the room was bathed in sunlight as the clouds moved away.  freshly poured rain engulfs the landscape and the sound of birds slowly came to life.  yet erie silence still was deafening as he lay still, only to be broken by the occasional blips of the monitors that are connected to him, monitoring his every condition.  he has been this way for over four months now with still no signs of improvement.  flowers, balloons, stuffed toys, and get-well gifts and cards from friends wishing for a miracle are scattered around as the nurse enters for her daily routine.  the sound of the opening door awakened her, slumped on his bedside.
 
“any changes during the night?” the nurse asked her as she slowly gathered herself.  “none,” was her waking reply.  the nurse smiled as she proceeded to him to check the instruments and get the usual readings–heart rate, blood pressure, pupil dilation–and other signs.  “i see the rain finally stopped,” she remarked as she noticed the warm sunlight going thorugh the droplet-stained window.  “yeah, it was raining non-stop the whole night,” the nurse replied.  she then observed her as the nurse went about her daily routine when she noticed one of his fingers on his left arm twitch.  although she has seen this before and is considered normal for someone in his condition, she somehow felt that this was different.

“he’s…  he’s…”  she stammered to get her words out to the nurse as she continued to see the twitch become successive in nature.  “i’ve told you before that that is normal,” the nurse replied without even paying attention to the movements.  then suddenly, the monitors started beeping long and loud as his vital stats started to deteriorate.  the nurse, startled by the turn of events, pressed the emergency button near the head board and called on the intercom.

“emergency on room 524, we need a doctor immediately!”  shouted the nurse as she started doing CPR on him.  teary eyed, she fell to her knees as the nurse frantically tried to revive him.  doctors and other nurses stormed into the room a few seconds later and surrounded him.  one of the other nurses checked for a pulse and a doctor asked the first nurse information about what happened.  the room was filled with a series of instructions, monitor noises, and frantic requests for more equipment.  “get the crash cart!” one doctor ordered.  “continue giving CPR,” said another.  “still no pulse,” one nurse reported.  amidst all the chaos, she was still on her knees, crying that this revival attempt may not end well and may be the last.  there have been similar instances before, but during those times, the doctors and nurses were able to bring him back, only to a more deteriorated state.

more medical personnel came rushing through the door with crash cart in tow.  it seemed like an eternity as it was hooked up and ready for a last ditch effort to save his life.  “still no pulse,” the nurse shouted as CPR was still being administered.  “get ready to charge the pads,” the doctor instructed.  the high-pitched sound of charging then filled the room.  “charge to 60,” was the first order.  “charged to 60,” the nurse reported back.  “okay, stand clear!”  the doctor yelled as he took the pads and placed them on his chest.  “clear!”  a shuddering thud was then heard, followed by the long beep of a flat line status.  “still flatline,” the nurse shouted.  “continue CPR and charge to 80,” said the doctor.  frantically, the nurse resumed CPR as the defibrillator was being charged.  “charged to 80.”  “clear!”  another thud was heard and another flat line tone.  “still flatline,” the nurse repeated.  “still no pulse either,” a second nurse said.  “continue CPR and charge to 100,” the doctor reordered.  at this point, the doctor was starting to be convinced that continued revival efforts may be futile.  “charged to 100.”  “clear!”  a third resounding thud followed, but still another flatline tone was heard.  “re-charge to 100.  this is it,” the doctor said as he prepared to get ready to shock him for one last time.  her cries now can be heard in the room amidst the flurry of activity.  “re-charged to 100.”  “clear!”  and a fourth and final thud was heard as the last revival effort came.

there was silence after administering the final attempt, then the familiar long tone of a flat line was heard again.  everyone in the room then became silent as the long tone overcame the air.  even her cries were silenced by the realization that it was all over.  the people around him had their heads bowed.  then suddenly a solitary blip was heard.  followed by another.  and another.  the nurse quickly held his wrist.  “got a pulse!”  she then shouted.  “heart rate and blood pressure stabilizing,” said another.  she slowly rose to her feet, not believing that this was happening.  she was still fixed on his face, as she then moved towards him.  his eyes then began showing signs of movement, which had everyone in the room in a collective gasp.  slowly, his dark brown eyes began to show themselves to everyone after a very long time.  she again cried, this time, with tears of joy as she then lunged at him with a warm embrace.  the long wait was over.  in the midst of celebration, he can only whisper two words to her as she held him tight,

“i’m back.”