After a kidney transplant, I came home with a 'visitor'.

I had a kidney transplant in 1989, which necessitated my taking prednisone as an immunosuppressor. I had been told that there were numerous side-effects with this medication... but I certainly didn't expect that possession would be one of them!

Almost from the moment I woke up from the surgery, I felt "different." I suddenly became very interested in the military, and started wearing an Army jacket that had belonged to my then-boyfriend's best friend. This person had gotten the jacket second-hand, and I wonder if that had anything to do with the events that followed my wearing the jacket.

I started dreaming of being in a jungle, running from American attack helicopters. I was on the run from my own people after having done something worthy of a court-martial. I saw myself as a male, about six feet tall, with brown eyes and short brown hair. In the dream, I became too tired to run anymore, and sat down under a tree. I took my gun and shot myself in the forehead. I saw myself slumped against the tree, with a small trickle of blood running out of the bullet hole. There was a faint smile on my face.

In my waking life, I started to use my left hand more and more until I was attempting to write left-handed, too. I could only catch a ball with my left hand. I began writing poems about being in the military, including one about not shooting an elderly enemy man, only to have one of my unit's members shoot him after I left. I watched war movies and wore the Army jacket regardless of how hot it was outside. I once wore it to the clinic where I had my blood drawn to check the transplant, and all of the nurses were surprised to see that my blood pressure was incredibly low-- 120/70. This was notable because I had had extremely high blood pressure since the transplant, usually about 150/100.

I had the sense of someone controlling my actions, while I observed myself walking around. I felt as if someone else was driving my car. I began driving with the seat pushed back, and my left arm on the window. I drove faster than usual, too. I would arrive at places, not remembering the drive over there.

I often felt a presence over my left shoulder, as if someone was standing there. In dreams, I was told that I had somehow gotten 'stuck' to someone when I was floating around on a spirit plane during my kidney transplant, and when I woke up from the anesthesia, I had dragged him back with me. I thought that was interesting, because I'd been "out" for almost an hour after the transplant, and when I woke up, a nurse was ready to stick a BIG needle into me because my vital signs had been steadily decreasing... the needle was going to be stuck into my heart to get it going again.

This being was very protective of me, and called me "little sister", even though he was incredibly angry about being stuck on this plane. He often warned me about people, and those warnings later turned out to be true . If he popped up when I was talking to someone, I knew that the person I was talking to was not to be trusted. He was never wrong.

But I started to feel resentment over his presence. I felt like I was sharing my life, and I wanted to control my own actions, not have someone take over whenever I faced a challenge. I realized that I had to "evict" this spirit, and send him back to where he belonged.

I began praying for his spirit to find peace, and eventually he did leave, although he pops in every now and then. The difference is, now he remains outside. He still occasionally warns me about people I shouldn't get involved with, like any human older brother.

Shortly after I "banished" him in 1990, I heard a story about American troops in Laos in the 60s being chased down by their own helicopters because they were attempting to defect. I'll always wonder if "my soldier" had been one of those people.

I really don't think that all of this was just some prednisone-induced fantasy, because there was too much detail. People I worked with noticed the changes in me, and asked if I was wearing contacts because my eyes darkened so much they looked black. The only thing I can think of that would cause all of these changes is possession. I'm still not sure how I managed to get rid of it, because it's supposedly almost impossible to exorcize yourself. But I'm thankful that I was able to get my own life back, and not have to share control with an outside influence.