Cracked skull. Broken ribs. Broken collarbone. The skin on left hand side of her body scraped and grazed, in some places completely ripped off. Alive. She had cracked her head against the bonnet of the car, then again against the tarmac; this could have killed her, yet the skull did not completely break, only crack. She was lucky; she landed well when she had been launched off her bike; knees drawn up to her chest, landing on her shoulder protecting her legs and organs, but still breaking three of her left ribs and her collarbone slamming into the tarmac. She sandpapered her skin when she was skidding along the road, the friction burns and grazes not going deep but causing an immense amount of pain. Rendered unconscious, rushed into A&E by paramedics, grazes treated, skull glued black together, bruises iced, left arm put into a sling. But she was alive. :: …show more content…
There wasn't much to do about broken ribs and collarbone, except reduce movement and wait for them to heal naturally. She was in a state of unconsciousness not caused by hospital drugs, but the force inflicted upon her brain. The medics believed it too early to distinguish whether the unconsciousness was simply her brain blacking out in effort to spare it the pain the body was going through, or a coma. If Coley woke up, they would be able to tell whether brain damage had set in; scans had turned up inconclusive, so the best they could do was to stick her head back together and hope for the best. An heart rate monitor and an IV attached to her broken body. Her breathing was shallow but regular; she was going to be alright, but in a coma or awake they did not