• The nine weeks of shots, followed by a second test from a second allergist, showing no allergies.

• One otolaryngologist's immediate endorsement of the behavioral hypothesis.

• Another's theories that the neck pain might be caused by his thyroid (actually a very good idea, and one that no one else had thought of) and that the headache might be a migraine and should be evaluated by a neurologist (not such a good idea, since there is no such thing as a continuous migraine).

• The neurologist's theory, after an extremely cursory exam, that something was "bothering" Gideon, that he was "somatizing" it, and that the symptoms would probably go away on their own if I would just quit taking him to doctors.

• The utterly needless sinus CT scan.

• The upper endoscopy showing a perfectly pink and healthy esophagus.

• The second CT scan, this time of Gideon's neck.

• The blood tests.

• The useless medications.

• The long discussion with the physician's assistant in which she assured me earnestly that Gideon's symptoms were psychosomatic and that I should just drop the whole thing.

• The suggestion from a couple of sources that if the symptoms weren't interfering with Gideon's life, then there was no point in pursuing treatment.

• The three months of chiropractic treatments that seemed, for a while, to be helping the headache but which, in the end, did not.

In Whose Head?

All this time Gideon went to school and church, did his homework and chores, practiced the piano, worked on his Bible club memory verses, and threw himself into his regular physical activities. How could such a healthy-looking, active child have anything wrong with him?