His Current Problem

His Current Problem

Ten feet by eleven feet with one fluorescent light fixture in the ceiling. One upholstered settee, one small chair and a corner work area. Two laminate wall cabinets, usually beige and an exam table also usually beige. Hospital exam rooms had become an uncomfortably familiar part of Aaron’s life. His heart rhythm problems started when he was in high school and after a few years of normalcy they had reappeared. An occasional rapid heartbeat and perspiring had worsened into constant pounding of his heart and tingling in his arm and he’d become worried enough to call a cardiologist.

A large poster on the exam room wall showing a cutaway view of the human heart didn’t make his waiting any easier. It had been less than forty-eight hours since he’d had an ablation procedure to correct his heart rhythm, when the doctor applied a series of small electrical charges to his sinoatrial node. That synchronized the contractions to the other chambers and gave him a heart rate of seventy-two beats a minute, minute after minute, the way it was supposed to. Except for a tingling sensation in his right arm everything seemed normal. He was thumbing mindlessly through a two year old magazine when Dr. Lieu walked in.

“Good morning, Mr. Schaaf, how are you feeling today?” He was a slight, almost frail looking man with white hair and his constant expression was a mix of pleasant and intense. Aaron had a strong confidence in his skills.

“Good morning, doctor,” Aaron replied as he stood to greet Lieu. “I’m fine I guess.”

“Sorry we had to schedule you so early for the ECG this morning but it was the only time left on the technician’s schedule and I wanted to make sure we got a post-procedure reading on you.”

After a check of Aaron’s heartbeat and blood pressure Lieu sat down at a computer in the corner of the room. “Grab that chair and have a seat here next to me. I’ll run through the results of your ablation with you.”

The lines of text, columns of numbers and a large graph on the screen were as intimidating as they were confusing to Aaron. “Okay, doc, none of that makes any sense to me.”

Lieu smiled. “I understand. I’ll just hit the high points. All in all your procedure went well and we have you back to a normal and steady heartrate. This column of numbers shows your readings and this one shows normal readings for a healthy man of your age and health profile. As you can see you match up very well.”

“That’s great, but what about the tingling in my right arm?”

“Your right arm, not your left?”

“Nope, my right. It doesn’t hurt or anything but when I got home from the procedure I noticed an uncomfortable tingling when I gripped a doorknob or anything in my right hand. Is that something normal like a side effect or something?”

Lieu had a puzzled look on his face. He turned back to his computer and scrolled to a second screen. He brought up a chart labeled Sodium / Potassium Range, studied the numbers for a moment and said, “It looks like you’re generating a charge that’s greater than normal.”

“So what does that mean?”

Lieu began an explanation that reminded Aaron of the boring lectures he endured back in his college life sciences class. “The heart’s chemical process is called the sodium potassium gate. Negativity is the natural resting state of your cells. The normal imbalance of potassium ions on the inside of your cells and the sodium ions on the outside create a negative charge while you’re at rest. Your body can send a conscious or unconscious message that opens the gate. The switch in concentration of the two types of ions creates a rapid change from a negative to positive charge.”

Aaron leaned forward, not understanding much of what he’d just heard. “Is that what’s causing the tingling?”

“”Well, sort of. It’s the flip between positive and negative that generates an electrical impulse. Your post-procedure reading shows that flip as quite large.”

Aaron sat up straight, trying to absorb the information and hoping Lieu would make it more understandable. “So what does all that mean?”

“Well, your rhythm problems were caused by a breakdown in your electrical system. Since we did the ablation your readings are all normal in and of themselves. By that I mean your electrical activity no longer represents a hazard to your health.” He paused and ran a finger up and down the chart on the screen and when he turned back to Aaron it seemed to him that Lieu was choosing his words very carefully. “I don’t have an exact reading of the charge you’re producing right now. It should be around 100 millivolts, that’s normal, but looking at your sodium potassium readings the charge must be way beyond that, extremely high.”

Aaron tried to make sense of things. “So my rhythm is normal, my heart is okay but I’m cranking out some big current of electricity?”

Lieu was visibly uncomfortable, trying to keep a patient calm while explaining circumstances he didn’t fully understand himself. “Look, give me a day or two to do some more review of your ECG and your other numbers. I’m also going to bring Dr. Lynch into the conversation. He’s our go-to guy on things like this. We might want you to come back for another test.”

Aaron nodded and both men stood up. Aaron instinctively extended his hand to say good bye but Lieu pulled away. “If gripping my hand causes pain or problems let’s just wait until we know more about what’s going on. Make sure you contact me if things get worse.”

Aaron walked down the corridor and out to his car. As he opened the door the increased tingling in his right hand made him wonder how long he’d have to wait for Lieu’s message.

Every time the gallery staged a new exhibit it meant long days and organized chaos for Aaron. Even though there was a large back-of-house staff to do most of the physical work he was a hands-on guy. Since he’d been made Chief Curator his work days had often led to work nights as well. The new show, Masters of Glass, was already generating national buzz in art circles and among collectors. Everything had to be perfect; no mistakes and no excuses. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t let his tingling right hand get in the way. But he wondered if he could really keep that promise. Working through lunch helped keep him on schedule. About five o’clock he was on a small ladder directing a crew assembling a display when he heard a text notification on his phone. He climbed down, holding the metal ladder with just his left hand, and then checked his phone screen. It was a message from his two month girlfriend, Kelsey. Hey there. How did things go with the doctor?”

He hesitated a moment. He’d told her a little bit about the tingling sensation but until he got a clear answer about the strange electrical impulses it would be best to keep the rest of the problem to himself. “It went okay. He wants to look over my file again and said to wait and he’ll get back to me.” He hoped that would satisfy her curiosity. It didn’t.

“What about the tingling in your arm? Did he check that?

“We talked about it. He’s working with another doc. Waiting on that too.”

That seemed to tell her what she wanted to know. “Are you working late again?”

“Another hour or so. How about I call you when I get home?”

There was an uncomfortable delay before Kelsey replied, “Okay.” Another delay and then “I miss you.”

“Me too.” Preparing for the show and the opening reception had dominated his daily life and he felt bad about neglecting their budding relationship. He finished with, “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

Kelsey’s concern and the lack of clarity from Dr. Lieu were frustrating to say the least. He stood there for a moment and then an idea came to him. He slowly extended his right hand toward the ladder. All day long he’d gone out of his way to avoid using his right hand. He had to know if his problem was fading with time. He grasped the metal frame. The jolt of pain ran all the way to his shoulder and he jerked his hand away and rubbed it against his leg. The pain disappeared as quickly as it had come. It was proof that his condition hadn’t changed but he still didn’t know its cause or when it would end. He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked his voicemail and email. There was nothing from Lieu. Given the short amount of time since his appointment he didn’t expect to hear back from him until the next day. The waiting and worrying would continue.

On the way home he stopped for a take-out dinner and as he sat in the drive-thru line another idea came to him. So far the pain and electrical jolts he’d experienced had come when his palm came into contact with metal. He thought back to his high school science classes and remembered that an electrical connection needed to be grounded. Doorknobs were set in wooden doors and the ladder had large rubber pads at the bottom of the legs. To be grounded there needed to be direct contact with the earth. People were grounded when they stood on a hard surface or on the ground. The drive-thru cashier was standing on a concrete floor. Could he avoid feeling the jolt of electricity if he came into contact with a grounded person? He quickly fished a handful of change from his pocket and added it to the five dollar bill he was already holding.

When he pulled up to the window the young woman handed him the bag and said, “That’ll be six forty seven.” He held everything in his open right hand and offered it to the woman, saying, “I’m sorry, but I injured my other hand, can you just take the correct amount here?” The woman pulled the bill from under the change and then reached for the coins. Aaron felt a small tingle as the woman shrieked in pain, pulling her hand back so quickly she almost lost her balance. “What’s wrong with you?” she yelled. She rubbed her hand and barked, “That wasn’t funny!”

It wasn’t the result Aaron had expected. He stammered, “I’m sorry, ma’am, it must have been static or something.”

She glared at him. “Just take your food and leave.”

He dumped the handful of coins on to the window ledge and muttered, “Keep the change,” then pulled away and headed home. His little experiment hadn’t answered any questions about his situation, but had only added to the confusion. The only thing he’d learned was that his unusual electrical charge moved in both directions. He’d felt electrical jolts when his palm touched metal and now he knew that another person could feel the same thing when he touched them.

When he got home he wolfed down his sandwich and fries and then changed into a sweat suit. It took him half an hour to figure out what to say to Kelsey if she asked again about his predicament. He decided the less said the better. It seemed that no one including the doctors understood the situation. As he punched in her number he decided his plan would be to continue stalling her until Dr. Lieu had something definite to tell him. Their conversation went smoothly. There was so much to talk about with the gallery opening and reception coming up in two days and with Kelsey’s own work stories, his heart issues never came up. And there was also plenty of talk about each other and how they felt. An hour and a half went by before she realized the time and said goodnight. She would be his guest at the reception and he was looking forward to a few hours of normalcy. He hoped it wasn’t just wishful thinking.

The next day’s activity at the gallery was more intense than any time since Aaron had started working there. Three cups of coffee had gotten cold before he could drink them and lunchtime came and went without stopping to eat. The incident at the drive-thru had popped in and out of his mind all day long and he kept a close eye on his phone screen for any messages from Dr’ Lieu. It was almost two o’clock when it finally came. Aaron closed his office door and leaned back in his chair as he read the email.

“Mr. Schaaf, I have looked over my notes from your ablation and compared them to the ECG. I shared everything with Dr. Lynch. While we agree that your ablation was successful your sodium/potassium level is well beyond what we consider normal. Dr. Lynch has seen this situation before but never with numbers as high as yours. We have several questions for you:

1)     Has the tingling sensation or pain changed or gone away?

2)     Are you still experiencing the electrical shock when you grip something?

3)     Is the problem affecting your daily routine, such as at work, at home or while driving?

We will continue our search for an answer. Please let me know immediately if your condition or symptoms change. We recommend that you limit your physical activity for a few days. Sorry to keep you waiting. Thank you for your patience.”

It wasn’t what Aaron was hoping to hear, not even close. He’d been waiting for days and still no clue about what he was going through and if it would continue. Knowing that he was conducting an electrical charge that other people could feel made him feel like he was a danger to them.

Opening Day arrived and the entire gallery team spent the day checking every part of the exhibits. The doors would open in an hour and the reception would begin as soon as the guests arrived. Everything was ready and Aaron had already begun enjoying the team’s compliments on a job well done. His excitement over the show was mixed with a lingering nervousness about his problem. There was still no word from Dr. Lieu. He’d gone so far as buying an Ace bandage to wrap around his right hand so he could avoid direct hand to hand contact with the crowd.

He locked his office door and as he began changing into a suit and tie it dawned on him. Every time he’d felt the pain and electrical shock it had involved metal; the doorknob, the ladder and the coins at the drive-thru. Maybe the answer was to make sure that whenever he used his right hand there was no contact with anything metal. He immediately felt better.

He’d no sooner finished dressing when there was a knock on his door. When he opened it Kelsey was standing there, smiling and looking great in an off the shoulder black dress. He spent a moment just drinking in the view and then said, “Hey, you look fantastic, come on in.”

“Wow, I think this might be the first time I ever saw you dressed in a suit. You look very professional.”

He bent down and kissed her. He motioned toward the door and said, “Okay, it’s show time!”

When the door closed behind them it blocked the sound of his ringing phone lying on his desk. The call immediately went to voicemail. About a minute later the screen illuminated with a text message.

“Mr. Schaaf, please call me as soon as possible, this is IMPORTANT. We have isolated the cause of your problem. Under NO circumstances should you touch or grip the hand of anyone. It could be LETHAL to them. I will wait for your call.