Chapter 40
***JACK***
6 YEARS AGO.
"Alright Carl, make sure your mom drinks enough water and takes her pills," I said as I walked through the hospital. I looked up and I saw a nurse hurrying towards me and I looked at me.
"Okay, take care of her," I said and cut the call before dropping the phone in my pocket.
"What is it?" I asked the nurse curiously.
"It's the patient in ward 5B, you need to see something," she said and I followed her quickly to the ward. We walked past the other patients till we got to the bed of the man she was referring to.
He got into a car accident two days ago and we performed surgery on him successfully, but it looked like he suffered some brain damage and might not wake up.
I looked at the Ventilator where the nurse pointed and carefully observed the readings.
"The ventilator is set to 13bpm, but he's breathing at 22 bpm," I said and stood up straight, glancing at the nurse.
"I think he's breathing on his own," the new intern standing at the other side of the bed said and I affirmed with a nod.
"Prepare him for a brain MRI now," I instructed the intern and he nodded as I walked out of the ward.
I walked into an elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. As the elevator door opened, I stepped out and went to the reception.
I received a text from my mom a few minutes ago that she left a package for me there.
As the nurses at the receptionist saw me approach, one of them reached under the desk and brought out the package my mom dropped.
"Thank you," I said with a smile and picked up the package. I was about to leave when I heard an ambulance pull up in front of the hospital building.
I dropped the package on the desk and looked in the direction of the entrance curiously.
They rolled in a stretcher and I couldn't properly see where I stood.
"I'm coming," I said, raising a finger to the nurses before walking closer.
They were carrying a young woman on the stretcher. She was covered in blood and her cloth was torn.
"What happened to her?" I asked the three men that came with her in the ambulance.
"We were out hunting and we saw him being attacked by a wolf," one of the men replied and I glanced at the hunting gear with them.
"Oh my god," I exclaimed silently and examined her. She didn't look like she suffered so much injury apart from the deep claw marks on her arms and she had lost a lot of blood.
She was lucky for someone who was attacked by a wolf, but she might have suffered internal injuries and could bleed to death.
I moved aside so the nurses could move her to an E.R. and walked back to the reception to grab my package.
***
PRESENTLY.
"I took a look at the case you sent to me, he has diabetes and high blood pressure," I said, as I had a video call with my friend, Ralph who was also a doctor at another hospital.
I moved the laptop a bit closer, "he also previously suffered a stroke and there's his age," I continued and Ralph sighed knowing where I was going with this. These were also facts that he knew, but I needed him to know why I can't take this case.
"Not to mention the fact that the tumor is located deep in the left auricle and pulmonary vein and it'll be difficult to remove," I stated and took a look at the file of the patient next to the laptop on my desk.
"Even if I agree to operate on him, he could die on the operating bed and if he doesn't, the tumor will regrow in a few months," I said and he nodded slowly.
"Yes, but his family really wants to give it a try," Ralph said and he also looked like he was frustrated by the case.
Ralph And I have been friends since medical college and this was such a tight spot he was putting me in.
"Without an operation, he can still love for about a year, I think he should live out the rest of his days in peace," I said.
"You're right. But I heard about one of your doctors and I know the relationship you have with her. Can you get her to take a look at the case and consider it?" Ralph asked if I knew he was referring to Larissa.
"Alright, I'll show it to her," I said and looked up as I heard a knock on the door of my office.
"Thanks."
"I have to go now," I said and ended the call before saying, "Come in."
The door opened and Dr. Frank walked into the office.
"Dr. Frank, what can I do for you? I asked.
"Sir, I just wanted to let you know that Dr. Lisa didn't show up to the hospital today," he said and I was shocked to hear that.
I hadn't spoken to her since she left the house after the fight we had two days ago.
"I just wanted to ask maybe if something's wrong with her or something-" he said. I had to pretend that I knew what was happening and that everything was alright between us so I quickly nodded.
"Yes, she's umm... She's not feeling so well, I forgot to notify you this morning," I said and pretended to be arranging the files on my table.
"Okay, what about her patients?" Dr. Frank asked.
"Ummmm. Could you handle them please, you can get Dr. Larry to help you if you need help," I said and forced a smile.
"Sure," he replied before walking out of my office. As he closed the door, I dropped the file I was holding and sighed loudly as I leaned into my chair.
What has been going on with Larissa lately?? Everything was perfect between us until she started acting strangely. It was as if she was scared of something. We'd had fights before, but this one felt different and it had definitely never taken this long without any of us saying anything to each other.