Chapter 6
Chapter Six
FINN
Finn had been staring at spreadsheets for hours with nothing to show for it.
He tried analyzing session length for patients.
There were wide ranges of outcomes for patients depending on session length.
Some saw temporary benefit from short treatment sessions.
Others responded better to longer sessions.
However, most did not seem to see long-term improvement in their condition.
For both groups, the treatment was like a band-aid on a severe wound.
Then, he looked at treatment intensity. He hit a familiar wall. Inconsistent results. But as he scrolled through the data, something bothered him. The patients were all receiving low-intensity neurofeedback treatment.
Finn was puzzled. Why wasn't there any data for higher-intensity treatment? He saved his work and headed to Elena's office. "Quick question about the treatment protocols," he said, knocking on her open door. "Why don't we have any patients doing higher-intensity sessions?”
Elena looked up from her computer. "Because we already know that doesn't work. The previous research team tested that approach extensively."
"What happened?"
Elena pulled up a file on her computer. "Disaster. Ninety-five percent dropout rate. Patients complained of increased anxiety, worsening symptoms. It was marked as the least effective protocol."
Finn studied the numbers on her screen. "What about the five percent who didn't drop out?"
"It was only two patients," Elena said, scrolling down. "But the study was terminated before we could gather meaningful data from them."
"Terminated when?" Finn inquired.
"After six weeks. The committee couldn't justify continuing with such poor results.
" Elena paused, looking at the timeline.
"Actually, these two patients had just started showing improvement in the final two weeks.
Slight reduction in all symptoms. Improved sleep patterns, reduced anxiety, pain reduction—"
“What if this is the answer?” Finn asked, looking directly at Elena.
She looked back. “Finn, it was a slight improvement in two patients. Two.”
“But what if it was just the beginning?” he asked again. “What if they would have kept improving?”
“That protocol resulted in a 95% dropout rate. It would be ridiculous to gamble on those odds.”
He looked at her with a determination she hadn’t seen in him before. “Those two stuck with it when everyone else quit. Both of them started improving after the worst had passed. That can't be a coincidence.”
Elena stood up and paced around her office. “Do you realize what you're asking? If we commit to this protocol, it's at least two months before we know if we're right. And we don’t exactly have all the time in the world.”
“Nothing else is working, Elena.” The words came out sharper than intended. Then he said more softly, “Those two people pushed through when the others didn’t. And then we gave up on them, anyway. What if they were trying to tell us something?”
Finn watched Elena as she considered. She looked at the computer screen. Then back at him. He remained still as she searched his face. Finn wondered what she could see. If she could see how important this was to him. If she could see how desperate he was for this to work.
“If we do this and it fails, we’ve killed the entire program.”
“If we don’t try and keep getting mediocre results, it gets killed anyway,” Finn said, and he knew it by the look on her face. He had her.