A Brain by Robin Cook Read Free Book Online

small window in her head so that he could remove the damaged part of her right temporal lobe. He’d told Lisa that somehow, a part of Lisa’s brain had been damaged, and it was that section that was causing her seizures. If he could take just the damaged part out the seizures would stop. He’d done almost a hundred such operations with wonderful results. At the time Lisa had been ecstatic because up until Dr. Mannerheim all she could get from her doctors was compassionate head shaking.
    And the seizures were horrible. Usually she knew when they were coming because she would smell the strangely familiar odor. But sometimes they came without warning, descending on her like an avalanche. Once in a movie theater, after she’d been given a long course of heavy medication and assurances that the problem was under control, she smelled the horrid odor. In a panic she’d jumped up, stumbled to the aisle, and ran back toward the lobby. At that point she became unaware of her actions. Later she “came to” propped up against the lobby wall by the candy machine, with her hand between her legs. Her clothes were partially off, and like a cat in heat, she’d been masturbating. A group of people was staring at her as if she were a freak, including Jim, whom she’d punched and kicked. Later shelearned she’d assaulted two girls, injuring one enough to be hospitalized. At the time she’d “come to” all she could do was close her eyes and cry. Everyone was afraid to come near her. In the distance she remembered hearing the sound of the ambulance. She thought that she was going insane.
    Lisa’s life had come to a standstill. She wasn’t insane, but no medication controlled her seizures. So when Dr. Mannerheim appeared, he seemed like a savior. It wasn’t until Dr. Ranade’s visit that she began to comprehend the reality of what was going to happen to her. After Dr. Ranade, an orderly had arrived to shave her head. From that moment on, Lisa had been frightened.
    â€œIs there some reason why he wants local anesthesia?” asked Lisa. Her hands had begun to tremble. Dr. Ranade had thought carefully about his answer.
    â€œYes,” he said finally, “he wants to locate the diseased part of your brain. He needs your help.”
    â€œYou mean, I’ll be awake when . . .” Lisa didn’t finish her sentence. Her voice had trailed off. The idea seemed preposterous.
    â€œThat’s correct,” said Dr. Ranade.
    â€œBut he knows where the diseased part of my brain is,” protested Lisa.
    â€œNot well enough. But don’t worry. I’ll be there. There’ll be no pain. All you have to remember is no coughing and no sudden movements.”
    Lisa’s reverie was cut short by a feeling of pain in her left forearm. Looking up she could see tiny bubbles rising up in a bottle over her head. Dr. Ranade had started the IV. He did the same thing in her right forearm, threading into her a long thin plastic tube. Then he adjusted the table so that it tilted slightly downward.
    â€œLisa,” said Carol Bigelow. “I’m going to catheterize you.”
    Picking up her head, Lisa looked down. Carol was busy unwrapping a plastic covered box. Nancy Donovan, another scrub nurse, pulled back Lisa’s sheet exposing her from the waist down.
    â€œCatheterize?” questioned Lisa.
    â€œYes,” said Carol Bigelow, pulling on loose rubber gloves. “I’m going to put a tube into your bladder.”
    Lisa allowed her head to fall back. Nancy Donovan grasped Lisa’s legs and positioned them so that the soles of her feet were together while her knees were widely apart. She lay exposed for the world to see.
    â€œI’m going to be giving you a medicine called mannitol,” explained Dr. Ranade. “It causes you to make a lot of urine.”
    Lisa nodded as if she understood while she felt Carol Bigelow begin to scrub her