NaNo 2013: Day 20

Today's excerpt is an interesting one for me as a medical student. On one hand, I have to go with the plot. On the other, I feel that by writing this, I am furthering a misconception about the concept of brain death. As such, this excerpt will be followed at the end of the post with some information pertaining to said topic.

"And on today's broadcast, we bring you the unusual story that seems to have caught everyone attention. A local man, previously declared brain dead, is now sitting up and talking to his family. This is the latest in the string of incidents that many are calling miracles at St. Christopher's hospital downtown," the anchor reported.

Sophia raised her eyebrow and focused on the story as the picture changed to a scene in front of the hospital.

"The doctors told us he was dead, that his body was only functioning because of the tube down his throat. They took out the tube, and he stopped breathing, for a full five minutes. Then, all of a sudden, he's gasping and sitting up in bed," a younger woman explained, clutching a tissue in her hand.

NaNo Stats:
Days: 20
Words Today: 1721
Total Words: 24,175
Words Remaining: 25,825
Average Words/Day: 1209

Educational Information:

There are two ways in which physicians can declare someone dead. The first is the traditional cardiac death, when the heart stops beating. After all, if the heart isn't beating, blood isn't flowing through the body, and thus your tissues die. Technically speaking, the heart needs to have stopped for a certain period of time before death can be called, as people's hearts stop quite often and this can be reversed, either naturally (someone passes out because their heart stops for 2-3 seconds, then restarts), or by us (CPR, or a pacemaker/defibrillator).

However, the second way in which physicians can declare someone dead is by declaring them brain dead. It's actually a fairly involved process to declare someone brain dead, and requires several tests to be performed by two separate physicians. It is not something that is taken lightly. Basically, the person does not have any signs of consciousness (withdrawing from pain, for instance, or eyes that follow a target), nor can they have some basic reflexes, including the drive to breathe. The final test for someone who is brain dead is removing them from the ventilator that is by definition keeping their body functioning, and, ultimately, their heart stops beating. These people can have bodies that are kept alive by the ventilator and medications, but are dead. They are most often put back on the ventilator after 5 or so minutes, and donate their organs. These organs are generally the most likely to survive being transplanted, and are considered better than organs given by those who die from cardiac death.

Bottom line, brain death = death. It is not possible to recover from it, and people do not make miraculous recoveries from it. It is not akin to a coma, where someone is unresponsive, but still dead.

NaNo 2013: Day 19

Sophia's getting more and more confused now. Things are happening and she's once again struggling to figure out what they all mean. But she'll get there eventually. I think within the next couple days, I'll be writing the reveal of the main plot. Should be interesting.

Excerpt for today:

She took a deep breath and turned to him. "I'm not sure I'm supposed to tell you this, but I've spoken to my Nana."

He raised his eyebrow. "And this is special because...?"

She blew out a frustrated breath. "She's been dead for five*** years. And as far as I can tell, she hasn't been walking the Earth like you during that time. She's been moved on."

He stared at her for a full minute, trying to process the information. "How were you able to do that?"

NaNo Stats:
Days: 19
Words Today: 2045
Total Words: 22,454
Words Remaining: 27,546
Average Words/Day: 1182

NaNo 2013: Day 18

Our new character, Neal, is making quite an impression. Sophia's taken a bit of a liking to him. Hopefully he doesn't do a 360 and betray her.

Today was fairly productive.

"Should I be nervous about getting in a car alone with you? After all, that ruins my escape route..." She fingered her phone in her pocket absently, smiling slightly as she walked with him to his car.

"Now why would I want to put someone as beautiful as you in any danger?" he smiled sweetly and opened the passenger door for her.

She blushed and slid into the car, rubbing her hands together to keep the blood flowing to the tips of her fingers. Despite Michael's many warnings, she could see nothing unusualor dangerous about Neal, and was honestly looking forward to the night ahead.


NaNo Stats:
Days: 18
Words Today: 2870
Total Words: 20,409
Words Remaining: 29,591
Average Words/Day: 1134

NaNo 2103: Day 17

Keeping the progress going today. I had an interesting twist present itself. A new character. He seems rather interested in Sophia as well. Too bad I don't know much about him. I will have to figure it out as time goes on.

To share him with you now, here's today's excerpt.

Sophia leaned back and shook her head quickly. “Of course not, I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble at your job. But if you could maybe read the report, and let me know for sure, I’d be very grateful. No need for the report to even leave the station.”

He watched her for several seconds before he nodded. “Alright, I’ll do it for you. On one condition.”

She smiled and raised her eyebrow. “And what might that be?”

He leaned forward, bracing his hands on the back of the chair. “You go out to dinner with me. Tomorrow night. After I deliver the information, of course.”

NaNo Stats:
Days: 17
Words Today: 1953
Total Words: 17,539
Words Remaining: 32,461
Average Words/Day: 1032