“Sí, that is the maximum unfortunately,” Elena announced with a polite smile.
Elena was happy to have Finn at her side again today. Solely for professional reasons, of course. They were going tothe clinic to begin the implementation of their new treatment protocol. Today, they would only meet with one patient, but she was not looking forward to it. The patient was already struggling, and now they had to tell them that it was about to get worse. At least she had someone here to help deliver the news.
She decided they should roleplay the conversation. “Maybe we should practice before we get there. You’re the patient.”
Finn looked skeptical. "Is this necessary?"
"Just humor me. Pretend you're the patient."
Finn paused, then said in his normal tone: "Hello, Doctor."
"Hello sir. I have good news and bad news. We're starting a new treatment protocol. The bad news is your symptoms will worsen for a few weeks."
"That sounds concerning," Finn said, clearly not fully committing to the roleplay. "And the good news?"
"After that, you should start improving."
Finn raised an eyebrow. "'Should?' That's not confidence-inspiring."
Elena sighed. "Okay, this isn't helping."
He shrugged. “We gave it a shot. Which patient are we seeing anyway?”
“Let me check. I believe he is a military veteran,” Elena said as she pulled out the patient file. She combed through his details. “Eric Hayes, 35. Suffered a TBI three years ago when he was on deployment. No treatments have been beneficial yet. Patient 87 in our database, if you are familiar.”
Finn stiffened when she said ‘Patient 87’. He said nothing, just nodded at the information. She wanted to ask what that reaction meant, but something in his face warned heroff.
Eric Hayes sat in the reclining treatment chair. A technician was carefully attaching electrodes to his temples, the wires trailing down to the monitoring equipment beside him. Eric was thirty-five, built like someone who used to be military-strong. What struck Elena most were his eyes. They were alert in a way that seemed like it had been drilled into him over years. But beneath that alertness was true exhaustion that suggested he hadn’t had good, restful sleep in a long while.
"Eric, this is Finn, one of our research assistants," Elena began her introduction, stepping further into the room. "He'll be observing today's session." Eric's eyes flicked from Elena to Finn, assessing. Finn met his gaze. They exchanged the wordless nod greeting that guys sometimes do.
The technician finished attaching the last electrode and stepped back. "All set, Dr. Herrera. System's calibrated and ready."
Elena thanked the technician and pulled up a chair beside Eric. Finn remained standing, positioning himself near the monitoring equipment. Elena took a breath before explaining. "Eric, with your permission, we are going to try a new strategy with you, starting today. Based on our analysis, we're implementing a treatment with higher intensity. But I need to be honest with you. The data suggests your symptoms will worsen before they improve."
Eric's expression didn't change much, as if this was another disappointment in a long series of letdowns. "You're saying I will feel worse than I already do?" he asked, his voice flat. "Didn't think that was possible."
Elena noted the hopelessness in his eyes. So far, this was going about as well as her roleplaying exercise with Finn.
Finn stepped in. "It's temporary," he said, his voice firmer than usual. "The two patients who stuck with it in the previous study showed improvement after the initial decline."
Eric turned to Finn, one eyebrow raised. "Two whole patients, huh?" he said, skepticism heavy in his tone.
"Small sample but significant," Finn replied without hesitation. "Their scans showed neural activity patterns consistent with meaningful recovery."
"We understand if you want to reconsider," she said, turning back to Eric. "The protocol is experimental, and we want to be transparent about the risk involved."
Eric held her gaze for a long moment, then looked down at his hands. "What's the timeline on this?" he asked. "How long does the 'worse' part last?"
"Based on the limited data we have, approximately four weeks," Elena answered. "After that, the two patients in the study began showing improvements in sleep quality, pain, emotional regulation, and cognitive function."
"And if I'm not one of the lucky ones?" Eric asked. "What then?"
"Then we try something else," Elena said honestly. "But we believe this approach has potential."
Eric leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling for a moment. Then he shrugged. "What the hell, nothing else has been working. Let's do it."
Elena nodded, respecting his decision. "We'll start with a thirty-minute session today and check in with you after.”
