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New question in post#9
Hello,
I had a thread on this scene a few months ago and received some very helpful feedback. http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8528023#post8528023 Thank you! The feedback also raised more questions and issues. I am slowly working on revisions to my ms, and I am reworking the scene that pertains to my original question. I thought it would be best to start a new thread rather than confuse the original thread.
The situation: After leaving prom, a teen couple are in a car accident. The girl is seriously injured and dies during emergency surgery at the hospital. The boy suffers a concussion and drifts in and out of consciousness at the crash scene (which is very near the hospital). Both are taken to the same hospital.
For the purpose of the story, it is necessary that the boy not only find out or figure out quickly that the girl is dead, but he also needs to learn quickly that emergency surgery to repair the girl’s severed carotid artery was successful, but that she died of blood loss and/or shock during surgery. (It is necessary that her injuries were successfully repaired and that he find this out, in addition to finding out that she died.)
What I would like to do is have him drift in and out of consciousness as emergency personnel work at the crash scene and at the hospital, picking up on actions and snippets of conversation that let him know what’s happened. This boy is highly intelligent and is familiar with a great deal of medical/scientific terminology, so he should be able to pick up on things that others wouldn’t.
What I am looking for is suggestions on what he could plausibly witness and/or overhear that would allow him to become aware of what happened. Any and all input appreciated!
For the record:
. This is in the U.S.
. The girl who is killed was the driver, but not at fault. (They were hit by a drunk running a red light).
. The boy’s only injury is a concussion, and I would like it to be pretty mild. Medical personnel want to keep him for observation but he defies doctor’s orders and sneaks out of the hospital after finding out what happened to the girl. (If a mild concussion and drifting in and out of consciousness isn't plausible, maybe an alternate possibility would be for him just to be stunned and in shock and picking up on things sporadically?)
Hello,
I had a thread on this scene a few months ago and received some very helpful feedback. http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8528023#post8528023 Thank you! The feedback also raised more questions and issues. I am slowly working on revisions to my ms, and I am reworking the scene that pertains to my original question. I thought it would be best to start a new thread rather than confuse the original thread.
The situation: After leaving prom, a teen couple are in a car accident. The girl is seriously injured and dies during emergency surgery at the hospital. The boy suffers a concussion and drifts in and out of consciousness at the crash scene (which is very near the hospital). Both are taken to the same hospital.
For the purpose of the story, it is necessary that the boy not only find out or figure out quickly that the girl is dead, but he also needs to learn quickly that emergency surgery to repair the girl’s severed carotid artery was successful, but that she died of blood loss and/or shock during surgery. (It is necessary that her injuries were successfully repaired and that he find this out, in addition to finding out that she died.)
What I would like to do is have him drift in and out of consciousness as emergency personnel work at the crash scene and at the hospital, picking up on actions and snippets of conversation that let him know what’s happened. This boy is highly intelligent and is familiar with a great deal of medical/scientific terminology, so he should be able to pick up on things that others wouldn’t.
What I am looking for is suggestions on what he could plausibly witness and/or overhear that would allow him to become aware of what happened. Any and all input appreciated!
For the record:
. This is in the U.S.
. The girl who is killed was the driver, but not at fault. (They were hit by a drunk running a red light).
. The boy’s only injury is a concussion, and I would like it to be pretty mild. Medical personnel want to keep him for observation but he defies doctor’s orders and sneaks out of the hospital after finding out what happened to the girl. (If a mild concussion and drifting in and out of consciousness isn't plausible, maybe an alternate possibility would be for him just to be stunned and in shock and picking up on things sporadically?)
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