The Miracle by Irving Wallace Read Free Book Online Page A

it were that simple."
    "Meaning what, doctor? There's something else wrong?"
    Dr. Karp was thoughtful a moment. He looked up. "Yes. I must be forthright with you. There is something of serious concern. The sooner you know, the better. Let me add, it is not of immediate concern, but in the long run—"
    Tikhanov's impatience had turned into a grip of anxiety. He tried to disguise his fear with levity. "Well, as someone once said—in the long run, we'll all be dead."
    Dr. Karp offered him an uneasy smile. "True. I'm glad you make it easier for me."
    "So—what is it?"
    "The examination, tests, indicate without question you are suffering from muscular dystrophy."
    Tikanov felt a shortness of breath, his anxiety at its peak. "Muscular—what?" he asked, almost inaudibly. He had heard of the disorder, of course, but was only dimly aware of what it was all about. Now it sounded ominous, terrible.
    Dr. Karp was speaking more rapidly, more professionally. "The majority of cases of muscular dystrophy fall into one of four categories, and your category is known as the mixed type. This is a disease involving the progressive symmetric wasting of skeletal muscles, in your legs, in your arms."
    Tikhanov refused to accept the diagnosis. "You must be mistaken, Dr. Karp. Have you felt my muscles, arms, legs? They are strong, stronger than ever."

    "A typical symptom, and deceptive," said the physician. "Connective tissue and fat deposits make the muscles seem larger and stronger, but in fact this is not so and they are wasting away."
    Tikhanov would not surrender. "How can you be sure?"
    "I know this must be a blow to you, Mr. Tikhanov, but the results of the tests cannot be disputed. We cannot deny the findings of the electromyography, which substantiate the positive muscle biopsy. You can expect progressive muscular deterioration, and in this kind of dystrophy, the voluntary muscles would be the most affected."
    Tikhanov came jerkily to his feet, in despair, and ransacked his jacket pockets for his pack of cigarettes. With trembling hand, he put his lighter to a cigarette. Remaining on his feet, he said, "All right. What can I do about it?"
    "Not too much, I'm afraid. There is no known means to stop the impairment. However, there are things that might be done to, well, ease the symptoms. A regime of physical therapy, exercise, possibly some surgery. Of course, one more thing on the positive side. If you do what should be done, you might enjoy ten or twelve more years of good living before you are fully incapacitated."
    "That's all the time I want. Dr. Karp."
    "You can have it, if you retire."
    "Retire? You know very well who I am—"
    "I know who you are. You've had many years of success. But this can no longer be. You must resign from your present post, retire and enjoy a leisurely life, and undergo all the therapy possible."
    "If I refuse to resign? Or if I take an even more active job?"
    Dr. Karp absently fiddled with his pointed beard, his eyes cast downward. "The deterioration will intensify, Mr. Tikhanov. You will not survive more than two or three years."
    Tikhanov felt almost suffocated with rage at the unfairness of what was happening to him. He sat down next to Dr. Karp, grasped his arm and shook it. "I won't accept this, I can't. There must be some way to arrest this disease."
    "I know of no physician on earth who can tell you anything other than what I've told you. However, if you want to seek a second opinion—"
    'That would seem to be pointless, from what you say."
    "Of course, there are a few doctors in the world who claim they can sometimes do something about this. I've twice sent patients of mine, at their insistence, to a well-known rejuvenation specialist in Geneva, Switzerland, who believes that he has upon occasion eradicated the

    disease. It didn't work for my two patients, so such therapy remains in question, a long shot—"
    "I suggest this is the time to try a long shot. You know this rejuvenation