Blue eyes? He had kind of thought they might be brown like his beloved Chloe's.
'Do you want some water?' A frown and then slight nod from the figure had Ethan buzzing for the nurse who returned promptly with some ice and Dr McNamara on her heels. Ethan was asked to leave the room while the doctor reexamined his now conscious patient. Reluctantly Ethan left his vigil and sought out some much needed caffeine from the kiosk.
Forty minutes later the grim faced doctor halted Ethan in the corridor with disturbing news.
'She appears to have no serious long term physical issues arising from the fall. While colourful her bruises will fade and her various cuts and grazes will heal well. With rest the mild concussion poses no threat-"
'That's good then.'
'Well yes but unfortunately she has no memory of not only the accident but of who she is and where she lives. She seems to know what year it is and even what month, basic facts like that but she can't tell me her age or anyone in her family. It's called functional amnesia.' Dr McNamara said shaking his head in dismay.
'Will her memory come back?' Ethan asked quietly, his anxious glance directed towards the door.
'Usually and quite spontaneously. Some patients regain it when faced with whatever or whoever caused the loss in the first place.'
'What …her head being driven into the concrete?' Ethan quipped.
Smiling the doctor replied 'No. The accident was probably only a trigger. The reason probably has more to do with her memories possibly being painful or stressful. But don't let me mislead you. She still has her memory. What we have here is a problem of accessibility. Her conscious mind for whatever reason is unable or unwilling to access the information in her memory while emotions, feelings from the past can be accessed. Facts unrelated to her self also aren't a problem. Their retrieval poses no threat to her state of mind. That's the psychological theory any way.'
'So if she is faced with something from her past she may recall all or some of her memory?' Ethan queried.
'Maybe, maybe not. There's always the problem that if the memory is too traumatic she may withdraw into some form of psychosis. Who knows she may have been suffering this functional amnesia before the accident. It would certainly explain the lack of I.D.'
'Don't think so. A bag wasn't found. The police think someone light fingered it during the confusion. Either way we won't know until she regains, sorry finds her memory.'