This will probably be my last ask for a bit. I have a charecther who has currently been in an induced coma for about a week. Can you help with dialogue for when he wakes?
Hi! If you have any questions after this, please, feel free to keep asking! Answering asks is often fascinating because I learn new things, and Iâm always glad to help people.
If the coma is not induced, as in he had an accident that kept him knocked out for a week, heâd have extensive brain damage and probably wouldnât be able to talk at all. In rare cases brain damage is reversed or, even more rarely, is avoided completely, but thatâs a case of one-in-a-million, meant quite literally.
However, you said the coma was induced, in which case he should be fine when he wakes up. Not too long ago, my mother was in an induced coma (albeit only four days long), so I have some firsthand experience.
Your character will probably be disoriented, because theyâll have had no sense of time passing while they were out. The family/friends will likely be overjoyed because â!!theyâre back!!â, but may be slightly aloof because of 1. the shock of that brush with death (usually comas, whether induced or accidental, indicate a medical condition of some seriousness), and 2. how delicate your character is at the time, having just woken up from their coma. Also, your character may not be entirely himself, and it may take a while for your character to fully regain his former personality and energy levels (maybe a week and a half or two weeks?).
And to give some background on the other characters: from my personal experience, an induced coma is no less terrifying than an accidental coma. The fact that the person was purposely shoved out of reality doesnât change the fact that it seems like thereâs nothing of them left but the basest physical being â they canât open their eyes, they canât answer you verbally, they canât even move body parts in voluntary response to your words or actions. They twitch and shift position, and sometimes respond to touch, but thatâs about it. That said, your other characters are probably worried to death.
Alright, onto your dialogue!
Of course, thereâs the inevitable question âWhere am I?â, but we can both agree that thatâs clichĂŠ. A little better are âWhatâs going on?â and âWhat happened?â, but not by much. In all truth, depending on the medical problem your character was facing, he may be so tired or feeling so unwell that he doesnât even bother to ask any of the logical questions about his surroundings.
You could possibly start the scene with your character waking up and just taking a moment, trying to figure out whatâs going on, and another character noticing that theyâre awake and screaming or exclaiming something.
To give you actual dialogue prompts, Iâd have to have some more specifics from the story. I hope this was helpful! If it wasnât, or if you need more, please donât hesitate to tell me!
