“I feel like I’m wearing a suit of armor. My whole body feels tight.” Major Mathew Collins threw off the sheet and pulled down his hospital Johnny.
“Take it easy Major Collins. The feeling is subjective for the most part.” Colonel Abram Gesecke flipped some pages in Collins’ hospital chart.
“Well for the most part, I feel like every muscle in my body is trying to leave it.” Collins looked at Gesecke and then at the Air Force nurse. He flopped back from a sitting position to a 45-degree angle on his electric bed. “How long will I be here?”
“You’ve been here one month and I think you’ll be ready to go stateside by the end of the week. I have to arrange your transfer to Wilford Hall in San Antonio.”
“I’m the only patient like this to come out of Afghanistan?”
“You’re an anomaly Major. Al-Qaeda or the Taliban used the trichothecene before but the toxin causes paralysis. You had the reverse. You’re muscles became stronger–hypertonic–and went into partial spasm. Every member of the SEAL team died except you.”
“I understand all that. What about the future? I can walk and do everything. I just get stiff all over.”
“Your condition is stable. We have to continue to observe your progress. You’ll need a muscle biopsy at Wilford Hall and more testing but we want you to get back to civilian life right away. Right now you need massage therapy at least twice a week and exercise therapy the same amount.”
“Look, Dr. Gesecke, we’re both doctors. You’re a neurologist and I’m a plastic surgeon. I need to get back to work–to see if I still have my dexterity in the operating room.”
“You still have your fine motor skills and your sense of touch is entirely normal. You just have to adapt to your new muscle tone.” Gesecke had the look and physique of the new Star Trek commander including the shaved head. His authoritative presence was effective.
“What’s that supposed to mean? And what about my increased muscle mass? I used to be at my ideal body weight.”
“Matt, I’ll be following your care in San Antonio. I’m going back with you. You’ve looked at yourself in the mirror. Your muscle size has more than doubled since your unit got ambushed. It’s now stable. Your muscle strength has increased out of proportion to your size and that’s what needs to be fine-tuned. You’ll work in your trade at Wilford Hall Air Force Hospital and if everything’s okay you’ll be somewhat released to civilian practice.”
“Somewhat released? What the hell does that mean?” Collins grabbed the bed handrails as he sat up again. The rails gave way and detached from the bed. He saw the nurse’s wide-eyed stare as he stood up in his briefs with a deformed bedrail still in his hand.
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