“It’s okay, Alex. You’ve been seriously injured, but you’re safe now. Get some rest. We’ll take good care of you.”
I was safe. It had been a nightmare. But what good did it do to be safe if I was just going to keep having nightmares?
* * *
Two months later, I lay in a hospital bed as my doctor held up an X-ray.
“Alex, your recovery is coming along nicely,” he said. “We’ll be able to discharge you soon. All your other tests suggest full lung and other organ recovery as well, and there’s no sign of that lingering infection. We’ll also be able to remove the pins in your leg without too much trouble.”
“But not before I leave the hospital?”
“No, you’ll need a follow-up procedure here in a couple months.”
“More time in the hospital.”
The doctor chuckled. “I get that this isn’t the most fun place to spend your time.”
“And I also won’t be able to go back to work right away.” I let out a little grunt.
“Considering your line of work, it’s going to be a while.”
I lay my head back on the pillow and let out a long sigh. “Great, just great.”
My doctor gave me a sympathetic smile. “From what your employer has told me, there should be no issues with workers’ compensation. I’ve signed all the necessary paperwork and provided all the information.” He scratched his eyebrow. “I’ve never run into a situation where someone’s boss was so involved.”
I chuckled darkly. My boss had become my new best friend after the accident. The government was all up his ass since he’d lost a man on the job, and I think he was worried about a lawsuit. I had been the only one awake after the initial explosion, so a lot of people had been asking me questions.
People were calling me a hero because I’d pulled George out, but I didn’t feel that way. If the other guys hadn’t manned up and come in to pull us both out, I’d be dead and so would George.
The sad truth was, from what I knew, the accident was no one’s fault. At least nobody on-site, let alone my boss. We’d followed procedures, but a weak valve had broken, leading to the leak. Maybe it was the fault of the company that made the valve. I didn’t know. I didn’t care.
Blaming people didn’t fix my leg. Blaming people didn’t bring the dead worker back to life.
“Yeah, well, just need something to do besides sitting around watching TV all day,” I mumbled. Between my savings and my workers’ compensation claim, I wasn’t worried about money, but I wasn’t a guy who liked to be too alone with his thoughts.
It’d help if I had some friends to chat with, but other than the people interested in investigating and my boss a few times, nobody had stopped by.
My doctor nodded slowly. “You do remember what we discussed about rehabilitation?”
“Yeah, I do. What about it?”
“I wanted you to be aware that it’s going to take some time before full rehabilitation. It will take up a good amount of your attention for a while. I’m confident you’ll regain full strength and range of motion, but that will require you to take rehabilitation seriously.”
I shrugged. “Guess it gives me something to throw myself into it. Don’t worry. I’m not gonna blow it off.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m also going to give you a referral to a psychiatrist.”
“I don’t need to see some headshrinker.”
The doctor looked at the window and then back to me. “Are you still having nightmares?”
“No, not a problem anymore.”
I didn’t like lying to him, but I didn’t want to deal with him. Sure, I was having nightmares all the time, but it wasn’t every night, and I was sure they’d go away once I got out of the hospital. They had to. Talking to somebody about my feelings wasn’t going to help.
“Ah, good, then. I’ll still give you the referral, and you can decide if you need help at a later date.” He nodded. “I’ll come again tomorrow, but I think we’re talking release within a couple of days.” He moved to the door and then stopped to look over his shoulder. “And you’re sure there’s no one we can contact?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”