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(a patent foramen ovale) is a flap-like opening in the heart through which we get our oxygen in utero. For most of us, the opening closes shortly after birth. But in as many as 30 percent of us, the flap doesn���t seal tight, and that can allow a blood clot to travel through the heart up to the brain. Izzy agreed that I should not admit my wife to UCL but hold out for a hospital that specialized in neurology. As it happened, the best such hospital in England, Queen���s Square Hospital for Neurology, was a short distance away, but it had no beds available. That���s when I started dialing furiously again, tracking down contacts and calling in chits with any influential contact around the world for whom I���d ever done a favor. I also got my employer, News Corp., involved, and a team of extremely helpful folks I���d never met worked overtime helping me out. Suddenly, a bed was found in Queen���s Square, and by 2 a.m. my wife was officially admitted to a British public hospital. The neurologist on call that night looked at the same MRI where the emergency doctors had seen nothing and immediately saw that my wife had suffered a severe stroke. It was awful news, but I realized we were finally in the right place. That first night (or what was left of it) my wife was sent off to intensive care, and the nurses convinced me that I should get a few hours sleep. We found a supply closet, in which there was a small examination table, and the nurses helped me fashion fake pillows and blankets from old supplies. The loving attention of these nurses was touching. But the conditions of the hospital were rather shockingly apparent even then. HYLAND 5