An infection of "unknown etiology"

Bite the inside of your mouth while gnawing on a steak and healing takes place almost imediately. The inside of the spine is so much less likely to be exposed that there is little defensive mechanism especially against the pantheon of germs that tend to hang out in even the most sterile operating room.

While a surgical procedure that had failed at the University of Washington was completed successfully at Moffet, Jean was now running a high temperature.

I am not sure what the official name of a bug doctor is but one came to Jean's room and assured us that although they did not know exactly what pathogens were involved he would concoct a cocktail to "to whom it may concern".

Jean was injected with a dye that mingled with the infection and was wheeled to a lab containing an assembly of arcane scanners. The one they used on her resembled a kettle drum. A screen showed the infection congregated in various parts of her body particularly the lower abdomen.

The brew made up by the bug man clicked in over a period of days and that crisis was behind us. Some residual loss of hearing in one ear resulted.

At this point I had moved into Jean's hospital room on a cot provided by the hospital. It was a bit of a strain on me. The clean up crew came through about six a.m. and I was expected to have my bed made and my stuff in order subject to inspection by the head floor nurse.