Adam Blake - 95. Chapter 95

I walked to Hans’s office, “Hans the chalets look great. Would it be possible to build another 6? I was thinking of a circle around a large fire pit. Or maybe a semi-circle with an opening to the cabin and the lake.”

“It’s possible, you may need more land.”

“I have purchased more land behind the chalets you have built. There is a good buffer zone now. I also need busses to take the kids, I’ll get my dad on that. Give it some thought and then come and see me on Friday”

Walking back to my office I heard someone saying, “I’m sorry but I don’t have any more coins.”

“But I’m hungry, please.”

Now no boy was going to be hungry, I walked into the Dining Hall, and there’s Andy with one of the new students. “Andy, what’s the problem?” I put my arm around the boy who was crying.

“Sir, Alex, wants me to give him some coins to get a snack. He’s hungry and seems to always be hungry.”

I knew what Alex’s problem was. He was very thin and I would bet he was hungry a lot. “Here, Andy, are 10 coins, Alex, come with me. “

The poor boy was shaking, “Ms. Wilson, this young man is hungry, can you fix him some food. Alex, sit here and Ms. Wilson will see that you get enough food to fill your belly.”

I watched as a sandwich and a glass of milk were set before him. There was no question he was hungry, he ate that sandwich very fast, then a bowl of soup with butter bread, I watched that being consumed, “Alex when you have had enough come and see me ok. You know where my office is, right?”

He nodded, I kissed him on the head. “Don’t worry sir, I know what’s wrong and I’ll have him full in no time.”

Walking back to the office, Alex needs to have a check-up now. His appetite is not normal for a boy his age. “James, ask Doctor Montain to come and see me with Alex Sapner’s medical records.”

“Hello Uncle” We both laughed. “Doc, I have a new student and I hope that is his medical record.”

“Yes, I’ve looked it over, except for being underweight everything else appears ok.”

“Is it routine to check for an overactive thyroid on a 12-year-old?”

“No, normally those boys are thin because they burn off the calories as fast as they can in sports and other activities.”

“I have a student, that one you have in your hand, he can’t get enough to eat. He’s sitting in our kitchen being fed by Ms. Wilson. He has put away enough food for a whole day in less than 20 minutes. Come with me and I’ll bet he’s still eating.”

We walked to the Dining Hall and into the kitchen. Alex was still sitting there eating a bowl of noodle soup. “Sir, he has eaten two sandwiches, and that's his third bowl of soup. I have used cream and double the noddles content and he has just now slowed down. I had a neighbor that had a similar problem but not as severe, her mother fed her a lot of heavy starchy foods.”

“Doc?”

“Let him finish eating, then I’ll run some tests on him, he’s too young for thyroid but there is another possibility.”

Doc left, I sat down and watched him eat. I smiled as he ate, “Good right?” He nodded.

Ms. Wilson asked if he wanted another bowl, he shook his head no. “Thank you.”

“Let’s go for a walk, the Doctor seems to have an idea of what your problem is that causes you to be hungry all of the time.”

I walked with him to the doctor’s office, I had him by my side, a hand on his shoulder pulling him a little into me. Walking into the medical office, I remember my first visit to that office. “The doctor is waiting for you, go on in.”

“Hello, Alex, did you eat enough?”

‘Yes sir”

“Alex I need to take some samples, I need a small sample of your blood, I need a small sample of your urine and I need a small sample of your bowel movement. So, can I take the small sample of blood now?”

Alex looked at me, I sat in a chair, picked him so he sat on my lap, held his head to my chest as Doc took the sample. “Alex, are you ready for me?”

Alex nodded yes and grabbed my arm real tight. Doc started to laugh, Alex turned and saw the vial of blood. He looked at his arm and saw the bandage. Smiling, “I didn’t feel anything.” We laughed.

“Now Alex, could you go into that room and urinate in this bottle?”

Alex looked at me, I whispered “Pee in the bottle” he giggled.

When he went into the room, “Doc, are you thinking what I am?”

“I’ll know for sure when I exam the stool. It is unusual for one of our students but I’m not sure where he has been”

“Sir, I need to go to the bathroom.”

Doc smiled, “Here take this pan and see if you can go there ok.”

We waited a few minutes, “Sir I need wipes”

Doc handed me a box of Wet Wipes. I opened the door a crack and held the box out to him. He took the box, I shut the door.

When he came out, “Sir where do I put the pan.”

“Just leave it, the janitor will clean it for me.”

I watched Doc write out a prescription and then call the pharmacy in town. I sent James to get the prescription. “Alex, will you be ok until Dinner?”

“Yes sir”

At the office, I called Doc. “Is it what I suspect

“Yes, and a very bad infestation, you need to find out where he spent the summer and what food he ate.”

“Any side effects from the medicine.”

“No, but he needs to be with someone for the next 48 hours. After taking those pills, every exit from his body will be the worms, he’ll need help. You up for it?”

“He’s one of my boys.”

“I suggest you use the infirmary, I’ll show you how to use the equipment.”

“James is back and it almost Dinner time. Is there anything he shouldn’t eat?”

“No, just know, what goes down will come up.”

“James, pull Alex’s file and see if we have information on where he spent the summer and even last year?”

“Doc, here is the prescription. Do you know what this medicine does?”

“Yes, let’s go to Dinner.” Standing in line, “James, who are Alex’s teachers?

“ Malory and Lutz.”

“When you have the chance tell them due to a medical condition, Alex will not be in class this afternoon.”

Doc told me what he shouldn’t eat, he suggested a high-protein soup. His body might be able to digest some of the nutrients before the meds began to work. “Alex, I have a special soup that Marcel has made for you. After dinner, we are going back to the infirmary and we’ll spend the evening there. I’ll be with you and hopefully, by morning, you will be able to eat like a normal boy, that means only two trips to the food bar.”

I could see he was scared, his eyes had tears in them. I knew that in the morning, he would be feeling much better. I smiled at him, put my arm around his shoulder giving him a little squeeze.

I took my tray, which only had a salad on it, and went to sit down. Alex sat next to me. Caleb brought him a bowl of soup. The souped smelled good and of course boys being boys wanted to know what kind of soup that was. Art wanted to know why he was only eating soup. “Alex has more medical tests to take.”

The way the boys looked at him, you could see sympathy in their eyes. No child likes to hear the words doctor and tests in the same sentence.

After finishing dinner, we walked to the clinic. I gave Doc the prescription, he checked it, and then we went to the infirmary. He gave Alex a hospital gown and showed him where he could change. “He’s going to need clean clothes in the morning. Can you have someone bring them over

“Sure, I’ll call James and he can take care of it.”

Alex came out of the bathroom with the gown on, holding the back together. I pulled the sheet back and helped him in bed. Doc gave him the tablet with a glass of water.

I had my copy of King Arthur in my case. I started to read it to Alex, he relaxed and even chuckled a little as I tried to sound like Arthur. “Sir, I need to go to the bathroom.”

I helped him up and into the bathroom. I could tell he was a little embarrassed but the need overtook the embarrassment. I expected his bowels to unload but not his stomach. Someone handed a pan to me. I took it and held it for Alex. He was scared, “It’s ok Alex, you need to get that all out of your system.” I looked into the pan, I was shocked. I knew what the medicine would do, but I never really expected it. Alex looked at me, tears were running down his cheeks.

“Alex, it’s ok, the medicine is working. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

“Alex, the Doctor is right. By morning you’ll feel like a new boy.”

“I’m not sure he heard me, he was still retching. I felt sorry for him, Doctor handed me a sample bottle, I took a sample from the basin. I watched for 15 minutes as Alex continued to rid himself of the worms.

“Doc, is one treatment sufficient or will he need to go through this again?”

“Normally, one treatment is sufficient, but I’ll think about giving him another treatment in the morning. I need to analyze these samples and then I can make the decision.”

Alex must have been empty. He was now doing what is termed as dry heaves. “Is he going to do this again tonight?”

“Yes, I expect he will.”

I helped Alex to get cleaned, picked him up, and carried him to bed. He was exhausted.

“Doc handed me a wet face clothe, it felt cool. I wiped Alex’s face with it. He smiled and then closed his eyes and slept. While he slept, I called Dad.