TIME-TO-SEE-84
Brandy and Max took their two boys over to see the apartment that they rented just walking distance from the burn hospital.
"Boys, we'll be staying here at the apartment with you some of the time, and Artie's mum and dad will be using it too, I'm sure. I'll tell them they are welcome to stay as long as they need a place near the hospital to visit with Artie."
Sean and Murph walked along the sidewalks joining their dads among manicured lawns and colorful bottle brush trees with their red and yellow, odd-shaped blossoms.
They all walked up two stories to a lovely furnished, three bedroom apartment with balcony, overlooking the pool.
"Oh, look, Dad. A POOL!" Murph exclaimed.
"Yes, Murph. But I bet none of us has bathing suits," Brandy said.
"But we can buy some," Sean answered.
The boys ran ahead looking through all of the rooms.
"Okay. Each of us gets a key. Put it on one of these turquoise lanyards, guys. That way you can either keep it in your pocket or put it around your neck," Max said as he passed out the keys. "I have two more keys for Mr. and Mrs. Donnally."
"This is one cute little dog, Artie," the nurse said. "Is he yours?"
"No, mama. He belongs to Sean, but Sean lets me feed him and take care of him. I was his main daddy when we were in Heidelberg and Sean was in San Diego," Artie said.
"My goodness you boys certainly do get around. Did you go on vacation together?"
"Well, sort of. I met Murph and Sean and my other friends when we were on vacation at Castle Dromoland in Ireland, and we became very good friends. We've been staying together almost every night since then."
"All of you are very fortunate to have such good friends. I like both Sean and Murph very much."
"Yeah! Me too," Artie said. Then he said, "Oh, oh! Nurse! Spirit peed on my bed! oh... oh... I'm really sorry!" And Artie jumped up quickly and stood next to the bed. Spirit finished emptying his bladder and stood shaking his fluffy little tail looking as cute as could be. "Woof, Woof"
"You fuzzy little rascal!" the nurse said. "If I weren't a dog-person and you weren't irresistibly cute, I'd have your butt! Woof, woof, yourself, you charmer... Bring him over here, Artie, and I'll strip the bed. It won't be a problem because all of the beds are covered with rubber pads to protect them from patients who do the same thing. We'll have you covered again with clean sheets in no time."
"Thank you, nurse. I'll help you pull the covers off my bed... He didn't mess up my spread or pillow- just the sheet and pad in the middle of the bed."
"Not to worry, Artie..."
The door to Artie's hospital room swung open and Jilder and Nicky came in together, two abreast.
"Artie! What are you doing out of bed? When we brought you to LAX you were really, really sick..." Jilder said.
"Hi, Artie. Hey you got Spirit," Nicky said hustling directly over to Artie to pet the puppy.
Artie explained, "Yeah! I WAS really, really sick when I got here yesterday- You know, like I was on the plane from Germany. I mean really sick, but they put me in a Temperature Control room here, gave me some medicine, and I went to sleep. When I woke up this morning I was feeling much, much better."
Hugo and Kevin were right behind their boys, and both were pleasantly surprised and shocked that Artie was up behaving like his old self.
Kevin spoke first, "Artie. You are looking great... Have you been out exercising? Your cheeks are rosy."
"No. I haven't been outside, but Dr. Glass says that my face is healing really good, and he thinks a lot of my face scars will be gone in a few days," Artie said with a big smile.
"Maybe I won't scare everybody I meet now," Artie beamed just delighted.
"ARTIE!" Jilder said with mild annoyance. "What are we going to do with you... Don't you ever hear us telling you that we like you no matter what's on your face?"
"Yeah. And that's really, really important to me, Jilder. It's kept me going for weeks. But if I can heal-- even a little bit-- I'd like that too..." Artie said.
"Well, of course, Artie. I remember that I wanted to 'hear' even though Kevin and the boys loved me anyway. I understand what you're sayin," Hugo said. "And let me add, Artie, you really do look much, much better today."
Artie went over to Jilder and offered to give Spirit to him to hold, a gesture of appreciation after just sounding so ungrateful. "Hey, boy, how you doin?" Jilder said as he received the little ball of fuzz.
"Well, he OUGHT to be doing just fine. He just finished wetting all over Artie's bed!" the nurse said.
"Whoah!" Jilder replied. "Shame on you, Spirit!"
"Artie, you can get back in bed now." the nurse said. "Why don't you go ahead and lie down. We don't want you to over do the 'I'm-feeling-much-better' routine."
"Okay," Artie said sounding entirely chipper but agreeable with the request.
Nicky said, "Hey, Artie, me and Jilder went with my dads to our new school near San Diego and it's really cool. I think we have to go to school in about three weeks."
"Yeah, we ordered some sweaters with the school name on it. I don't want to start working on a lot of school work, but I know this is going to be a good school."
"Will you guys be able to visit me?" Artie asked.
"Oh, sure. We're not going to school for three whole weeks. We can be with you every day until then," Nicky answered.
"Yeah! But I'll miss you if you have to go to school," Artie said looking back and forth at them both.
"We aren't going very far, Artie. Maybe you can come see our school before we have to start?" Nicky suggested.
"I'd like that... " Artie said. Then he reflected a moment and continued, "Sean told me that there's this great Zoo in San Diego. He said that maybe you and me and Jilder and Murph and him could all go to the zoo when I'm feeling better."
"Yeah. There is a really nice zoo in San Diego. We'll have to ask our dads if they can take us all together. We'd have to plan a trip and take Max and Brandy too," Jilder said. "But do you think they'll let you out of the hospital that soon?"
Looking down and sounding a little daunted, "I don't know actually, but I asked Dr. Glass already, and he said he'd talk to the burn hospital treatment committee to see if they would let me... I told him maybe I can go to the zoo on the weekend and then come back to the hospital. He didn't know whether they'd let me go, but he'd ask them..."
Kevin and Hugo had been listening to the zoo conversation, and Hugo spoke up. "You know, Artie, going to the zoo on a Saturday would be perfect. We could come down and get you Friday night. You could spend the night at our house, and we could go to the zoo all day on Saturday. Then you could spend the night with us again on Saturday night, and we'd bring you back to the hospital on Sunday."
Kevin turned to Hugo and said, "You know, Babe, we'll have to speak with Max and Brandy to see what they have planned."
"And me mum and dad will be here with me startin tonight. That's what Max told me last night," Artie said.
"Well, maybe you really should try to get a nap, Artie; so you can be awake when your mum and dad get here," Kevin suggested.
Max and Brandy walked into Artie's room just then. "My, my! Kevin, Hugo! how are you this morning?" Max said giving them both hugs, and Brandy did the same thing patting them on the back.
"Oh, Max, you can't believe how strange but very nice it was to sleep in our own bed last night..." Kevin said.
"It must have been heavenly. Brandy and I do soooooo much traveling; we're rarely able to spend many nights at home," Max said.
Murph and Sean followed their dads into Artie's room. "Jilder, Nicky... what's up?" They exclaimed... And then the boys all started exchanging those multiple slap-tap, hand-shake, high-fives with one another: five boys making all possible combinations of hand-shakes taken two at a time... (What's that? 5 plus 4 plus 3 plus 2 plus 1 equals 15 different handshake pairs...) Kevin smiled and spoke to the other dads, "Mathematically speaking, they'll be tied up with that little ritual for a few moments... (at least 75 seconds!) We might as well relax..."
When the slapping and tapping was done, Brandy turned to the other dads.
"Max and I have taken a flat for a month just a few steps away from the hospital," Brandy said. "We'll be able to stay there with the boys and Mr. and Mrs. Donally and visit with Artie every day for a while."
"That should be very convenient and even cost effective for all of you. I'm sure that your lodging will end up costing literally only a few dollars a night... And that's a supreme bargain in this city," Kevin said.
"So I've heard." Max commented.
"Which brings me to our real life routine beginning again: we're starting to replace the nearly endless vacation with Dr. Kavanaugh in Europe," Kevin said. "This morning, we took the boys by their new school and picked up applications for them. I'd like for them to begin with the semester that starts in three weeks if that's possible."
"Well, you are bringing up something that's quite speculative in our life, but that I might share with you at this point, I think," Max said looking over at Brandy, then at the others.
"For several years, now, Brandy and I have been grappling with our data business and the inevitability of our having a West Coast office in the United States. I'm thinking that we may end up spending another two years here getting a new office off the ground-- as well as running back across "the pond" to take care of our European interests. And depending on how all that seems to work out, Brandy and I decided that we'd like to set up our base operations in San Diego county, where we would purchase a home and put the boys into the same school at which your boys will study. Perhaps you could share with us the details of your school and its beginning date," Max confessed.
"DAD!" Murph yelled out having been listening quietly to the adults talking. "You mean that me and Sean could live near Jilder and Nicky in San Diego, and I could go to school here?"
"Well, son, as I said. This is all very tentative at this time, I have a great deal to work out (and speaking with your mother is no small part of that...) but since you and Sean need to begin school as soon as possible, I think we might just consider your studying at Jilder and Nicky's new school; so that you don't lose any time while Brandy and I work out details."
Sean became visibly excited smiling and looking at Max asking, "Dad, if you let us live in San Diego near Jilder and Nicky, do you think it would be alright for me to work for Craig in his flower shop after school and maybe on weekends?"
Max turned to Sean and answered, "Sean. I think it's wonderful that you would like to work for Craig, but first priority is your education, and if there's time after that, well, then I think working too would be a good experience for you."
"Yeah, Dad. I can save money if I work, and then I can afford to pay for Spirit's food and stuff too all by myself."
Brandy spoke to Sean too: "I'm glad you are thinking seriously about being responsible, Sean. However, you must not worry about anything except getting a good education. That is so critical... Just ask Kevin. He'll tell you how you need strong training in mathematics and English for most careers," Brandy wanted Sean to realize that he too supported education first for his sons. After that: sports and jobs and other things, for sure.
"Yes, Sir. I understand," Sean replied directly to Brandy. "But you see, I really liked working for Craig while I was here in the US alone. He was really helpful and nice to work for."
"Well, I'm sure that Craig would be happy to hear how much you liked to work for him, but he would want you to put your education first too, I'd bet," Max said.
"Yeah! Humm. I understand, Dad. School first, then other stuff..." Sean replied.
Kevin spoke: "With this latest understanding of your motivations while you're here in the US, maybe Max, you and Brandy, would want to go back to our place in San Diego County with us this evening-- we're not actually in the City of San Diego, rather we're close to the small city of Escondido-- and then you might pay a visit to the boys' school in the morning."
"You could get applications and lay the groundwork for their starting school in three weeks. Now we don't have a family estate to offer as you did, Max, but you and Brandy and your two boys are welcome to stay at our place for as long as you need or until you decide you want to do something different."
Everyone had been visiting together in Artie's hospital room since mid-day. The sun was beginning to perch at that odd, intolerable angle to the west, where the glare made driving in the city almost painful. It was at just this time of day that Mr. and Mrs. Donnally arrived at the burn center from LAX.
Max happened to be looking out of the window in Artie's room when they stepped from their taxi at the hospital's main entrance.
"Artie, Guess what? I just saw your mum and dad arrive at the front door of the hospital. They ought to be up here in a few minutes," Max said.
"Ohhhhh. I can't wait to see em..." Artie just bubbled over with a huge grin on his face. "Sean, can I hold Spirit; so they can see how big he's gotten when they get here?"
"O' course, Artie. Here... I just hope he don't pee on your bed while they're here..." Sean said.
And the very next time Artie's door opened, his mum and dad made their way in carrying a big shopping bag with them.
"Mum! Daddy! I missed you! Come here and see Spirit... See how big he's grown." Artie shouted out.
Mrs. Donnaly went over to the bed where Artie was sitting up, she leaned down and gave him a big hug and a kiss, "Baby! You're lookin so good! Your face is healing!!! How are you feelin?"
Then she sat back, cocked her head, and took a closer look at Artie's face. Those are some nice pink cheeks, and they look very, very healthy! Some of those scars really are going away; aren't they???" she said hardly believing her own eyes.
"Yes, mum! I think so. Dr. Glass said the old skin was comin back, but he didn't know why," Artie said.
"Oh, son, I'm so happy for you. Chapin come over here and look close at Arthur's face. Look at what's happening!" Artie's mum exclaimed to her husband.
Mr. Donnally removed his glasses and got very close to Artie. He squinted his eyes and looked at where the scars had been. They had been contorting Artie's mouth and pulling down on his nose, but now the natural contours of his face were restored and fresh pink skin grew in their place. "Hilda! This is incredible. What did the doctors do?" Mr. Donnally asked.
"Nothin, Dad. They put special cooling tubes all over my body the night I first got here. I felt really bad; so Dr. Glass gave me some medicine too-- that helped me sleep. The next day, Dr. Glass examined me and noticed the new skin I had growing on my face. He didn't do nothin..." Artie explained to his mum and dad.
"And look here." Artie said. "Nurse... Nurse... will you come here and look at my arms and shoulders and my chest..." Artie called from his bed.
The nurse came to Artie's bed and looked as he pulled up his hospital gown revealing his trunk and arms. The body was generating new skin in the places where scarred skin and skin grafts lay just a little over 24 hours ago. Artie was growing beautiful, pink, new skin. "LOOK NICKY!, LOOK SEAN! MURPH, you and JILDER COME HERE TOO... LOOK!" Artie called out excitedly.
The nurse said, "Oh, my God! Artie. It's true. You're getting new skin all over your body... I've never heard of that happening before."
The boys all crowded around Artie in bed and looked at his body.
"Oh, Artie. You got a lot of new, pink skin...like you had a sunburn... LOOK!" Murph called out.
"Gosh! Artie. That's sooo good," Nicky said.
"Yeah! Nicky," Artie replied. "It's just like King Boru told me."
"What do you mean?" Nicky asked
"Well, the night I got to the hospital after we flew here from Heidelberg, Dr. Glass gave me some medicine that made me sleep, and while I was asleep I dreamed I was talkin to King Boru, and he told me about the way God runs His Universe. God don't make people stay sick and ugly; He gives them a body, and He don't change it; only people THINK that their body won't ever go back to the way God made it. All you have to do is KNOW the way God runs things, and then you will know you won't stay sick, and your body will get well."
Then Artie turned to Kevin, "And Kevin, your grandpa came to me in my dream too that same night, and he said that King Boru knows what he's talking about; so I figure that now God knows that I KNOW; so I'm healing, cause that's the way God runs things... At least that's what I think..."
The nurse had been listening to Artie and she spoke, "Well, Arthur, that's certainly as good an explanation as any... Dr. Glass doesn't have a clue, and yet you certainly are healing-- and very fast too."
Artie was smiling and holding up his hospital gown looking down at his chest and tummy. He kicked the sheet off and even his legs were covered with new, pink skin. "Whoopie! Sean... Look! I'm beginnin to look me old self..." And he moved his fingers along on the surface of the new skin. Each of the boys reached over to touch Artie's new skin. "Yeaaah! It's real skin," Nicky exclaimed.
Max and Brandy and the others crowded closer to Artie's bed straining to see the remarkable condition that had developed all over his body.
"That is the most remarkable change," Max said.
"THAT, Max, is a Miracle!" Brandy replied speaking softly to Max, not expecting to be heard by anyone else.
Hugo spoke directly to Brandy, "You sure called that one right. We all see how Artie allowed God's intention for him to happen again: Artie's body is Artie's body, and God intended it to represent Artie perfectly, and that's exactly what's happening..."
"Mom? What are you cryin for? It's really good that I'm gettin better, don't you think?" Artie said to his mom, perplexed and a little disturbed that she might be sad.
"Oh, NO! Honey. I'm not sad. I'm crying because I'm so very happy," Artie's mom answered. And she reached over and drew him close to her and gave him a very long hug.
Artie's mind was racing, and he blurted out, "Now, nurse, will you tell the hospital treatment committee how I'm doin; so maybe they'll let me go to the zoo?"
"Hon, I hate to tell you this, but YOU'RE going to feel like you are IN a zoo, that everybody's going to want to come to see... The doctors in this place are going to come looking at you and try to figure out what made you better. I'm just warning you, honey..."
Artie smiled and said, "I don't mind, nurse. I'm glad they will want to visit me, but I can only tell em what I already told everybody today-- about what King Boru told me..."
"Hon," the nurse replied, "THAT'S going to start them all buzzin... I'll take bets!"
"Alright, everyone..." she said, "I don't know what you're planning for dinner this evening, but Artie gets a free meal, and I have to see that he gets good food and on time. So if you will all excuse me while I take Artie's order and set him up to eat..."
Max turned to everyone and asked, "Would all of you care to join Brandy and I and the boys at Coco's for dinner?-- I noticed that there's one across the street from our apartment.
Looking around Max saw the boys conferring. Kevin and Hugo were speaking with Artie's parents, and everyone seemed to be in agreement.
"That sounds good to all of us," Kevin said. "Is everyone else ready to go now?"
"Kevin, I think we're being politely thrown out! Are we ready to go?" Max said laughing...
"Oh! You're right, Max. How did I manage to miss that little detail?" Kevin replied looking directly at Max and smiling back sheepishly.
Dr. Glass nodded, didn't speak a word, said "Uh huh", continued to hold the telephone to his ear, and finally spoke:
"Well, Kerry, this is all just incredible. I have to go to the weekly staff meeting this morning in just a few minutes, but you can be sure I'll be down to visit Artie right after that... And I'll wager that Dr. Katz and the others will want to join me too..." Dr. Glass paused listening, "Of course, I'll give you a call before we come."
That morning was bright and sunny; it was a beautiful day in the San Fernando Valley. The hospital was humming with activity, and all of the staff members were attending to their duties. The conference room on the second floor was filling with physicians arriving, greeting one another, and taking their seats around the large, oval oak table.
An elderly gentleman, with white hair and white goatee and moustache, dressed in a dark suit and blue and copper striped, silk tie sat at the head of the table.
When he began to speak, everyone became silent and turned to face in his direction. Several physicians were still standing, because there simply was not enough seating for everyone.
"Dr. Glass, I am aware of a very unusual situation that has developed with one of your patients. Can we begin this morning with a briefing from you about that situation, and perhaps then you can arrange a clinical visit for us, as well, to elucidate?"
"Yes, Sir: Dr. Katz, Gentlemen:" Dr. Glass began....
"I wish that I had a more extensive list of professional interventions for which I could take credit this morning, but the details of this case are remarkably simple-- even though one might say, spectacular.
"Two nights ago, Arthur Donnally, the Irish lad who had been burned over 85% of his body and who completed nearly two years of treatment with us just nine months ago, returned to our facility after treatment by a hospital physician in Heidelberg, Germany.
"The German hospital had been trying to deal with uncontrollable body temperature. Artie's temperature was 111-degrees when he arrived by ambulance from LAX, two days ago after a 16 hour trip from Europe using a hand-cooled IV drip. I happened to be on duty that day.
"I immediately assessed Artie's condition, and sent him to the temperature control facility right away. He was packed in refrigerant tubing and slowly and gently his body temperature was lowered to 97-degrees... The boy was delirious and rising in and out of consciousness by that time.
"I gave him an IV to cope with the immediate associated dehydration issue, and a very light sedative to help the boy sleep. His prognosis for uncomplicated recovery was very poor given that he presented with only 10% fully-functioning skin, but in moments he fell asleep."
Dr. Glass looked around the table at his colleagues, took a sip of water, and continued: "The next morning-- that would be yesterday-- around nine A.M., I went to visit the boy and found him sitting up in bed. He was cheerful, clearly in NO distress from his earlier condition, and all over his face was a layer of bright pink new skin, the sort one would expect to find after severe sunburn.
"Scars that had been present in my examination of him the night before-- scars that contorted his lips and nose-- were no longer in evidence, they too being replace with fresh, pink dermal tissue. I examined the boy and then called the nurse over to confirm my discovery. She agreed that apparently over-night the boy's facial tissue had regenerated and now presented normally contoured, clear, skin without any hint of inflammation! The boy himself was completely unaware that his condition had changed materially, except, of course, he was clearly feeling physically just fine and quite happy otherwise as well."
Dr. Katz spoke when Dr. Glass paused at this point in his briefing. "And did you determine whether the Heidelberg doctors had administered any treatments that may have been effective in the intervening time?"
"Yes, Sir. I questioned Arthur thoroughly, and I reviewed the German records that accompanied him when he was admitted. There WERE no other treatments, Dr. Katz!"
"Well then, what do you propose happened?" Dr. Katz replied.
"If you heard the boy describe his night, I think you would be able to draw your own conclusions," Dr. Glass answered. "Would you like to join me for a visit to Artie's room? We can ask him to tell us what he knows about his unusual recovery."
"Indeed. I think we must see the boy as soon as possible; then I would like for this committee to reconvene here in the conference room after our visit. I think we should limit our visitation to just a few persons, perhaps six?" Dr. Katz proposed.
"I agree." Dr. Glass replied. "I think we can go down to his room right away. He has been receiving visits from family and friends almost continuously. There will be limited space, I'm sure..."
And Dr. Glass led the way to Artie's room for the visiting treatment review committee."
All six physicians lined up around Artie's bed, Dr. Glass being closest to him. Kevin and Hugo and Max and Brandy found space over near the windows, and Mr. and Mrs. Donnally stood next to Dr. Glass, a bit above Artie's head, while the boys talked with one another at the far end of the room near the main door.
Dr. Glass began, "Artie, these are doctors who work here at the hospital, and they're all very interested in your case. They asked me if I would introduce them to you; so you could talk to them about how you're doing and how you're feelin. I hope you won't mind doing that for us."
Artie was more than a little intimidated. He shrank back into his pillow, pulling the bed clothing tightly up under his chin. He looked at Dr. Glass and then at all of the distinguished physicians and then up at his mum and dad and said in a very soft, tiny voice, "Did I do somethin bad?"
"Oh, No, Artie. No. You didn't do ANYTHING bad or wrong. It's just that you are making such very good progress that everyone wants to hear directly from YOU how you're feelin... That's all. Don't be worried, Artie," Dr. Glass answered, trying to put Artie at ease.
Artie heard Dr. Glass, but he neither came out from under the covers nor did he sit up straight in his bed.
"Uh...." and Artie thought for a moment, "... uh, yeah, I don't mind tellin em..." but he certainly didn't elaborate or move.
So Dr. Glass went on very gently, "Your nurse called me this morning and told me that you found that the other areas of your body that had been injured appeared to be covered with normal textured skin, quite pink and new like the skin we saw on your face earlier. I know you must be happy."
Artie answered but didn't speak very loudly, "Yes, Sir. See...?" And he dropped the sheets and pulled his hospital gown away from his stomach and chest for Dr. Glass to look at him.
Dr. Glass was dumbfounded! "Yes! Of course, Artie. All of the old skin grafts and scar tissue has faded and there is a new foundation of fresh skin in its place. Now that's just wonderful, son... Do you know what is making all of your skin grow back?"
"Uh? ... No, not for sure... Uh, except I learned how God made my body for me, and He don't want it changed; so He made it so it would grow back, and all I had to do was KNOW what He has in mind... that's all... I didn't know until two night's ago when I talked to King Boru, and he told me how God runs the Universe, and... and how I can believe bad things like what other people think about my scars-- like they won't never go away-- or I can believe God, and then I won't have to die."
The physicians all looked at one another and shifted uneasily from foot to foot as they stood listening to Arthur speak: "King Boru says I'm too young to stop living, and Kevin's Grandpa told me that King Boru is right; so I just said to God that I understand now how He built me, and I'll let my body do it-- look like me again... And then I finished sleeping." Artie said.
Murph spoke up from the other end of the room, "Artie. Me and Sean heard you talking in your sleep and we woke up and stood next to your bed. We both thought you was talkin to us while you were still sleepin, but then, when we looked over at you, your body was sparkling and you were glowing light all over."
"Really?" Artie said.
"Yeah, that's right, Artie," Sean confirmed.
"And how do you feel right this moment, Artie?" Dr. Glass asked.
"Oh. Alright. Nothin special... maybe a little hungry..." Artie replied.
"Well, we'll all leave you shortly, Artie; so that nurse Kerry can bring you something to eat, and we doctors can get back to our meeting."
"Okay," Artie answered. Then he thought for a moment.
Artie spoke up as if a matter of some urgency had just crossed his mind. "Oh, Dr. Glass, is this the committee who has to let me go to the San Diego Zoo?"
Then Artie turned to the other doctors and said, "I don't know who you are, but my friends and I really want to go to the San Diego Zoo and see the wild animals. Dr. Glass says that you have to give me your permission to go... Well, if I am still doing good this Friday, can I go home with Hugo and Kevin, and then they'll take me to the zoo on Saturday and bring me back to the hospital on Sunday. Would that be okay, Sirs?"
And Artie looked all around the room searching the eyes of each of the assembled doctors.
Not one of them had dry eyes.
Doctor Katz spoke for the first time: "My boy, I'm SURE that this Treatment Review Committee will give very serious consideration to your request for a leave of absence from the hospital next weekend for a little trip to the zoo. It's a fine place to visit, and a nice trip there can do nothing but help you further in your recovery. Dr. Glass will speak with you more about that later, Artie. And thank you for allowing us to visit with you today."
Then Dr. Katz turned to the other boys and spoke to them as well, "And thank you too, gentlemen, for informing us of all that was involved in Artie's remarkable night."
"Oh, no problem," Murph replied.
"Yeah! Me too" Sean said with a smile.
The physicians were all smiling as well, when they filed out of Artie's room.
"I'll be back later, Artie... Don't go anywhere," Dr. Glass said speaking over his shoulder to Artie as he turned to leave too.
"Okay, Dr. Glass..."
Dr. Katz, Dr. Glass, and all of the other physicians settled back around the conference table. Dr. Katz spoke first, "Well, Myron, what about that sparkling boy that glowed in the dark. Did you have anything to do with that?"
"Not I," Dr. Glass replied. "I don't know how to make a boy sparkle, and I'm not into nuclear medicine either; so glowing in the dark is beyond me too."
One of the other physicians spoke up, "Look, Dr. Katz, Myron, I think you're both going to have to deal with the fact that a miracle just took place in this hospital. Either that or those kids are telling one fantastic story."
"Humm?" Dr. Katz responded. "You may be entirely right, Steven, but I'd prefer NOT to be so free with our experience here until some time has passed. (You know... Please, no media, gentlemen.) Who knows what is happening with that boy? I'm thinking that he could very well become involved in yet more remarkable circumstances, and we need to be unrelenting in our documentation of and exploration of his recovery. There could be some very sound medical phenomena going on here, and it would be incumbent upon this institution to pursue its explanation and discovery."
"Dr. Katz," Myron Glass said, "I do understand your ethical, professional, and personal sense of responsibility for handling this event correctly, but, REALLY, Dr. Katz: WE JUST HAD A MIRACLE HAPPEN IN OUR VERY OWN HOSPITAL! It's no more complicated than that!
Dr. Glass looked around at everyone surmising their concurrence with the obvious: "Didn't we just listen to how Artie put it: 'God made his body to represent him perfectly. It is NOT necessary for Artie to believe all of the sad things we've told him about how his body will always be maimed and dysfunctional. God only reminded him that HIS BODY IS THE SAME AS IT WAS WHEN IT WAS CREATED... AND IT WOULD RETURN TO ITS PERFECT STATE IF ONLY ARTIE REALLY UNDERSTOOD HOW GOD RUNS THINGS AND LET IT HAPPEN...'"
Young doctor Nichols raised his hand indicating that he would like to speak.
"Yes, Dr. Nichols," Dr. Katz acknowledged the younger man.
"Sir, I'm not able to give a direct explanation of Artie's change of state, but I have just finished reading the press release of a study by Per Delsing and Goran Johansson at Sweden's Chalmers University of Technology in the November 17, 2011 issue of the journal Nature. I think it helps to extend our understanding of basic physics in the area of vacuum fluctuations and how that phenomena may be connected to the force of dark energy that some physicists say is behind the ever accelerating expansion of our universe..."
Dr. Katz commented: "Very good, my boy, but what relevance does this advancing knowledge have on our event?"
"Well, of course, Sir, I don't know for sure, but what they did is by using a quantum electronic component called a SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device), which is highly sensitive to magnetic fields-- that is, its magnetic field direction was changed several billion times per second to create a sort of 'mirror to microwaves that moved 25% of the speed of light,' PROTONS (in pairs) THAT DID NOT EXIST BEFORE-- or as they called them, 'virtual protons' within some dark energy-- SUDDENLY APPEARED WHERE NONE WERE BEFORE.**"
"And did our boy address some dark matter to replace his own damaged body?" Dr. Katz queried.
"Well, Sir, I don't know WHO Artie addressed. The Swedish experiment simply confirms the Quantum Theory prediction that space (a vacuum) is actually full of virtual particles fading from and then returning to existence. The actual experiment used a surrogate phenomena by varying the electrical distance to an electrical short circuit rather than an actual mirror moving at the speed of light that is postulated in the Quantum Theory. The Quantum Theory is known as the Casimir Effect."
"Ahem..." Dr. Katz interjected..."I'm not sure that I follow you at all, Nichols, but using energy to will particles in and out of existence does seem akin to what went on with Arthur Donnally. He simply willed or energized the virtual skin particles that existed in the empty space of his body, and allowed them to recreate his body as he knew it.... "
Then after a long pause which no one dared to invade, Dr. Katz said: "Oh, my, God, I can't believe I'm saying all of this... It all sounds like science fiction fantasy...."
"Just like Artie's description of his night of talking to King Boru and Grandpa!" Dr. Nichols added.
"Humm? Yes. Exactly, Nichols." Dr. Katz replied. "By the way....who is this King Boru that Artie talked about? Do any of you know?"
Everyone at the conference table looked around at everyone else. No one could respond even to that basic question.
"Well then, perhaps we could begin with a little research into this King Boru and why he was implicated. And perhaps we could interview Artie again about this 'Kevin's Grandpa' person?"
"Don't you think that inquiry might be intruding into Arthur's privacy which we are ethically bound to respect?" Dr. Glass asked.
"Perhaps we could make a general request to Arthur's family as to the identity of these two figures whom Artie implicates in his change of perception?" Dr. Katz suggested.
"Maybe this is just me? But I don't know how you could do that without acting in a self-aggrandizing, self-promoting fashion, which is certainly not part of our essential efforts to help and heal the patient," Dr. Glass said.
Everyone at the table remained silent.
Dr. Glass went on. "No. I think that I can visit with Artie as treatment requires, and, within the context of our visits, it's likely that Artie will want to give more details. Basically, however, Dr. Katz, I think the boy has told us all that he knows. He Knows that God made his body, and that the damage to that body in his accident was alterable by the body's own healing capacity.... that God made as well. End of story."
"My boy, you put it so eloquently, but why don't our other patients find such recovery?" Dr. Katz asked.
"That, Dr. Katz, I don't know. My understanding of God is not sufficient to say, I'm sad to admit," Dr. Glass said with his eyes cast down to his hands, which he held clasped on the shiny table in front of him. "I don't know God at all..."
Again, no one commented.
The gathering of physicians remained silent.
Finally, Dr. Katz spoke up: "Is there anyone here who knows any reason why this Treatment Review Committee should deny Arthur Donnally permission to visit the San Diego Zoo next weekend?"
The doctors all looked around at each other, but no one spoke.
"Then I will accept your silence as unanimous approval to issue our collective permission."
Then Dr. Katz turned to Dr. Glass: "And, Myron, for goodness sake tell the boy TODAY that he has our permission to visit that Zoo!
(If it's okay with and has been facilitated by God, then it CERTAINLY should be okay with us!)"
** The scientific report discussed in this narrative (Sweden's Chalmers University of Technology in the November 17, 2011 issue of the journal Nature) can be found with Google.com or similar search engine.