The Transformation of Rod - Part 4

Rod shoveled coal into the furnace of the locomotive.  It was hard work and the heat radiating onto his face was almost unbearable.  Still, if he was going to escape the giant rabid jack-rabbit he would need more speed.  There was nothing worse than an injured animal and this one was angry.  Rod could hear someone calling his name.  Far away, male.  His father maybe?  Suddenly, Rod was eight years old and the heat he felt was from a fire.  He was in his bed and the flames were all around him.  The old Minnesota farmhouse had always seemed like a tinderbox.  Rod couldn't move.  The voice got louder and Rod realized it wasn't his father.  The bedroom of his youth, engulfed in flames suddenly vanished.  Rod awoke.  He turned his head toward the voice but kept his eyes closed.  The voice must have noticed the change in Rod's consciousness for it stopped just repeating his name.  Now, it sounded much closer.

"Hello Rod," said the voice, "my name is Dr. Rogers.  Do you know where you are?"

Rod wasn't an idiot.  He could tell he was lying in a bed and he was talking to a doctor.  It seemed likely that he was in a hospital.  He could feel bandages around his head and over most of his face.  He couldn't breathe through his nose.  Yes, he had a pretty good idea where he was.  Still, the details as to how he got here were missing.  He shook his head.

"You are in the Maricopa County Hospital Burn Unit," Dr. Rogers began.  "You were brought in with severe burns to your head and face due to extreme sun exposure.  You were also very dehydrated."

The doctor gave Rod a moment to absorb the information and then continued.  "Because of the painful nature of your injuries, we've kept you in an induced coma until now.  You are recovering quite nicely, by the way.  But it will take time."

Rod remembered leaning against the boulder.  He remembered the hot sun, the jack-rabbit, resting for a moment.  Rod tried to open his eyes and look at the doctor.  His vision was blurred.  His throat felt dry and his lips were chapped and cracked.  Rod struggled to get his voice back.  "My eyes," he said in a hoarse whisper (as opposed to a horse whisperer).

"Oh, your eyes are fine," the doctor assured him.  "We put some salve on them to protect them and keep them moist.  Nurse, could you clean Rod's eyes a bit?"

Rod had been unaware of anyone else in the room but a female voice now spoke.  "Yes doctor."

Rod sighed.  Even though she only spoke two words, Rod detected a drawl.  Rod detested people who drawled.  They always sounded like they were trying to be cooler than they were, so laid back and everything.  There should be a law, Rod thought, no drawling.

As Nurse Drawl wiped his eyes, Rod was gradually able to make out objects in the room.  Dr. Rogers had blond curly hair and looked much younger than he sounded.  He was sitting on a stool with his arms crossed waiting for the nurse to finish.  Nurse Drawl had brown hair, tied back in a ponytail.  She wore purplish eye shadow and bright red lipstick.  Rod approved.  He liked a woman who wasn't afraid of makeup.  As she wiped his eyes she smiled a large toothy smile, as if this was her favorite thing in the world to do.  Rod imagined that if she'd been taking care of him she'd probably seen and handled parts of the Rodster reserved for only the finest ladies.  No wonder she was smiling so much.  Maybe he could get used to the drawl.

Finally, Rod's eyes were clear and the nurse stepped back.  Rod looked at Dr. Rogers.

"How long have I..."  Rod didn't finish the sentence.

Dr. Rogers knew what Rod was asking.  He started to explain.  "You were brought in two weeks ago, found by a colleague.  I think his name was Roy?  For a while there, we weren't sure if you were going to pull through.  I spoke with your mother, she was planning to come but her cat fell ill.  I'm sure she's very worried about you, though."

Rod looked up at the ceiling and tried to take it all in.  Two weeks!  It felt like just yesterday.  Roy found him?  What was Roy doing in his area?  Rod remembered the coyote.  No doubt Roy had come looking to claim it.  Oh well, it didn't seem so important now.  After a two week hiatus his collection numbers would be off anyway.  He grimaced at the thought of being indebted to Roy, though.  And Mom, good old Mom.  It wasn't surprising that she'd be more concerned about her precious feline.  Miss Trudy had always held most favored status.  When the first Miss Trudy died Rod thought maybe then he would become her favorite.  But no, Mom went out and bought another cat, similar in looks to the first.  The new Miss Trudy was immediately elevated to the status of her predecessor.  Rod was unsure how many cats had come and gone since then.  He rarely spoke to his mother anymore.  Still, when he was filling out the emergency contact information at work she was the only one he could think to name.

Dr. Rogers waited for Rod to look back at him and then continued.  "Ah, about your hair," he exchanged a quick glance with the nurse. "Apparently, you had hair plugs?"

Rod did not like the doctor's use of the word "had".  He nodded but said nothing.

"Well..."  The doctor paused and sighed deeply.  "The skin on your scalp was burned pretty badly and it sort of..."  The doctor searched for the right layman's word.  "It sort of puckered.  And when it did that, the plugs just popped right out."

As he said the last part, he flicked his middle finger against his thumb, like he was flicking off a booger.  Apparently, this was meant to symbolize Rod's scalp ejecting the plugs.

Nurse Drawl stepped forward with a small dish she'd picked up from a table.  "We saved as many as we could find," she drawled.

She thrust the dish toward Rod, but Dr. Rogers put his hand on her arm and motioned for her to return the dish to the table.

"I'm afraid we had to shave the rest of your head in order to treat you," Dr. Rogers added, regretfully.

"But that part will probably grow back," Nurse Drawl blurted out, smiling broadly - trying to be helpful.

Dr. Rogers gave the nurse a stern look.  Then he stood and started walking toward the door.   He looked at Rod.   "Try to get some rest, Rod.  If you need anything, just ask Rhonda here."

Rod nodded.  Rhonda still smiled.

As the doctor was stepping through the doorway, he looked back at Rod one last time.  "I'll stop by later so we can discuss your nose," he said as he disappeared.

Rod lay on the bed.  Discuss my nose?  The doctor's last words were unsettling to say the least.  Rod tried to touch the bandages around his nose but found his arms were strapped to the bed.  He was bald and burned.  The plugs were gone.  And the doctor wanted to discuss his nose.  There would be no rest for the Rodster.