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- Jun 1, 2014
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Hey everyone,
I hope this won’t be going over something that’s already been asked. I’ve had a search through, and I’ve learnt a lot already on this area thanks to this board, but I’d just like to throw this scene out there and see if I’m on the right track?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
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In the scene, a brother and sister have had a car accident (not paying attention). The brother was driving, but managed to get away from the crash, collapsing and losing consciousness some distance away (perhaps adrenaline kicks in - he wants to get help for his sister). The sister has been unconscious since the impact.
They’ve both been taken to the hospital - let’s say it’s a medium sized hospital with everything they would need. I guess it might be possible that their specialists aren’t always in the hospital, but on call or something? Is that possible?
The main conundrum I’m facing is that the brother has woken up with a lot of injuries and soreness, and I think I may be giving him a concussion of some sort, which has made him forget the incident itself. He’s in a private recovery room (in an ICU, I believe would be the correct area at this point?), and completely disorientated.
The sister is nowhere to be seen, but she’s off having surgery since her injuries were a lot more severe. She’ll be out of the story and unconscious for the majority of the tale now.
I'm struggling to find what would be a realistic ‘episode’ that could happen to the brother, to warrant a psych consult, or observation? I’m trying to go down a psychological route here, mixed in with a bit of guilt and potentially some instant-onset PTSD. Do you guys think this might be a stretch of the imagination at all? Too unbelievable, so to speak? I need this guy to stay in the hospital for at least several days, as there’s going to be some pretty weird stuff going on.
I’ve had a few ideas:
- Some form of seizure, but not sure if that would necessitate a psychiatrist or specialist in that area to be called.
- Aggression due to the disorientation, and not knowing what’s happened to his sister. Not entirely sure how far I can go with this, as a doctor would have to be quite daring to administer some form of tranquilliser or sedative without knowing medical history?
- Some form of abnormal behaviour, suggesting that he’s seeing or hearing things - a result of the concussion/trauma/guilt/PTSD?
My next conundrum is also around their family situation. They’re both adults, but also orphaned. Their only relatives are an aunt and uncle, who don’t really care. They also live a great distance away, which is unreasonable for them to travel.
I’ve done some investigation into things like HIPAA, but basically I have a friend of the brother’s who arrives at the hospital, and a woman who discovered the accident scene and phoned the ambulance. The friend was the last person to call the brother on his mobile phone, so I’m hoping it’s reasonable that during the brother’s unconscious spell, they might have gone through his personal effects to identify him and contact someone? As he was the last call, is it reasonable that he’d be called in? I’d also like the woman to be sticking around, as she’ll be somewhat of a surrogate for the sister in the story as well.
Would it be unrealistic for these two individuals to be told about the specifics of the case, by the doctor’s. As the brother is an adult, would the doctor’s wait for him to wake up, to ask if it’s ok to discuss medical history with them (specifically the friend)? I’m trying to work with a bit of exposition with these two characters, as this is how we’ll find out about their history and situation. This will then tie into later discoveries and revelations.
Would it be unreasonable for the woman to have stuck around, as she practically witnessed the accident, and then perhaps the friend to ask her to keep checking in when he’s not around?
It’s a lot to go through, and I guess my thoughts are a little scattered - thanks for reading.
If anyone can weigh in on any of the questions, it’d be a huge help. Even to say that it sounds like I’m on the right track, or if I’m wildly wrong .
Thanks!
I hope this won’t be going over something that’s already been asked. I’ve had a search through, and I’ve learnt a lot already on this area thanks to this board, but I’d just like to throw this scene out there and see if I’m on the right track?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
-----
In the scene, a brother and sister have had a car accident (not paying attention). The brother was driving, but managed to get away from the crash, collapsing and losing consciousness some distance away (perhaps adrenaline kicks in - he wants to get help for his sister). The sister has been unconscious since the impact.
They’ve both been taken to the hospital - let’s say it’s a medium sized hospital with everything they would need. I guess it might be possible that their specialists aren’t always in the hospital, but on call or something? Is that possible?
The main conundrum I’m facing is that the brother has woken up with a lot of injuries and soreness, and I think I may be giving him a concussion of some sort, which has made him forget the incident itself. He’s in a private recovery room (in an ICU, I believe would be the correct area at this point?), and completely disorientated.
The sister is nowhere to be seen, but she’s off having surgery since her injuries were a lot more severe. She’ll be out of the story and unconscious for the majority of the tale now.
I'm struggling to find what would be a realistic ‘episode’ that could happen to the brother, to warrant a psych consult, or observation? I’m trying to go down a psychological route here, mixed in with a bit of guilt and potentially some instant-onset PTSD. Do you guys think this might be a stretch of the imagination at all? Too unbelievable, so to speak? I need this guy to stay in the hospital for at least several days, as there’s going to be some pretty weird stuff going on.
I’ve had a few ideas:
- Some form of seizure, but not sure if that would necessitate a psychiatrist or specialist in that area to be called.
- Aggression due to the disorientation, and not knowing what’s happened to his sister. Not entirely sure how far I can go with this, as a doctor would have to be quite daring to administer some form of tranquilliser or sedative without knowing medical history?
- Some form of abnormal behaviour, suggesting that he’s seeing or hearing things - a result of the concussion/trauma/guilt/PTSD?
My next conundrum is also around their family situation. They’re both adults, but also orphaned. Their only relatives are an aunt and uncle, who don’t really care. They also live a great distance away, which is unreasonable for them to travel.
I’ve done some investigation into things like HIPAA, but basically I have a friend of the brother’s who arrives at the hospital, and a woman who discovered the accident scene and phoned the ambulance. The friend was the last person to call the brother on his mobile phone, so I’m hoping it’s reasonable that during the brother’s unconscious spell, they might have gone through his personal effects to identify him and contact someone? As he was the last call, is it reasonable that he’d be called in? I’d also like the woman to be sticking around, as she’ll be somewhat of a surrogate for the sister in the story as well.
Would it be unrealistic for these two individuals to be told about the specifics of the case, by the doctor’s. As the brother is an adult, would the doctor’s wait for him to wake up, to ask if it’s ok to discuss medical history with them (specifically the friend)? I’m trying to work with a bit of exposition with these two characters, as this is how we’ll find out about their history and situation. This will then tie into later discoveries and revelations.
Would it be unreasonable for the woman to have stuck around, as she practically witnessed the accident, and then perhaps the friend to ask her to keep checking in when he’s not around?
It’s a lot to go through, and I guess my thoughts are a little scattered - thanks for reading.
If anyone can weigh in on any of the questions, it’d be a huge help. Even to say that it sounds like I’m on the right track, or if I’m wildly wrong .
Thanks!