Jimmy Swann #17 - Swann Song

#100 - Jimmy lay there in death-like peace, his chest moving with his breath. Every once in a while, a deep breath, and a hint of a smile on his lips.

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Prev. Chap. #16 - Chap. #1 – Contents

    Swann Song 

A week had passed. In the ICU, doctors put Jimmy into an induced coma for three days to control swelling and to put his body completely at rest. Four more days passed with Jimmy still unconscious. They were hesitant as to what might be lasting effects on him.  

That would remain unknown until he regained consciousness, if he did. He lay in the sun for hours before he was discovered and then the time it took to get him to the hospital put question marks on his recovery. 

Jimmy lay there in death-like peace, his chest moving with his breath. Every once in a while, a deep breath, and a hint of a smile on his lips. 

But Jimmy was conscious on the inside. He saw his doctors and nurses as they tended to him. He learned he had been put in a coma, for three days. He had no recollection of that. And that he was still coma-like. 

To him, it was all in the same moment and he made no sense of it. An observer of the goings-on as his timeless world hung in limbo. 

Robert, sometimes with Barbara and little Jimmy, and Carrie and Owner Jim and Fred made visits. 

“I'm here! I’m ok!” Jimmy called out to no avail. They didn’t hear.  

They spoke of yesterday when they came and about who could make it tomorrow. But time didn’t register with Jimmy. All took their turns sitting with him, each with their warmth and encouraging words about what they all would do when Jimmy got home. 

Robert said, “I have your hat and wallet. I brushed the hat out best I could but whatever walloped you left a mark. Your ID and cards are still in your wallet. We’ll go get your side by side. It was found just west of Robles Junction. It didn’t get far. It ran out of gas. Good thing you needed gas. Otherwise, it is okay.” 

Barbara set little Jimmy on the bed next to him and Jimmy felt his warmth as he leaned into him. 

Carrie wanted him to see her decked out mobile vet van. 

Owner Jim hoped Jimmy would work in the office a few days a week so that he could work on ranch additions. He wouldn’t have to do much, just be there for the campers. 

Fred didn’t say much but sat there long stretches at a time keeping Jimmy company. He and Carrie shared the overnight watches. 

Jimmy had flashes of memory of things past, and of his wife Amy, and of a home on a desert hilltop.

And of what he could only surmise were dreams. He lived a life as someone he didn’t recognize in places he didn’t know. None of it made sense. 

He watched through closed eyes as they all came and went. All was sweet with a sense of wellbeing and life fulfilled. 

Could he have a better way to go? With family and friends at hand. More than once, he thought he had died, and that they had gathered. 

And there was “the light.” It shined from within the darkness that pressed in on all sides. Always a presence calling for him. It was like a magnet, and comforting, like home. Jimmy wanted to go to it, and stay within it. Whatever it was.  

A narrow path led straight into the light and disappeared. 

Then, Carla was sitting on the bed next to him holding his hand.  

- Carla had just arrived. She drove her camper from Florida straight to the hospital in Tucson. Robert met her in the hospital lobby and together they went up to Jimmy’s room. 

Something connected. His brain clicked, a continuing moment to moment of time and space. What he saw and thought took on order and perspective. 

A flood of consciousness and clarity poured into him. The events of the last week fell into place, and he knew what had happened and his condition and what effects might linger.  

How long had she been here? He wanted to take her home to his place on the hill.  

Jimmy opened his eyes. “Carla, I’m so glad to see you!” 

Carla and Robert fell all over themselves in surprise. Doctors were summoned and happy calls were made. 

Four more days were spent in recovery. Tests and exercises were run to assess his condition. Nothing alarming came of them.  

He told his doctors about his being conscious of what was going on while he was in the coma. A couple more doctors spoke with him about it. And about “the light” he had seen, and felt.  

They wanted to know, “Was it a ‘religious experience?’”   

Jimmy thought, and answered, “It did not occur to me. It was more of a comfort, an all-embracing smiling comfort. A promise. The future.” 

“Did you have the choice? Did you choose to return to wakefulness?” 

“I guess I didn’t think about it. I just woke up. After seeing Carla.”  

Jimmy had lost weight and now he chowed down on whatever he could get a hold of. He needed help to sit up and stand at first. His legs were weak. He was wobbly.  

He used a walker at first with him still hooked up to monitors and drip lines, and progressed rapidly to walking by himself. All the while talking with Carla.  

“Carla. I had dreams. They were of times past; in places I didn’t know. They were fleeting, just brief clips of time without beginning or end. But I was in them. 

”We have a lot to do at home. I want to add another room. Like a living room. Big as the Airstream. We can connect them easy enough. Robert will have ideas. We’ll have more room for company. We can keep adding on. 

“I have a name for the place. From somewhere my hill took on the name ‘Swann Song,’ as if that had always been its name. I like it. Has a nice ring to it. 

“I want a ranch gateway crossbar arch at the road property line. I always wanted one of those. Since I was a kid. 

”Maybe get some animals.” 

Though he made a rapid recovery, Jimmy could see his balance was off. He wore sunglasses; the light was too bright. Even indoors. There were dizzy spells. These conditions could get better or worse with time. As could any other effects that had yet to reveal themselves. 

He talked just to be talking and Carla provided the listening ear and watchful eyes. 

On the evening of the eleventh day Carla drove Jimmy home to Swann Song. 

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