Mikaal

34: Mikaal

'Thank God something's going my way today,' Dalia thought to herself when her name was called at a general practice near her home. Incredibly, her wait was less than half an hour although it was late afternoon and she was a 'walk-in'.

"Hello, I'm Dr Wright. How can I help you?" He wasn't her usual doctor but the balding man greeted her with kind brown eyes.

"There's something wrong with me. I... how do I even start?" Dalia sighed, her mind a muddle. "Do people my age get dementia?"

Dr Wright smiled. "Dementia is more common among people aged over 65. It can happen to people in their thirties or forties, but this is rarer." He picked up a notepad from his desk. "What makes you think that?"

"I think I've been forgetting things... Actually, I don't even know if I am forgetting things generally speaking, but I found a voicemail on my phone today that I don't remember receiving at all, so I think something's wrong with me."

"How long ago did you get the voicemail?"

"Over a year ago."

"Well, it's quite normal to forget something you received from that long ago."

"Yes, I understand that but the issue is, it's from a person I met recently and didn't think I really knew, but from the message he left me, it sounds like we knew each other in the past and we were even close friends..."

Dr Wright tapped his pen on his notepad, an introspective look on his round face. "It's still possible to forget old friends... Did he tell you that he knew you when you met recently?"

"He did, but..."

Dr Wright glanced at his watch, his expression sceptical. "Have you asked him about the message?"

How did she explain the situation without telling him her entire life story?

"We aren't on talking terms," Dalia said. It was true enough - she wasn't sure anymore that she could trust Mikaal when he had lied to her too. "Aren't there some tests you can run? On my brain? Like scans?"

Dr Wright was silent. He looked through her, a blank expression on his face. "CT scans use radiation, which can increase your risk of cancer, so we try to avoid scans until they are absolutely necessary."

Dalia's teeth clenched. 'He thinks I'm crazy!' she thought, frustration rising within her. "Dr Wright, I just found out that I've forgotten months of my life, really important months and I have to know why. Amnesia, not dementia, I must have amnesia!"

Dr Wright's expression changed, his eyes more empathetic. "Have you forgotten anything else?"

"I don't know," Dalia said, her voice clipped. "Like I said, I don't know what I don't know."

Dr Wright wiped his brow. "Let me rephrase that; has anyone told you something you said or did that you'd forgotten?"

"Uh..." Dalia faltered, regretting her tone. She glanced at the ceiling and tried to recall an instance. "Actually, there was a time I had dinner with my, uh, friend Simon and apparently I felt sick eating steak."

Dr Wright's pupils dilated. "Sick in what way? And has this happened again?"

"Like nauseous... And yes, but I've stopped eating steak and I've already seen an allergy specialist. And that's not why I'm here." Dalia drew in a deep breath. Her emotions settled and her mind cleared. "Dr Wright, can you please tell me more about amnesia? How does someone get amnesia?"

"Usually memory loss is a consequence of an accident or disease that's impacted the brain. Have you had any medical conditions?"

"No, except fainting spells through my childhood, if that's even a medical condition?"