The agonizing wait dragged on, and two days passed.
As expected, a third tremor struck, though it was noticeably weaker. It happened around midnight, and some people sleeping soundly didn't even wake up.
Kraft temporarily returned to his regular work. He had no idea what else he could do.
The patient who'd undergone the craniotomy finally began to wake after sleeping deeply for an entire day. He seemed dazed and sluggish, and needed time to think through questions that most people could answer right away.
His memory had also worsened. He couldn't clearly recall old events his family brought up, and often forgot things that had just happened, even when they reminded him specifically.
He also showed some difficulty understanding and expressing himself. He couldn't follow sentences spoken quickly or those that were long, and struggled to put together a long, logical sentence. He often got stuck halfway through, as if he'd suddenly forgotten how to say a certain word.
He had plenty of other problems, both large and small, including poor concentration, impaired motor skills, and disorientation. These might have been caused by pressure from the brain herniation, ischemia and hypoxia, cerebral edema that couldn't be treated, and other factors.
But to the patient's brother, the fact that he'd woken up at all was a miracle—especially with the tube stuck in his skull still dripping fluid, and the area without a protective skullcap shifting slightly with changes in pressure.
More concerning to Kraft than any of that was the patient's apparent fever. He could tell even without a thermometer, just by touch.
So far, there was only some redness and swelling around the edge of the incision, and the fluid draining from the silver cannula showed no obvious signs of pus.
Of course, even if something did happen, there