As Shelly leaned on the nurses’ station the next morning, she could hear laughter coming from Manny’s room across the hall. Manny was awake and being briefed. Shelly needed to be alone for a moment and found solace in the hall. She also needed to call Dr. Wall and let him know Manny’s progress. As amazing as it sounded, Manny was in remission. She kept thinking how Dr. Howard was now the second of the miracles, a distinction she had held alone for almost thirty-five years. From now on, people like her and Manny would not be classified as miracles, simply the first patients cured by an amazing, and still mysterious new treatment. “Right, the MRI shows it’s disappearing,” she said to her mentor. “His BP began resetting to normal, his respiration increased, and there was the vibration I was telling you about, just
like we saw in the lab. I feel like I should pinch myself.”
Nick appeared around the corner with two cups of coffee,
handing one to Shelly. “Who’s that?” he whispered. “Dr. Wall.”
“How’s Mary?”
“Good question. How’s Mary?”
“Not good, I’m afraid,” answered Wall.
“I thought you said yesterday that she was stable?”
“I didn’t want to alarm you so you could concentrate on your work, but she is not well. She’s not going to make it, Shel. Her white count is so high …” He paused. “Every test we run looks horrible.