| Subject: Chapter 29 |
Author:
Kate
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Date Posted: 09:31:47 04/03/01 Tue
In reply to:
Kate
's message, "Things My Mother Taught Me" on 09:29:32 04/03/01 Tue
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Hope for miracles, but don't rely on one.
"Right, then." Dr. Andy Sanderson closed his medical bag with a snap. "So, it's definitely neural. Your doctors were right about that. Nerves are a bloody mess, if you don't mind my saying so. Frazzed all out. Bloodwork is consistent with a few of the other cases I've seen. Your doctors didn't know about them, they're all private research cases. That's why it's taken so long to give you a good diagnosis."
Nikita pulled her dress on and Michael buttoned up the back.
"Doesn't really matter what prompted the degeneration. Must have been exposed to something somewhere along the line. Obviously, it was a long time ago or Michael'd be in the same boat. So. It's getting worse. But you know that, I guess. I'd like to see you go through one of these spells, if possible. Then I'd know exactly how far gone the buggers are. You said they're happening about once a week?"
"Yes," Nikita said.
"Yeah, well, it's not going to get better. What you need is some new nerves."
Nikita blinked.
"Now, it's not the kind of thing you can run out and buy."
Nikita blinked again.
"But I've been doing some studies. Lots of trial runs. We've grown all kinds of things from ‘em: uh, let's see, I've grown a liver, a heart valve, couple of kidneys, part of a brain ... well, you get the picture. Tried to do a stomach, but it didn't work out. Started in with nerves a couple of years ago. Been pretty successful with it. Thing is, you got to have a willing donor."
"Donar of what?" Michael said, his fingers lacing through Nikita's.
"Oh. A fetus. Or cord blood, that's even better. They don't just let anyone have it anymore, not even doctors," said Andy darkly. "Like we're going to Frankenstein it or something. Daft. But it's still legal, so don't worry about that. See, what you do is, you take the cord blood -- uh, that's from the umbilical cord -- and it's gotta be fresh or it's no good for what we want. And you take the cells. Now, these are cells ... they're kinda like fetal tissue cells, they can grow into anything. So, we're gonna grow some nerve cells."
"How do the cells know --?"
"To grow into nerves?" He grinned and tapped his head. "Ah, that's where I come in. Know just how to persuade the little buggers to cooperate. So. Let's go find a pregnant woman. Sooner we get a donar, sooner we can fix you up."
He rose, ducked under the door frame and lumbered off. Nikita looked at Michael helplessly. "Is this a joke?"
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