If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Renew my body, set at 17. -Allen Ginsberg 1988, Chicago. Stare deeply into the watery blue eyes of an elderly and wheelchair bound man, pull back and you'll find yourself surrounded by the serenity of the manicured lawn of the Thousand Oaks Convalescent Hospital... his home for the past 30 years. Physical examinations must be done periodically, as with all of the elderly. For David Jason, it's an opportunity to briefly escape the confines of this limited world. ...
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If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Renew my body, set at 17. -Allen Ginsberg 1988, Chicago. Stare deeply into the watery blue eyes of an elderly and wheelchair bound man, pull back and you'll find yourself surrounded by the serenity of the manicured lawn of the Thousand Oaks Convalescent Hospital... his home for the past 30 years. Physical examinations must be done periodically, as with all of the elderly. For David Jason, it's an opportunity to briefly escape the confines of this limited world. Today's ambulance ride with his nurse and confidant, Angela Ryan, to Lakeview General Hospital will be unlike any other;...it will alter his life forever... embarking on man-kind's most impossible dream...a second.chance...to go through life again knowing what he knows now. On the way to the hospital there is a terrible accident, a collision between the ambulance and a careening eighteen wheeler out of control! Angela is thrown clear, and David a concussion and deep lacerations; he is fortunate. Tests are done, and their conclusions are shocking. It seems as though David's cells are multiplying at an alarming rate, reversing metabolically to such an extent that he is actually regressing in age! He may only have 6 months to live, as the physiological trauma of the regeneration process is determined to be too much for his life support systems. Further tests are performed: his condition constantly monitored by his faithful nurse. His injuries heal at an astonishing rate! While visually he begins to appear noticeably younger, he goes through spells of strength and coherence then lapses into unexplainable periods of severe pain and near death states. Angela reviews his records, and finds nothing regarding his past! no family contacts, no prior addresses, no medical information prior to his admittance on October 11, 1958. She suspects foul play and has him transferred out of Thousand Oaks. With the assistance of a retired ex-cop turned private investigator, Vince Carpeski, and a curious friend, Dr. Conrad Hoffman, an unresolved mysterious and suspenseful trail of a medical cover-up is revealed] The case was thought to have been sealed thirty years ago with the murder of a prominent hospital chief-of-staff surgeon who was on the verge of going public with damaging research fraud allegations. A multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical firm, Medtech, is implicated. A desperate man of corruption and greed, SydUnderwood, is found to have masterminded the scheme. As David and Angela race against time in their search for answers and truth, a once-in-a-lifetime love is rediscovered; a "fountain of youth" becomes a reality, giving love a chance to blossom again. If only for a moment, medical technology reaches into the future, sending shivering moments of enlightenment to strike deep into the soul, as justice is served! The story moves between the forces of good and evil, eternal hope and despair as the PENDULUM swings to an engaging and masterfully written climax, offering our hearts and dreams...the possibility...of a second chance.
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