{"id":394,"date":"2013-09-05T07:03:34","date_gmt":"2013-09-05T13:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/?p=394"},"modified":"2024-03-09T12:08:17","modified_gmt":"2024-03-09T18:08:17","slug":"episode-1-stone-walls-do-not-a-prison-make","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/episode-1-stone-walls-do-not-a-prison-make\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Blitzers: Episode 1 “Stone Walls Do Not a Prison Make”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Episode 1 “Stone Walls Do Not a Prison Make”<\/strong><\/p>\n

The galaxy of lights would dazzle the man on the bed if he woke up. Each had its purpose, of course, an urgent purpose, some monitoring his vital signs, others reassuring all who came into the room that technology was doing its best to keep him alive. Blue, green, and red stars reflected in the surgeon\u2019s glasses as he and the nurse discussed the latest numbers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you\u2019d want to see this,\u201d the nurse said. She was nervous, twisted her fingers as she looked at the man on the bed. The doctor was notorious for reprimanding staff who interrupted his rounds for insufficient cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cPulse seventy-five,\u201d the doctor said. \u201cWonder what accounts for that after a week in a coma.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nurse was encouraged. \u201cAnd his EEG is showing increased activity. What do you suppose it means?\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor was studying the man\u2019s face, which remained impassive. \u201cMaybe he\u2019s dreaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a coma?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot we don\u2019t know about sleep and sensory deprivation. The mind has to get out of the box, though. We know that. Ever heard Lord Byron?\u201d<\/p>\n

The nurse flashed through her memory of medical texts and came up empty.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a poet,\u201d the doctor said at last, \u201chad some medical issues of his own. He wrote that stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage. Our boy may be out for a spin.\u201d He turned on his heel. \u201cKeep me posted.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nurse\u2019s feeling of relief gave way to curiosity. Was it a trick of those dazzling lights or had the man\u2019s lips moved? She watched for a while, wondering what the man on the bed might have said.<\/p>\n

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Episode 1 “Stone Walls Do Not a Prison Make” The galaxy of lights would dazzle the man on the bed if he woke up. Each had its purpose, of course, an urgent purpose, some monitoring his vital signs, others reassuring all … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-serial","tag-serial"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5795,"href":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394\/revisions\/5795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/normangilliland.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}