Mysterious Pneumonia (1)

This is Stanford's oncology ward.

I came back to see the patient one last time before he was discharged.

A particularly dangerous subtype of lung cancer. Radiation and chemotherapy. Experimental treatment for this era. A paraneoplastic syndrome caused by lung cancer, and encephalitis on top of that.

A truly long and arduous process.

Still, it looked like the patient would go home able to talk and walk.

I thought this was a success.

“Oh, Doctor.”

My lung cancer patient, whom I'd seen last time, was sitting in his own clothes, apparently ready for discharge. As soon as he saw me, he offered me his hand.

He looked much healthier than I'd expected.

He'd lost quite a bit of hair, probably because of the chemo, but that couldn't be helped. Compared with when he'd been lying there with impaired consciousness...