The Shroud Codex - Jerome R. Corsi [39]
Castle saw the point. Father Bartholomew’s hand appeared severely injured, but the internal damage was either less than expected or healing remarkably fast.
“Also, if the wounds were from someone driving a nail through each wrist, I would have to say the person who drove the nails did so expertly. In each wrist, there was no damage to the radial artery, even though the nail was driven through each hand on the thumb side. Suicides usually try to cut the radial artery because it’s closest to the surface on the back of the wrist. If the radial artery had been severed, Father Bartholomew would only have lived a few minutes.”
Castle realized that Father Bartholomew’s wrists were recovering almost as miraculously as the injuries that had occurred in the first place.
“The same is true with the muscles and tendons of the wrist,” Lin went on. “Again, I can see signs of damage, but somehow either the person driving the nails worked to move aside key muscles, or the muscle and tendon tissue is regenerating.”
“Is there any way Father Bartholomew’s wounds could have been self-inflicted?” Castle asked.
“No,” Dr. Lin replied quickly. “I don’t see how it would have been possible. The damage done on the entry wounds in both wrists would have incapacitated the thumbs. One wound might have been self-inflicted, but not both.”
Castle had not completely dismissed the possibility that Father Bartholomew had an accomplice. But from the descriptions of how the wounds occurred, it seemed that Father Bartholomew was in full view of the congregation and no one was close enough to him to have caused such deep wounds on both wrists, front and back.
“You are sure there was no obvious cause of the wounds?” Lin asked. “I believe Father Bartholomew’s medical records show these wounds on his wrists appeared while he was saying Mass, but there was no attack on him or other cause of something physical penetrating his wrist to cause these wounds?”
“That’s correct,” Castle affirmed.
“What’s your explanation, then?” Lin asked.
“I’m a psychiatrist,” Castle reminded her. “I think the wounds were induced by the action of Father Bartholomew’s subconscious. Psychosomatic illnesses are common. People give themselves all kinds of disorders, ranging from intestinal problems to heart problems, probably even cancer, simply by the action of their mental state. I would hate to admit to you how many placebos I have prescribed in dealing with mental patients over the years.”
“Still,” Lin said, “I cannot explain these CT scans and MRIs from what I know of trauma medicine. The raw nature of the wounds on the front and back surface of the wrist would only be consistent with more bleeding. These wounds are healing rapidly, and from the medical charts I see that they developed only a few days ago. Also, I cannot confirm to you that the wounds definitely penetrated the wrist, even though the wound in the palm has the characteristics of an entry wound and the wound on the back of the wrist has the characteristic of an exit wound.”
“Do you think the wounds will regenerate completely, such that Father Bartholomew will recover complete use of his hand functions?” Castle asked. “I can’t imagine how it would be possible with a wound that appears as severe as these do.”
“Neither can I,” Lin said. “But this is no usual case. Already I see signs of internal regeneration within the hand that are surprising. Who knows if the regeneration will extend to the surface of the skin? I guess anything is possible, but I know of no medical history that would suggest it is likely.”
“Thank you. You’ve been most thorough,” Castle said, grateful for her analysis. “Just one more question.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you see any reason I should not release Father Bartholomew from the hospital now?”
“You’re the attending physician,” she said appropriately, “and you know much better than I would what Father Bartholomew’s overall physical condition is. But if