The Breakthrough by Jerry B. Jenkins Page A

perhaps more optimistic than was warranted.”
    “What are you saying?”
    The doctor raised his brows and straightened. “I’m afraid that while asking Sam—that’s the specialist, the neurosurgeon—what I could tell you, he immediately noticed that I appeared unrealistically positive.”
    “Meaning?”
    “I couldn’t hide that I thought things went as well as could be expected. He made me promise not to get your hopes up.”
    Boone recoiled. “You already have! What do you mean?”
    “Just that he reminded me it’s way too early to determine what brain functions may have been affected, let alone which might be completely restored.”
    “You mean memory, speech—?”
    “Boone, really, it could be a long time before we know what may have been affected, how seriously, and whether we can expect progress.”
    “Then what are you telling me? Should I be preparing for a vegetative state, in-home care, rehab, what?”
    “There’s no need to jump to conclusions. Our sole goal at this stage was to save Haeley’s life. That we were able to stabilize her was a major accomplishment, and I’m just thrilled to tell you that we expect her to survive.”
    Boone sat back. “Whoa. For now I’ll take what I can get. Do you have a few more minutes?”
    “I do. I’m planning on being here for about four more hours to monitor her.”
    “I appreciate that. Listen, Francisco here will tell you that I can be a little detail oriented.”
    Dr. Sarangan appeared to fight a smile. “I don’t need our pastor to tell me that. What do you want to know?”
    “Just everything. What am I dealing with here? Can you give it to me in layman’s terms?”
    “Sure. Haeley’s in a coma caused by blunt force trauma to the brain. A coma can be caused by bleeding, swelling, or not enough oxygen or blood sugar to the brain. Are you familiar with the RAS—the reticular activating system?”
    “Uh, no.”
    “It’s like your body’s on-off switch for automatic reflexes like respiration, heartbeat, even blood pressure. When someone slips into a coma, the first thing we have to determine is whether the RAS has stopped or both hemispheres of the brain have shut down for some reason. The specialist thinks Haeley’s RAS malfunctioned because of the fall.”
    “I’m still trying to figure out why she fainted. Do you think she’s pregnant?”
    “We should know that in a matter of minutes. We sent blood to the lab. Frankly, I hope she is, because otherwise we need to diagnose what else might have caused her symptoms.”
    “But wouldn’t pregnancy be bad while she’s trying to recover?”
    “It would certainly add an element of risk for her and for a baby. But comatose women have delivered healthy babies before.”
    Boone stood. The relief that Haeley was still alive was one thing, but the prospect that she might be pregnant was almost too much. “So what exactly happened to her brain when she hit the ground? What does blunt force trauma mean?”
    “The brain is fragile, not intended to absorb a lot of force. That’s why it’s protected by six layers of tissue, including bone. With nothing apparently blocking her fall, Haeley’s impact with the concrete effectively penetrated all those layers. I hate to use this medical term, but the neurosurgeon called it a ‘pre-death event.’ Ironically, the best thing that happened, all things considered, is that the shattering of the skull allowed the injured brain to swell without pushing down on the stem, where the RAS is headquartered. Had this occurred without anywhere for all the blood and fluid to go, we would have had to reduce the pressure by drilling a hole. Otherwise the swelling could push down on the stem enough to result in permanent shutting down of the RAS.”
    “The on-off switch. So, death.”
    “Correct.”
    “Never thought I’d be thankful for a cracked skull.”
    Sarangan nodded. “A minor blow to the head can knock someone out, but in most cases the brain is able to