Miracle?
I swear, I'm doing the best with what I can with the internet in terms of medical knowledge!!
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"This is... simply astounding. In the fifteen years I have been a doctor, I have never seen such an improvement with a diffuse axonal brain injury!"
Dick's smile never wavered since he had greeted his doctor in English once James had entered the room. And like Tim, he had quite a similar reaction. Though instead of a phone, James dropped his clipboard.
"I am honestly... a little speechless Richard. The shortest amount of time someone, that I know of, had recovered their speech like this took almost a whole year!"
"T-thanks..."
Hmm... we can work on the stutter later. It's just a miracle he can finally speak English again.
James beamed at him, hearing him speaking English was music to everyone's ears. However...
"We will need another MRI though, so we can compare them and make sure your corpus callosum is healing appropriately."
(The corpus callosum is the thick bundle of nerves that makes sure that both sides of the brain can communicate. Sensory, motion, and cognitive information is constantly being passed between hemispheres of the brain this way. If the corpus callosum is severed, or in any other way damaged, then the two hemispheres of the brain cannot communicate properly, resulting in loss of function and other difficulties. Diffuse axonal brain injuries, which is what Dick has, often affect this part of the brain. And although all brain injuries are different, some corpus callosum injuries can heal on their own after a few months. Now, I'm not sure if it would apply to this particular injury, so I'm taking a liberty on this.)
Wally, who was called immediately, had arrived just a few minutes after James. And while Wally was relieved and happy as well, he had a pensive look on his face. He quietly got up and motioned to James to talk for a moment, Bruce quickly getting up and following.
Dick hardly noticed as Tim was now practically talking his ears off.
Once the three men were in the hall and had closed the door behind them, Wally turned to James, his voice quiet so as not to disturb any of the other patients.
"Um Doc? What about his mobility? The corpus callosum also--"
James quickly cut him off with a sad shake of his head. It's not the time to sugar coat things anymore.
"I know what you're thinking, and no. Not necessarily. Gentlemen, you must remember what I told you about his prognosis when you first came to see him. Many patients suffering this condition rarely wake up. And if they do, there is usually a life-long impairment. Now, some may heal unscathed but that is very rare. Now that's not to say he won't regain the use of his legs eventually, after all his physical therapy is going very well. But it will take time, we are still just trying to build up his muscle mass... Richard's perseverance and strong will is what's getting him through this, and if I'm going to be completely honest, I never expected his ability to speak English to come back. At least not this soon."
James stared sadly at their faces, Mr. Wayne looked as if he was either going to faint or punch the next person to give him bad news.
James subtly took a step back.
Mr. West, on the other hand looked absolutely crestfallen.
"His mobility is just... very important to him."
Yes... I know. More than you think. It's for that reason I've barely seen my wife or son in a month...
"I understand that Mr. Wayne, I truly do. My team and I are trying everything we can, around the clock. Now, he clearly proved me wrong about his speech. I'm hoping he proves me wrong about his mobility as well. Until then, we will see what the MRI can tell us."
Bruce nodded his head and walked back into Dick's room, Wally made to follow him but was stopped when James gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You in college kid?"
"Uh, yes sir. For a doctorate in physics."
James merely hummed before entering the room ahead of him.
"Indeed, well it's never too late to think about medical school."
Wally merely blinked before shrugging with a small smile on his face as he finally passed through the door himself.
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It's been three hours now since Dick had returned from the MRI. And in that time, neither Tim or Wally have stopped talking to Dick, not that Dick minded. They were patient in receiving answers, which boosted Dick's confidence. However the stutters were seriously starting to annoy him. Still, it's a step in the right direction.
Meanwhile Bruce was just trying to watch the news on the TV across from Dick's bed. It wasn't going too well. Although, given the circumstances, he wasn't even annoyed. He was just happy to see progress. Or uh, hear, progress in this case.
There was a quick nock at the door before James came in once again, this time with a strained smile on his face.
He eyed his patient before allowing his gaze to roam over the other occupants of the room before clearing his throat, a bit nervously.
"Well Richard, the MRI is showing signs of improvement, your speech should become more stable as long as it continues to heal properly..."
There were collective sighs of relief around the room before Bruce eyed the doctor once again, an eyebrow shooting up in question.
"It sounded like there was a 'but' at the end of that sentence."
James merely nodded, his mouth now set in a thin line.
"While it's true that the injury is healing as it should, there was evidence of a... life-long complication..."
Dick's heart jumped into his throat, his stomach dropping.
"Due to the trauma, it is very likely that you will be at high-risk for seizures. Most likely, for the rest of your life. I'm sorry Richard..."
Dick's eyes widened, he wasn't expecting that. At all. Though, maybe he should have.
He blinked once, then twice, as his head lowered, his gaze falling to his folded hands on his lap.
Ah shit... that's probably gonna be a problem.
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I know, it's a bit shorter this time. Sorry about that.
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