The Boy who Walked Through the Wall

It was an exceptionally busy Thursday-morning female clinic, and the waiting room was full. I knew it would be a long-haul, possibly four-and-a-half-hour clinic and mentally girded my loins to face my patients.

“It’s going to be busy today,” a nurse said, which we both knew meant Get a move on and no messing about with holistic healing. I got the message loud and clear, and we managed to see at least five women in the first hour. I was focused on orthodox medicine, and since I had no students sitting in, there were no delays.

This conventional approach to medical care changed abruptly when a patient came into my room, followed by a boy with the angelic face of a child and the gangly legs of a lad on the edge of puberty. He had curly black hair, wore a white T-shirt and dark shorts, and as he scampered past his mum, he disappeared into the wall behind her. I was not overly surprised at the vision. However, whilst I had become used to my excursions into non-ordinary reality, I lacked the courage to tell the patient for fear of upsetting her. As I continued asking routine questions about past gynaecological and obstetric history, I noted that my patient’s demeanor suddenly became profoundly sad. She revealed that she’d had a son who had died young in a tragic accident and had just come from seeing a medium who had told her that his spirit still followed her everywhere. Reluctant to add to her distress and concerned for my  reputation, to my shame, I said nothing.

In light of what I’ve experienced since, I now believe that the lady— whom it transpired had no medical reason to see me—had been sent by a higher power to have the medium’s message confirmed by a white-coated doctor whose word might perhaps carry more credibility and comfort. To this day, I regret my hesitation.  From then on, whenever I saw a patient who had no real medical reason to see me, I took it as a red flag that their underlying problem might be more spiritual than physical.

I did not have to wait long before another lady came in accompanied by the spirit of a teenage boy dressed in school uniform, who I suspected had also died tragically.  Since this mother had no apparent need for my medical services either, I took the opportunity to gently share what I was seeing.  On this occasion, the woman was totally aware of her son’s presence and confirmed that his passing had been a heartbreaking accident. We briefly shared our views about the afterlife, and before leaving, she thanked me for the comfort my words had given her.