| |
Tim had finished all of the tests and scans prescribed by his neurologist. He’d even had a sleep study and an EEG performed. After the accident, Tim hated seeing doctors and especially hated waiting for test results, yet now he did not really seem to mind at all. Tim needed to understand his physical condition before he could think about any future with Mary Ann, after all. He also needed to know if there were any side effects from the stem cell treatments he’d received, or at least thought he’d received, in the Dominican Republic. Although he felt great, Mary Ann was concerned about what doctors may have done.
“God, Tim,” Mary Ann had said the other night. “You’re lucky they didn’t take a kidney or something.” She’d even made him lie down on his stomach so she could look for scars.
That happened two weeks ago, and Tim had not seen much of Mary Ann since then. Tim wondered why Mary Ann seemed to disappear every two weeks or so. Perhaps she was seeing someone else. Their sex life was good for the most part, but Mary Ann sometimes behaved as if her mind was on something else entirely. He had been hoping that she would come with him to the neurologist, but apparently, she’d made other plans.
Tim got a cab ride over to the doctor’s office. The driver let Tim off at the Medical Office building, and Tim began his journey through the maze of floors looking for room 876, Drs. Clarkson, Gray, and Harris, Neurology. Tim once again felt sad that Mary Ann was not with him. She hadn’t even bothered to call or text him that morning, which was something they had started to do every day. On the other hand, the smiling Indian man in the Mercedes SUV and his driver had not been seen for at least two weeks, and there were no more books delivered or imaginary attempts on his life. Tim chalked both Mary Ann and the man from India up to his paranoia.
When he found the right room, Tim was led directly into Dr. Gray’s office and told to sit on the examination table. Dr. Gray soon came in with a stack of results under his arm and got directly to the point. “Mr. Hall, I can find absolutely nothing wrong with you, at least neurology related,” he explained. “I have studied your scans, and my partners have studied your scans, and none of us could find anything medically wrong with you.”
Tim was happy with the good news. He really was convinced that he was suffering from the early symptoms of dementia, yet he sensed that something else was troubling the doctor by the look on his face.
The doctor open to another page of Tim’s report and started to speak. “What is unusual, Mr. Hall, is that we did not detect any shrinkage in the size of your brain. As we age, most of us experience an amount of brain shrinkage, which is normal—but your brain appears to be the brain of someone 35 to 40 years old. In addition, the results of your cognitive tests also indicate the brain of a younger man, not someone who is 58. Your other scans have all come back clear as well as you EEG. You show no sign of seizure or strokes. There are no structural issues such as growths or lesions. You blood flow through your brain appears excellent. You blood pressure is exactly normal. We do not see any dead or damaged areas which would indicate dementia. Your vision is 20/20. Your reflexes are above average, and you have an IQ of 128.”
The doctor made his way over to Tim and shone a light in one eye, then the other. He next ran a few simplistic neurological tests on Tim. Tim seemed to pass all of them.
“Dr. Gray,” Tim began, “Are there any radical treatments for retrograde amnesia?”
“Radical or experimental treatments?” the doctor repeated. “There’s a whole list of them.”
“What about stem cell treatments, doctor?”
“Using embryonic stem cells to treat anything these days would be considered radical, Mr. Hall, and the FDA will only allow for a small amount of any treatment using stem cells. That said, I am not aware of any study where stem cells were used to treat amnesia. The treatment plan I developed for you was designed to help restore your memory. Have you continued to take the medicine I prescribed?”
Dr. Gray had prescribed several medications for Tim to take every day. One was a compound medication that needed to be filled at a special pharmacy, which Tim found to be a royal pain in the ass.
“Yes, religiously,” Tim replied. “But what kind of treatment plan?”
“Well, nothing particularly radical, I assure you. I recommended that you should visit as many places as you can that you were formerly familiar with in the hope that this might stimulate your memory, but I have no follow-up notes to indicate whether any of this was done.”
Dr. Gray began to look through his notes for the results of Tim’s therapy, but Tim knew he wouldn’t find anything. He wondered if anyone had actually prevented treatment to restore his memory.
After a thorough search of Tim’s medical folder, Dr. Gray continued speaking. “Well, Mr. Hall, it appears that the treatment plan was never implemented.”
Tim wondered why the doctor just did not just ask him about this instead of looking for notes, but he guessed that the man didn’t trust Tim’s memory, either.
“Dr. Gray, who did you give your treatment plan to?” he wondered.
The doctor was still going through Tim’s folder, so he answered without looking up. “It was given to the two men from your agency.”
“Agency!” Tim exclaimed, beginning to laugh. “Doc, I’m retired. I have no agency.”
The doctor seemed truly surprised at Tim’s assertion. “I assure you, these two men had proper identification.”
“Oh, I’m sure that they were who they claimed to be,” Tim agreed sarcastically.
The doctor turned and walked over to his desk, inviting Tim to sit down. “Mr. Hall, I have no knowledge of the world which you and others inhabit. I just know that it exists. Over the years, I have had several patients who were employed by the CIA, FBI, NSA, Defense Intelligence. And because our job here is to treat injuries to the brain, the people who you work for have a vested interest in your condition.”
Tim found himself agreeing with the doctor. After all, you certainly didn’t want your spies running around the hospital giving away sensitive information without realizing it.
“So, are you telling me that you provided my medical records to my former employer, the Central Intelligence Agency?”
Tim’s doctor looked perplexed. “I cannot really answer that, Mr. Hall, because I don’t know—but it does appear as if that particular agency is interested in following your recovery.”
“And you just gave them all of my information?” Tim was becoming indignant.
“Well, Mr. Hall, they have been paying your medical bills.”
Tim was shocked, but he’d never really thought about who had paid for all of the treatment he’d received over the years. He’d just assumed it was his insurance.
“Mr. Hall?” The doctor was speaking again. “Have you had any treatments performed outside of this office?”
At that point, Tim decided to confess everything about the trip to the Dominican Republic and the supposed stem cell treatment he’d received there. The doctor just shook his head and made some notes as Tim was describing what he could recall. Finally, the doctor put down his pen.
“Mr. Hall, I would really like to repeat all of the tests we have performed in three months and see where we stand.”
“Where we stand, doctor?”
“Yes, Mr. Hall. As of right now, you seem to be fine, but now that you tell me that you may have had some treatments with stem cells, I would like to revisit your scans in three months.”
This made sense, so Tim decided to ask about something else that was bothering him. “Dr. Gray, will I ever get my memory back?”
“It is unlikely that your memory will ever be fully restored,” the doctor answered, “but it is possible that enough of your past will return to allow you to live a normal life.”
Tim nodded to indicate that he understood the doctor, then turned to leave. The doctor called after him. “Remember, I would like to retest you in three months.”
Tim turned back to the doctor. “Dr. Gray, I would not repeat our conversation today with anyone,” he cautioned. “If someone asks, just tell them my appointment was a routine checkup.”
Tim left the doctor’s office and didn’t bother to make the follow-up appointment.