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“Do you feel up to discussing your research tonight, or do you want to leave it for tomorrow?”
Energized by the good food and the comfortable chairs, Gerard nodded.
“Now’s as good a time as any. I’ll be right back.”
He hurried into the bedroom and returned with his laptop and a manila envelope full of the documents he’d printed in London. Sitting next to Jean-Paul, he booted up the laptop and opened the folder containing his research.
For the next hour, while Linda and Mariana got to know one another, Jean-Paul read all of his formulae and notes. Gerard answered his friend’s numerous questions. By the time Jean-Paul took off his glasses, Gerard was rubbing his own tired eyes.
“You might well be a genius, boy,” Jean-Paul said, exhaling cigarette smoke, his eyes fixed on the screen. “If you get approval for this serum and ointment, you’ll revolutionize the medical world and that would be fantastic.”
“I can say the same about your hellebore treatment,” Gerard replied.
While his friend had been reading his notes, Gerard had been doing the same to the documents Jean-Paul had printed out for him.
“From what I see here, you’ve had better results than I have and cured more types of cancer. Do you realize how many people we could save with this, Jean-Paul?” He burned with the lifelong passion and altruism that had always guided him. “Thousands, maybe millions! Plus, your treatment is considerably less expensive than mine. You can grow hellebore anywhere—in fields or greenhouses, while Mojave rattlesnakes aren’t exactly slithering down every street, volunteering their venom. So who’s really the genius?”
Jean-Paul took off his glasses. The severity of his gaze faded some of Gerard’s elation.
“Don’t get carried away yet,mon vieux. As I told you, I’m not the one who discovered the healing properties of hellebore. According to what I’ve read, the credit should go to an unknown woman. Let me tell you about Dumitru Calina, a famous Romanian lawyer.” He shifted in his chair, making himself more comfortable.
“What does he have to do with the hellebore treatment?”
“Everything.” Jean-Paul said. “The man developed throat cancer from an untreated throat infection, no doubt strep. Pus spread throughout his entire head. The doctors didn’t give him a chance. In the hospital, he met an old woman who told him he should try hellebore—a folk remedy usually reserved for sick animals. The man had nothing to lose since the doctors told him death was imminent. He searched everywhere for the plant and some way to prepare it. Due to its toxicity, hellebore can’t be found in markets or drugstores like other herbs and plants. Eventually, some older people told him where to find the root and showed him how to prepare it. They warned him that the treatment had never been used on humans. Desperate, Dumitru Calina used himself as a guinea pig.”
“Damn! That was a gutsy thing to do. He could’ve killed himself.”
Gerard covered his mouth with his hand. If push came to shove, would he have the courage to do the same? He hoped it would never come to that.
“True, but after giving himself several treatments, to the amazement of the entire medical world, the man was declared cancer free,” Jean-Paul continued. He chuckled. “I think the cobalt treatments he took as well might’ve helped, but unlike the other patients, his hair didn’t fall out during the radiation therapy. He attributed that to the hellebore. Following his miraculous cure, Dumitru Calina opened a practice in Ia?i and used his treatment to cure dozens of cancer patients. Unfortunately, the Romanian government got involved and made things so difficult for him that he was forced to close his practice. The Americans, on the other hand, offered him the chance to continue his research. He works at a private research facility in Louisiana, where they continue to study the plant and have had some amazing results.”
“Why wasn’t this incredible treatment welcomed here in Romania?” Gerard asked, intrigued. It made no sense.
Jean-Paul looked at him, his face stern as he ground out his cigarette in the ashtray.
“Why do you think? For the same reason the genius Burzynski met with so many roadblocks after discovering antineoplaston therapy. Big pharma talks. Originally, he isolated the peptides and amino acids from human blood and urine—no money to be made there. Now, they’re manufactured in labs. It’s a worldwide conspiracy. Be careful, my friend. Know what you may have to face. There’s a huge price to pay for the comfort you want to offer to your fellow man.”
Gerard clenched his fists, knowing how right his old friend was. He shook his head sadly.
“Jean-Paul, no matter what happens, I won’t stop my research. My oath and duty as a physician and researcher define me. There has to be a way for us to do our jobs without restrictions, to save lives, to do our duty. And that includes you.” He pointed his index finger at the other man. “I hope you haven’t resigned yourself to this small clinic, curing only a few patients when there are millions of people out there who need these.” He held up the notes.
Jean-Paul smiled and lit another cigarette, his eyes filled with regret. He blew out a cloud of smoke.
“Hélas, I’m old, my friend. I do what I can, and I’ll continue doing it until I die. I don’t have the strength, nor the energy of my youth. You, on the other hand, have the warrior spirit, with the motivation necessary to win this battle. That’s why I called you here. Take it,” he indicated the file that contained his life’s work. “Just make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”
Gerard stared at the elderly man. There was more to Jean-Paul’s words than he was saying, but he was too tired to decipher it now. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint his father’s friend. Reaching out, he touched Jean-Paul’s hand.
“I won’t let you down.”
“I know. Now let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow, you’ll visit my patients, and we can exchange opinions.”
Gerard stood, wincing at the ache in his lower back. He was getting old, too.
“Goodnight, Jean-Paul, and thank you for everything. Thank Mariana again for putting us up and that delicious meal.”
“We’re delighted to have you and Linda here. Sleep well.”
When Gerard entered the room, Linda was already asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he fumbled in the dark, undressed, and made his way to the bed. He stubbed his little toe, but in his exhaustion, he barely felt the pain. Sliding under the sheets, he smiled when Linda nestled against him instinctively. His lips brushed hers, and, in less than a minute, he was fast asleep.
