The doctors tell us he’s a very sick boy, and that we have to take it literally one minute at a time.
-- Carol Gould, RAYMOND’S MOTHER

NORTHBRIDGE —  One minute, 26-year-old Raymond Gould was a fun-loving waiter bothered by a headache and sinus infection. It certainly was nothing unusual, since he had been bothered by allergies his whole life.

The next minute, though, he became completely disoriented, then collapsed while in the middle of his shift at the Olive Garden in Marlboro.

Rushed by ambulance to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus in Worcester, Mr. Gould was found to have a bacterial infection that caused his brain to swell. He’s had two surgeries, one of which removed two bones in his skull to relieve the swelling.

He has not awakened since arriving at the hospital 10 days ago. Scans of his brain indicate he has suffered two strokes, although their effects won’t be known until he regains consciousness.

On Saturday night, doctors said he nearly died.

His mother, Carol Gould, and his sister, April Gould, have spent most of their time by his bedside in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. He’s got tubes coming from everywhere, monitors beeping and medicine dripping into his veins.

“The doctors tell us he’s a very sick boy, and that we have to take it literally one minute at a time,” said Carol, who lives in Fitchburg.