John Julius Candelaria

Coma John Julius Candelaria

"Coma" is a story about a Native American boy named Johnny who was found writhing in pain at the entrance to a hospital emergency-intake. Johnny was too ill to speak and he did not have any identification. The name "Johnny" was carelessly tattooed on his forearm, so hospital staff referred to the boy as Johnny. He underwent an appendectomy, but could not be revived from general anesthesia. Brain monitoring equipment indicated the boy's brain was functioning normally as though he was awake and alert but Johnny never stirred from his coma. Dr. Sturgis, the administering anesthesiologist for Johnny would care for Johnny no matter how long the boy's ordeal lasted. Johnny was still comatose several weeks later, so Dr. Sturgis and the scientific community created a special facility for Johnny. Many decades passed and Johnny remained in a coma. Unbeknownst to anyone; Johnny was experiencing multiple realities while comatose which were as real as this reality. Each time Johnny appeared somewhere in time, people lives were enriched. Johnny finally died without ever awakening from the coma, but did he die only in this reality?