Patriot Realm

The only way you can remove a tumour is to have a competent surgeon. One who has the will, the expertise, the determination and the tools to perform the life saving operation.

It does not matter how skilled the surgeon is, how well equipped the operating theatre or the team of staff the surgeon has at his side, without the scalpels and tools, the tumour cannot be excised.

Imagine, if you will, that a world renowned surgeon is tasked with removing a brain tumour from a child. The surgeon has a State of the Art operating theatre. 

His ability to perform something so delicate and so precise is not disputed. Surrounded by the most highly trained and dedicated team, the patient is wheeled in. A life is in the balance and the following hours will decide the patient's  fate.

Will he survive or perish? Without the operation, he will surely die. With the operation, he may just recover. There is hope. There is a chance. There is faith. Faith that this could just work. But, without the surgeon, it will not happen.

People applaud the surgeon and, outside, the parents sit, holding hands and praying. They focus on memories of their beloved son and recall mental photographs of him. From the day of his birth, his first steps, his first word, his first joyous embrace with the puppy who would sleep on the end of his bed each night.

 This moment is frozen in time in the minds of all those waiting. . Everything will be determined soon. 

The media have gathered, filming the parents and seemingly oblivious to their grief. Anything for a good photo opportunity. 

Then, the tragedy of all tragedies occurs: someone has stolen the scalpels. 

The surgeon stands there, silent. The team is unable to do anything. The parents weep outside and do not know what to do except pray, hope and have faith that The Thief is found in time.

Meanwhile, the patient lies motionless and in a state of limbo. This precious life is in the balance.

The surgeon and his team try to find out who has stolen their life saving tools. Yet no one outside of the operating theatre will even acknowledge that there was " The Thief."  They say that he took the scalpels fair and square and that it was to prevent the murder of their patient. 

The media turn their cameras on the surgeon, his team, the parents and relish their anguish.

The footage is broadcast all over the world. 

The Thief comes forward and announces that he indeed, has the scalpels. He says that he did not steal them. He says that the parents gave them to him to protect their son. And he, The Thief, would go in and save the life of one who needs saving. . 

Despite having trained for nearly 50 years to be a brain surgeon, The Thief had never passed his final exams. 

The parents cry out "  We trust OUR surgeon!  We do not want this person to come near our child!"

The theatre staff agree with the parents. At no time did they do anything other than show their love and gratitude to their chosen surgeon. As the hours tick by, the patient lies frozen in suspended animation and the dog sits faithfully by his bed, waiting for his friend's return.

As the clock ticks, the health of the patient is deteriorating. The parents are losing hope and faith. The medical team is becoming frustrated. But the media keep broadcasting that The Thief was a hero and needs to be brought in to save the child and that the theatre staff and surgeon need to be fired. 

The clock is now at 11.37 pm. The scalpels are poised to do their job. To kill the surgeon, kill the team and to lobotomise the patient. The parents look to raise support to stop The Thief from carrying out his dastardly plot. 

The journalists and cameramen tell them that they are unwell. Trust The Thief.  But the parents cannot agree to have their Beloved put under the knife, under the scalpel and accept his death.

If their Beloved dies, they will die.  He is the heart and soul of their being. 

They speak with a Nurse who speaks with a friend who speaks with another friend. Slowly, but surely, the word spreads. But they need time. 

The clock is almost at midnight.

The patient is at death's door. The parents and their friends are spreading the message throughout the world but they need time to overcome the power of The Thief and the Journalists and the Cameramen and the lackeys who believe that the failed brain surgeon is qualified to take a scalpel to the mind of that patient who yearns to be free.

The faithful companion, the dog, sits, head on paws, looking up and wondering whether he will ever see his young mate again. Blissfully unaware that the boy who returns could be a stranger.

The clock sit at 11.37 pm. When it strikes midnight, we must have the scalpels back.