him to go by his place to check on anything. Matt said his roommate was at his place and he’d talked to him a few times and things were all good there. “OK Bro, you get better and keep an eye out for Jimbo. I’ll be seeing you in a few days I hope. With that his Mom wheeled him out and towards the elevators. Nurse Jansen was walking by his side quietly chatting with Matt and his parents. The next morning he was able to go in to see Jimbo again for a bit before one of the nurses said they needed to get him down to his room to get ready to check out.
As he was wheeled into his room his Mom and Dad were there. Since he'd arrived at the hospital in nothing more than his underwear, which the ER staff summarily cut off him, he had no clothes to go home in. His Mom, God bless her and her always thinking ahead, had picked him some simple things; a pair of socks and underwear, a sweat shirt, sweat pants and a pair of cheap moccasin style slippers. Stylish? No. Comfortable and easy to get into? YES! Though he did have to tuck his big bandaged mitt inside the shirt rather than down the sleeve but it worked great as the shirt formed a sort of makeshift sling.
As the nurse brought in some forms for him to sign they gave him a folder that had some care instructions, some simple rehab things to start working on and then there were several prescriptions. She went over each one and she again gave stringent cautions on the pain killers. As he was doing all of hat his Dad had went to go pull their SUV around. His Dad was able to pull right up in front of the hospital's traffic circle to the main entry, just as the nurse had said. As his Dad was pulling up the nurse wheeled him out to the truck where she and his Mom helped him get up into the back seat. It took a bit for Merv to get up out of the chair and to then work his way around to step up into the back seat.
Merv still hurt, a lot. It took a bit until he was able to get semi-comfortable in the 2nd row captain's seat and was finally able to breath easily. He was feeling drowsy as he heard his parents chatting, he was drifting off when his Dad directed a question at him. “Merv, what were Matt’s parents talking about? Something about you saving his life? No one at the hospital could tell us what happened other than you guys were attacked and you’ve not said what happened.” “I uhh… I don’t really know, like I told his folks, I didn’t do anything he wouldn’t have done for Jimbo or I.” As his Dad seemed to probe for specifics he lied to them. “I don’t really know what I did that they think was so grand. Guess you’ll have to ask Matt next time you see him.” He caught his Dad’s eyes in the rear view mirror and he could tell he wasn’t buying it. Merv had always been a terrible liar and could never get anything past his Dad. His Dad didn’t press it, seeing Merv didn’t want to discuss it for some reason, so he changed the subject.
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Post by gipsy on Jul 14, 2022 16:36:07 GMT -6
Thanks for the update.
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Post by biggkidd on Jul 15, 2022 4:57:49 GMT -6
Merv's ex sent those guys or was the reason for them showing up anyway. Otherwise how would they have known his name?
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Post by freebirde on Jul 15, 2022 7:54:18 GMT -6
Did any of the guys have tracking apps on their phones that they knew about? Merv probably had one he didn't know about, which is how the goons found their camp. The apps could lead to the thieves' location.
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Post by solo on Jul 15, 2022 9:26:46 GMT -6
Did any of the guys have tracking apps on their phones that they knew about? Merv probably had one he didn't know about, which is how the goons found their camp. The apps could lead to the thieves' location. I thought about the same thing. Especially since no one should have known where they would end up unless Matt or Jimbo had mentioned something before hand as it being a posibility. Just went back and looked over some previous chapters. They lost Cell signal, Merv had to navigate with a paper map. And one of the assailants called him Mervin'... So it was most likely the ex-wife. Could it have been the bossman? He was the one who knew what their plan was. And by chance did the exwife have an affair with the bossman?
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 15, 2022 10:44:53 GMT -6
Oh nosy readers... you'll just have to wait and see. I will say I hae various ideas floating thru my head as to the who's, how's and why's... With all your more obvious guesstimates I may have to veer further off course... I mean I wouldn't want to possibly validate your hunches would I?
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Post by biggkidd on Jul 15, 2022 11:16:00 GMT -6
Oh nosy readers... you'll just have to wait and see. I will say I hae various ideas floating thru my head as to the who's, how's and why's... With all your more obvious guesstimates I may have to veer further off course... I mean I wouldn't want to possibly validate your hunches would I? Now now that's just not right. Stick with your storyline don't let our sorry arse guesses throw you off. So what if someone can guess a little you did the setup well!
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 15, 2022 12:41:19 GMT -6
Oh nosy readers... you'll just have to wait and see. I will say I hae various ideas floating thru my head as to the who's, how's and why's... With all your more obvious guesstimates I may have to veer further off course... I mean I wouldn't want to possibly validate your hunches would I? Now now that's just not right. Stick with your storyline don't let our sorry arse guesses throw you off. So what if someone can guess a little you did the setup well! Storyline... heck, I'm not that sophisticated, I truly am making it up as I go. In fact, I only have a piece or two left that I'm massaging so I need to put some of the ideas I have swirling around down on paper and stretch things along. So many ideas, just not sure of the directions I want to take. Sort of feels like one of those choose your storyline books... Choice A or B, Do they enter the spooky library or not...I flip to page 150 or 175...arghhh How do these other guys deal so well with the voices in their heads seemingly so well??
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Post by solo on Jul 15, 2022 13:36:28 GMT -6
We don't..... BWAH HA HA HA!
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Post by papaof2 on Jul 15, 2022 13:37:11 GMT -6
Some days. those voices are very helpful ;-) Other days, they're off partying somewhere - probably with all the other AWOL muses :-(
Keep going. Even if someone has guessed your original plans, you can still twist their minds with the HOW if not the WHO.
Maybe having the rich 12-year-old that lives down the street in love with Merv's wife and arranging the attack?
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Post by CountryGuy on Jul 15, 2022 13:56:01 GMT -6
Got some heavy metal cranking in the background and going to see what the muse spits out...
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