Unclean Spirit by Julieana Toth Page A

could think about was getting upstairs and lying down. I was halfway up the staircase when something struck me square in the chest and sent me hurdling down to the cellar floor. When next I opened my eyes, I was here."
                  Javier could tell that Paul was sincere in the telling of his story, but he couldn't buy into its other-worldly aspects.
                  "Mr. Forsythe, I can appreciate how you might feel inclined to attribute what happened to some unseen force, as it were. But let's look at the events of that night a bit more realistically: The compulsive behavior, the nausea, the smell, the stifling atmosphere...those could all be indicators of an impending seizure or some other type of brain abnormality; the labored breathing and the perceived blow to the chest are pretty indicative of a cardiac event. I'm just speculating here but it's entirely possible that you had a myocardial infarction, a heart attack."
                  Paul wasn't buying it and he was pissed that the doctor had such a pat answer for what had been such an unusual event.
                  "So, what was it? A heart attack or a seizure or both? Or, am I just some nutcase?"
                  "Mr. Forsythe, you're angry with me and I regret that, but I'm only attempting to ascertain the cause of your injury. True, at first I suspected that your remembrances were a sign of some sort of psychological dysfunction but now I don't think that's the case. From what you've told me, it's very likely that your initial symptoms were the result of reduced cerebral blood flow secondary to a clot in one or more of your coronary arteries. The effort you then exerted in climbing the stairs was all it took to overtax your heart and cause you to pass out and fall down the steps. That would go a long way toward also explaining why your heart stopped during surgery and why your pulse rate was so rapid the other night."
                  "But you said that my heart was okay."
                  "Yes," said Javier, "I did. But given this new information, I'm going to talk to Dr. Barker about doing a cardiac catheterization on you. I also want to get an MRI of your brain. That's..."
                  Paul was not a happy camper. "I know what an MRI is!"                                         
                  Javier was getting pretty frustrated himself. He was only trying to help Paul Forsythe, he didn't have to bite his head off! He reminded himself, however, that this had to be a very trying time for his patient. "Okay, sorry."
                  "No, Dr. Gomez, I'm sorry. I don't mean to behave like an ingrate. It's just that I'm, well, I'm scared."
                  Javier was touched by Paul's apology and his admission of fear.
                  "Of course you are and I can understand that. We'll just take it one step at a time and we'll start by getting you out of ICU. I still want you watched closely though so I'm going to transfer you to telemetry where your heart can be monitored around the clock. I'll also get in touch with Dr. Barker as soon as possible. The MRI will have to wait until I remove your cranial staples, but I'm going to have an electroencephalogram, an EEG, done in a couple of days.
                  "I expect that your wife and daughter will have plenty of questions for me. Do I have your permission to be open with them?"
                  "Yes, certainly. But let me talk to them first. Starr has a unique perspective on things."
                  That's a fact! thought Javier.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
     
     
                  Paul had already been transferred to Telemetry by the time Tamara, Starr, Patsy, and Marybeth arrived at the hospital. Paul was thrilled to see them all and had absolutely no recall of his prior negative reactions to his