“What is your name?”
“Er… guiney… an… der… son.”
“Hold on to the ball. Don’t let it drop. What’s my name?”
“Ock… tor… on… my.”
“Hold the ball; don’t let it drop.”
Debbie was amazed that Gini held the ball with no problem. Her right arm was still tied to her body.
As John continued, his questions and commands came rapid fire. Gini held the ball and answered his questions.
“My name… Your name… Don’t drop the ball… What are you holding… My name.”
As the questions came faster, Gini started to slur the words, and then her whole body started to shake.
“Don’t drop the ball. What are you holding?”
“Bah.”
“What’s your name? Don’t drop the ball.”
“Er, d, sa.”
John’s voice never changed in tone. “Okay, Gini, let go of the ball. It’s okay if it drops. Let the ball go.”
“Bah.”
“Let the ball go. It’s okay if it drops. I’m going to take it.”
Gini opened her hand, her body trembling. He took the ball and handed it to Aaron.
Dr. Meyer took a restraining sleeve and pulled it up on her arm and wrapped it so her left arm was tight to her body. He talked to her the whole time. “We’re going to let you rest now. Just relax.”
“Boo… bah.”
“I’m going to put you on the bed so you can be comfortable.”
“Baa… ah… ah.”
“The ball’s gone. It’s time to let your brain rest.”
Her body went limp.
Debbie held on to the end of the bed, so tense her shoulders hurt.
There was a blanket folded open on the mattress. John laid Gini on the blanket and pulled it around her. According to the manual, the patient had to be cocooned, with the blanket tucked around the body holding the arms and legs tight.
They all walked into the other room.
“So far, all looks good,” Dr. Meyer said. “She was easy to put into the hypnotic state, and I took control of her brain. She climaxed well and recovered quickly. We can go forward with the treatments. Debbie, she’ll probably sleep the rest of the night. Don’t worry, that’s normal. I worked her hard. Don’t touch her or make any loud noises for a couple of hours. Please call me if you have any concerns. I’ll be back to check on her later.”
He thanked everyone for their help.
Debbie felt better about the therapy. It was certainly intense, and she was amazed that Gini held on to the ball without difficulty.
After everyone left, she looked at her watch. The whole process had taken forty-five minutes. It was just five o’clock.
A little after seven, Debbie heard her name called. She went into the room. “Dee… bee… Guiney… hon… gor… ee.”
“Okay, baby.” Debbie called John and got permission to unbind Gini.
“Well, look at our girl,” he said when he walked in the unit. Debbie was feeding her. “You didn’t sleep long.”
Gini was sitting up in the bed. “No… uff. Hun… gor… ee.”
He brushed down her arm. “Amazing.”
The next day was a recovery day. Gini seemed to have no adverse effect from the treatment and stuck to her usual schedule. Debbie put her right arm in a sling, but Gini seemed to have no problem when she moved it.
Robert had asked Debbie to tell him what books Gini was listening to so he could also read them and talk with Gini about the stories. That afternoon he and Gini talked about what they were reading. He slowly took her arm out of the sling, and she used both hands to sign a little.
Wednesday the therapy started at four o’clock. This time, Gini started in her bed on top of the blanket she’d be wrapped in at the end. All the equipment was attached, and the team took their places. The estimated time for this one was an hour. The movements and commands would be more intense.
Dr. Meyer talked to Gini in a calm voice. He took her right arm out of the sling and put a red ball in her hand. Again, the rapid-fire commands. And as before, Debbie was shocked Gini could hold on to the ball without dropping it. Her arm remained on the bed until Aaron helped her lift the ball by bending her elbow.
Once she started to tremble, John brought her down, secured her arms in restraining sleeves, and wrapped her in the blanket. Her body went limp when he said, “It’s time to let your brain rest.
“Okay, thanks, everyone. We’re right on track. She’s doing especially well. Debbie, this time, I’m pretty sure she’ll sleep through the night. Page me when she wakes up.”
Ric showed up about eight o’clock. When he saw Gini swaddled in the blanket, he pressed Debbie for an explanation.
“It’s described as cocooning. I guess it was determined through the studies that the patient feels more secure after brain confusion if their limbs are tight to their body.”
He asked her questions, and she told him what the procedure was and how Dr. Meyer took over Gini’s brain, how Gini shook and then relaxed.
“Are you kidding me? This whole thing is just hocus-pocus—witch doctor’s crazy medicine. Why is Franco letting them do this to her? Why are you, Debbie?”
Debbie said the doctor confused her brain. Wasn’t Gini’s brain confused enough as it was? Ric thought. He turned with a huff and left.
That night around ten-thirty, Gini woke up hungry. Robert answered the page. He took hold of her left hand, and she slowly put her fingers around his.
Thursday, she was awake but very sluggish. John assured Debbie that was normal. That’s why they had the day
