After a quick check of his vitals, Dr. Talati described his injuries – starting with the most severe. Apparently, his shoulder had been so seriously dislocated that they’d had to put him under for surgery when he’d arrived. He would have to keep it in the sling for four weeks, and she recommended physical therapy to help strengthen the joint for another six weeks after that.

Then she moved on to the bruising around his neck, explaining how the damage was serious enough that the trauma had extended to the inside of his throat. He had a bruised, swollen windpipe, basically. While he could still breathe on his own, the passageway had narrowed enough that they’d inserted the nasal cannula in his nose while he’d been asleep to keep his oxygen levels up.

He seemed okay now that he was awake, however, so she agreed he could continue on without the tubes – unless he needed them again. Dr. Talati seemed confident there would be no permanent damage, but she warned him that talking would be painful – which he had already figured out on his own – until his throat was healed.

At that point, she’d sent the male nurse off to fetch a small whiteboard. She handed it to Micah, along with a marker, recommending he use it to communicate through writing for the remainder of his hospital stay.

She’d also prescribed him a diet of soft foods for at least a week to keep from aggravating the injury.

The rest of the damage Micah had sustained was relatively minor. He’d been dehydrated when he’d been brought in – hence the IV – and his wrists and ankles had been bandaged where he’d suffered rope burn.

Dr. Talati removed the gauze, showing him how to rub in a special balm that was supposed to enhance the healing process and help reduce scarring, before redressing the wounds.

Besides discussing treatment, Dr. Talati didn’t mention anything about how Micah had gotten any of his injuries, for which he was grateful. She merely told him that they had a psychiatrist on staff if he felt the need to speak to one, authorized another dose of pain meds, and then was off to check on her next patient.

The nurses left soon after, which left Micah alone in the room with his father.

He’d been silent throughout Micah’s entire “discussion” with the doctor, and Micah had no idea how he was feeling. He was a difficult man to read at the best of times, and this was certainly not one of them.

What did he know?

Even after the hospital staff left, he remained quiet, the heat of his gaze burning a hole into the side of Micah’s head from where he stood by his bed.