Chapter 12
Sunrise House
Silver Springs, MD
It was the most remarkable thing Spencer had ever seen. Even later, when he understood what had happened, the memory still brought that sense of surprise.
They walked in to the room where Diana was still curled on the sofa, suffering the misery of the dammed while a doctor and nurse from the facility tried to keep her calm. Dr. Linalter took off his uniform gloves, walked over and took her hand.
And it stopped.
Like throwing a switch it stopped.
Diana's eyes opened. She sat up. She looked tired and worn, but her eyes were as clear as they had ever been. She looked at him in wonder then down at his uniform. And then she slowly began to weep. "Hoann iya'au. Hoann iya'au sa' rlauh. Rliy rlac hoas' faoo dauao a sa' ra'gh." She said.
Spencer was about to say that babbling was one of his mother's symptoms when Dr. Linatler replied. "A as rliy nrooasaumo Roaciy Garon. Rliy oarlo as Essa Linalter, ha'noraurriy a oa horn iya'au."
Okay, second shock. His mother had not been babbling. His mother had never been babbling. His mother had been speaking in another language. But why…
Third shock. English was not her first language. Maybe not even her second.
"A orrom hoac ho a'nna'mauaiy a' ooah rliy sa' a' snooann Q. Ca' iya'au hoarro moasroaa'ms ho oa auso?"
"A'r a'aumso."
Spencer heard someone clear their throat behind him. He turned to see Lt. Galon, who had been setting up some kind of equipment in the corner, offering him a small, plastic case. Inside the case were two small, thin disks of some light colored material. Lt. Galon passed them to the facility doctor and nurse as well, and indicated that they should be placed behind the ear, over the mastoid process and then pressed. Spencer did so, heard a beep, and then…
"Hoiy soaac a lla'aurc a'riy fao oa problem during pregnancy." His mother was saying. She looked over and smiled. "Oh there we are."
"What is this?" What had those little devices done.
"Star Trek? Universal translator. Don't look at people's lips when they talk, you'll get disoriented." Diana turned back to Dr. Linalter. "You should watch that series. They get a lot right."
"I'll put it on my list." Dr. Linalter said. Just like that his accent was gone. "I suspect it didn't clear up after you gave birth but I'd like to take a blood sample to confirm."
"Of course."
As Dr. Linalter nodded to the facility nurse Spencer stepped up. "Mom, you hate it when you do blood tests. You always said you were afraid the government was going to use your test record to track you down."
"Well of course Spencer. I'm from another planet. What do you think they would have done if you hadn't been FBI?"
Spencer opened his mouth to say something then closed it again. He watched as his mother quietly allowed the nurse to take a small amount of blood from her vein.
"Unfortunately the hormones we're testing for degrade rapidly once outside of the body." Dr. Linalter said as he passed the sample off to his assistant. Lt. Galon had set up some sort of testing equipment and what looked like a laptop. Now they got to work processing the sample. "That's why we had to bring the equipment here. While the tests run I'd like to talk to you, Lady Garon, about how you've been feeling."
What followed was a fairly comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. The format was different but Spencer was quickly able to catch on and see where Dr. Linalter was going. And when he stepped back a little he had to admit that Dr. Linalter had a great bedside manner, he was calm and patient and held her hand the entire time to help her focus.
About the time he was done the testing equipment behind him beeped. Dr. Linalter accepted the laptop screen from Lt. Galon, who started packing up. "As I suspected. Ka'ajanaol Syndrome."
"They said that would clear up though." Diana insisted.
"What is Ka'ajanaol Syndrome?" Spencer asked.
"A hormonal imbalance." Dr. Linalter said. "Very common in Noblewomen during pregnancy. In usually resolves within a standard cycle after childbirth. Approximately an Earth day. In about five percent of cases it does not. According to her medical record Lady Garon was diagnosed with it early in her pregnancy."
"What are the symptoms?" The facility doctor asked.
"Auditory hallucinations, severe insomnia, depression, anxiety, paranoia…"
Diana looked away at the auditory hallucinations remark. Something was a little off here, he would have to look at that. "So basically the same as schizophrenia." Spencer said. Okay, he could see where the mistake was made. "Her symptoms have grown worse lately. Given Mom's age could, I don't know if this will translate, menopause be a factor?"
"Absolutely. In addition, I suspect in this case as in so many now, complicated by, I do not know if this will translate, post-traumatic stress."
The facility doctor nodded. "That would explain the rest of it. What's your recommended treatment?"
"Medication to adjust the hormone levels. I brought a three months supply, after that we'll have to come back to check levels. Once everything is back in balance she'll have to stay at that does for life." Dr. Linalter nodded to his assistant who passed off some boxes to the facility nurse.
"That's pretty standard in similar cases."
"As for dealing with trauma, we do not have medication. We deal with that therapeutically on a case-by-case basis."
"We have people on staff who can work with PTSD."
"Good." Dr. Linalter turned back to Diana. "I'm afraid I must go. They are going to give you something to help you rest until the medication kicks in. If you need me I will not be far, we are in New York now but we might be moving to this city soon. I will leave my contact information here and with your son."
"Excellent. Thank you so much." Diana said. "I'll be writing to your mother soon."
"I'll be certain she gets it."
"You mother?" Spencer asked.
"It's a small population." Diana said. "Essa's mother and I went to high school together."
"Oh."
After the final leave taking Spencer walked the pair out to the car. He would have said something, he was never sure what, but just as they were packing up his phone went off. A case. "Work. I'm sorry, I have to go."
"Of course." Dr. Linalter said. "It was very nice meeting you. If you need to contact…". He offered a business card.
"Oh, yes. Thank you." Cards were exchanged, good byes were said.
Spencer went back to his life.
