A flurry of words. Car accident. Head injury. Seizure. Surgery. It left a bad taste in Darry’s mouth. The doctors weren’t that helpful either. Their short, clipped words and clinical dealings with people. More information once Soda was out of surgery before bustling away to ‘help’ another family desperately seeking answers. It’s only two hours but it feels so much longer. Each second ticking past as Darry and Ponyboy sit in the surgical wards waiting room. The clock on the wall counts the minutes, the ticking sounding like a heartbeat in Darry’s head. Counting seems to help - every second he counts is a second more that Soda is alive past closed doors. Ponyboy sits with his knees tucked up underneath his chin in the uncomfortable molded …show more content…
Chapman pulls one of the other chairs around and sits facing them. “How’s Soda?” Darry asks quickly. “Sodapop made it through the surgery,” Dr. Chapman assures quickly, noticing the worry evident in Darry’s usually stoic face. “ “The surgery went well, with no complications. However Sodapop did suffer from a subdural hematoma-bleeding on the brain. So we performed a craniotomy to stop the bleeding," Dr. Chapman pauses as though for dramatic effect before continuing. "We inserted an ICP monitor to observe the pressure on his brain, as well as the swelling. We’ll remove that after several days when the pressure in his skull returns to a satisfactory level. He also has a small hairline skull fracture," Chapman paused again. "We’re going to keep him in a drug induced coma for a few days. Just so to give his brain and body a chance to heal." “How long?” Ponyboy asks fearing for his brothers life. Dr. Chapman looks at the younger Curtis - a hint of sadness present in his grey-blue eyes - before sighing a little. “No more than four to five days and then we’ll begin to lighten the sedatives and let him wake up slowly on his own,” he turns to Darry. “After the drugs wear off it could be a matter of hours or several days before he 's fully