Through the Storm

Chapter Twenty (Part 2)

"We'll go right to radiology and get an MRI, see what's causing those headaches...and the fainting spells," Melvin said.

His voice held the same friendly tone it always had, like a grandpa or a favorite uncle. Courtney and I had loved coming to see him. We were showered with presents and candy every time.

"I would prefer you do a full-body scan," dad said.

"Okay, we can do that."

The machines in radiology were nothing new to me. Even the tunnel didn't scare me anymore. I lay there patiently while the machine clicked over and over. When I was done, I got dressed in the MRI room. Through the glass, I could see Melvin and dad in the observation area, and right after I pulled my shirt over my head, I saw Melvin drop the clipboard he was holding.

Dad picked it up, his face tight with concern. I turned my head when they looked in my direction and then waited a good five minutes until Melvin finally came in and we walked to his exam room. Dead silence hung in the air. Lots of secrets they probably wouldn't tell me, but if I could just get a little bit of info, the trip here would be worth it.

I sat on the exam table and watched as Melvin displayed my brain images on a large flat-screen computer monitor. "Something's wrong. I saw you guys in the observation room."

Melvin turned to me and faked a smile. "Nothing serious. No tumors or contusions."

"Then why did you look so freaked out?" I asked.

Dad paced the floor, then stopped to look at the pictures. "We're not exactly sure what's wrong."

Melvin had hooked up the blood pressure thing to my arm and had the stethoscope in his ears. "Your blood pressure is low and you're dehydrated."

"That's why you flipped out?" I totally wanted answers to all of my (and Kevin's) questions, but right now they were really freaking me out.

He tucked the stethoscope into his lab coat and glanced sideways at dad, who nodded slightly. "I need to ask you a few questions before I make a diagnosis."

"Okay," I said slowly.

Melvin pointed to the right corner of the first brain image. "This section showed activity on the scan. That might indicate...maybe..."

"What?" I asked, hanging on his words.

"Well, it's unusual and may explain some of your symptoms."

Like getting stuck two years in the past? Is that considered a medical symptom?

"Unusual, like...different from the pictures you've taken of my brain?"

"Yes," dad answered.

"Maybe it's because I'm older." Like...a lot older.

"Have you experienced any...memory loss?" He seemed to choose those last two words carefully. "For example, waking up somewhere and you're not sure how you got there?"

"Okay, you guys are scaring me."

"What about photographic memory? Can you recall pages from a book word for word, or possibly directions or maps?" Melvin asked.

"Should I be able to do that?"

"It's possible with your genetics-"

Dad cleared his throat loudly.

"Sorry, I meant, it's possible with that section of the brain showing activity," Melvin corrected.

It would have been nice to be completely calm so I could choose my words carefully, but that just wasn't happening today.