Core Beliefs - Chapter 47 - Real Time

Core Beliefs – Chapter 47 - Real-time

The next two weeks were non-stop for Matt and Ling. Ling finished the presentations for the neuroimager and the software. Matt was as active as ever with the companies. They both made a point of talking during the day and not working after hours.

***

At the end of June, Matt assembled the team going to Houston. Ling, Marcus, Clarence, Melissa, Doug, and Ellie all went. The recipients were researchers from Wheatley and the entire neurology team from Baylor Medical Center. Ling and Mellissa conducted live demonstrations. The neuroimager’s impact hit powerfully.

Clarence placed the headgear on a young researcher and commenced the final demonstration.

Almost immediately, Ellie stepped next to Ling. “We have a problem.”

Ling looked at Ellie, then followed Ellie’s eyes toward the screen. In the rear right part of the brain, a dark, irregular mass loomed where blood had accumulated.

“How long have you been having headaches?” Ling asked the researcher.

Not seeing the monitors, he had no awareness of what the others saw. Around the room, people started to comprehend the situation.

“I think about two weeks?” The man replied.

Ling turned him to the monitor. “This may be your lucky day. You have an aneurysm. If not tended quickly, your condition can become very serious.”

Others in the room quickly grasped the gravity of the situation and realized they were seeing real-time information influencing diagnosis.

Ling asked Dr. Karl Broadman, the head of surgery at Baylor, how quickly they could have a surgical suite ready.

He dialed his cell phone. In less than a minute, he responded, “The main surgery will be ready and staffed in thirty minutes.

“Who is going to do the surgery?” Ling asked.

“I will,” Dr. Wallace Pelltinton said, “but I would appreciate it very much if you would be part of the team.”

“Very well,” Ling nodded. “We need an ambulance. I want the neuroimager and all related equipment transported to the surgery and sterilized.”

She turned to the young man sitting in shock, staring at the screen, reacting to the sudden revelation that his life was at risk.

“Hang on,” she said, “you’re going to be okay. We know exactly what the problem is and how to fix it. You really are very lucky.”

She smiled, gently touching him on the cheek.

Two other doctors took charge of getting an ambulance. Ling was conferring with Dr. Broadman and Dr. Pelltinton.

Matt took the opportunity to walk to the young man. Matt leaned close and softly said, “She brought me back from the dead, and you’re a long way from dead. Trust her; she’ll get you through this.”

For the first time since the scene had started, the young man smiled. Minutes later, the ambulance crew arrived with a gurney and settled the young man on it.

Marcus, Melissa, Ellie, and Doug packed the hardware and computers. In thirty minutes, they were all at Baylor Medical. Ling had proposed a unique approach to the surgery. The other surgeons quickly agreed.

The main surgery was a premier facility and included a gallery section where doctors and others could watch. They brought the patient in, pre sedated, and Ling instructed the nurses on the placement of the neuroimager. Once in place and with the images on three monitors, Dr. Pelltinton began. Dr. Pelltinton used the Imager, precisely located the affected area, and drilled three very small penetrations, allowing the removal of the pooled blood. The results instantaneously appeared on the monitor, and the doctor could tell when he had completed the task. Next, Ling drilled a slightly larger hole at the base of the skull, angling toward the affected area. Once done, she used a small surgical laser to cauterize the specific vessel that had hemorrhaged. In less than an hour, they wheeled the patient into recovery. The gallery and staff chattered in amazement.

Normally, the diagnosis would have taken hours, if not days, and the procedure would have required significant openings in the skull with a much higher risk.

Ling waited in recovery until the young man awoke, then turned him over to the staff. All indications were that he would recover completely.

***

She and Matt went to her condominium, spent the night with her mother, then flew back the next morning. Matt knew that Ling needed to be practicing medicine, not fronting sales for his company’s equipment. They talked on the flight back. “Ling, I promise you’ll have a state-of-the-art neurology clinic of your own. You need to be using your gift to heal.”

She kissed him passionately; he felt her joy as new hope flooded her soul.

***

It had been eight months since Matt and Ling had flown back from Houston. The new clinic was operational. Ling had staffed it with very bright, skilled people, and in the short time it had been operating, it had already garnered an international reputation.

Matt had launched several new projects of his own, and the request for the imaging system was forcing an expansion at the Myoplex facility.

Instead of selling the unit, they leased it with the software, including automatic upgrades and perpetual service support. The reception exceeded expectations.

An invitation for Ling to present a paper at the annual AMA convention in Boston only increased demand.