Chapter 314
“Oh, right. You mentioned that treating that patient would be good for the hospital, didn’t you? So, I hit up Ben for a favor. We had someone sneakily grab a sample from the patient, and Ben got another expert to run some tests. Turns out, it’s a bacterial issue. I’ve jotted down the exact strain. You guys can handle it from here, right?” Thomas said with a yawn.
Mr. Cavanaugh looked at Thomas, “To diagnose in just one night, this expert must be no ordinary person. Director, can you tell me who he really is?”
“It’s someone Ben brought in; I’m not clear on the specifics,” Thomas said, waving his hand dismissively, “Why get hung up on that? Let’s just concentrate on the patient’s care.”
Mr. Cavanaugh was struck dumb.
He felt something was off.
But if it wasn’t for Ben’s help, could it be Thomas who made the diagnosis?
That seemed even more impossible.
“Get going; don’t delay my breakfast.” Thomas started shooing him away.
Mr. Cavanaugh left in a daze.
Standing at the door, he glanced over the test results and a smile began to form on his lips.
No matter what, the patient was saved!
Back in the office, Thomas ate a few bites of his bagels and then lay down for a nap.
Darn it! Laziness had become second nature; suddenly ramping up the pace was seriously jarring.
In the future, he decided not to take on such tasks!
Isn’t there something great about being a doctor who just goes with the flow?
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Glancing at his phone, Thomas answered groggily, “Hello? Ben?”
There was a pause on Ben’s end before he finally spoke, “Your Vice Dean called my secretary to express his gratitude. He said it was thanks to the specialist I brought in that they could pinpoint the diagnosis. Thomas, what’s your take on this?”
Thomas cleared his throat, “It’s not a bad thing. How about you take the credit for it?”
Ben quirked an eyebrow, “Thinking of making a comeback?”
“It was just a fluke,” Thomas quickly explained, “I just felt bad for the patient and lent a hand. But keep it under wraps, will you? I’m all about that easy–going lifestyle.”
After hanging up, Ben raised an eyebrow and personally made a call to Mr. Cavanaugh.
“Yes,
it was an expert I found. Though not famous, he’s very capable.”
“Next time you run into a tough case, just take it to Director Smith. He’ll get it to me.”
“Want to meet the expert? No need, he’s not one for the spotlight. Just follow my lead.”
“Just make sure to add some heart–wrenching photos of the patients in each file; the more pitiful, the better.”
“Yeah, send over some more case files.”
After hanging up the phone, Ben put away his cell phone, a deep meaning flashing in his eyes.
He thought, “Oh, Thomas!
Just admit that you were never cut out to be a mediocre doctor.
With all those complex symptoms laid out before you, can you really restrain yourself?”
Ben pinched the bridge of his nose.
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It was not that he specifically wanted to force Thomas into the spotlight.
However, he had seen Thomas’s struggles over the years.
Thomas wasn’t genuinely content with just scraping by; more so, he was running away.
He was fleeing the weight of lives lost on his watch and the feeling of powerlessness that came with being just a doctor.
But was he truly content with that?
No, he never was, not for a moment.
Unless he sorted out this inner turmoil, Thomas was going to be stuck living a nightmare.
“Give it a try; step out bravely,” Ben murmured to himself before letting out a long sigh.
That was all he could do.
The rest of the journey was for Thomas to walk on his own.
In the following days, Thomas’s condition worsened day by day.
After solving a complex case, Mr. Cavanaugh started showing up at his office daily, bringing a pile of
medical records every time!
These were all serious cases!
Thomas attempted to avoid it, but the photos of the patients on the case covers were just too
heartbreaking to overlook.
Doctors cared for their patients as if they were their own children.
Unable to resist, Thomas opened the cases again.
A month passed like this.
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Thomas consistently worked late into the night, earning nothing but respect from Mr. Cavanaugh, who admired this legendary expert. Mysteriously, their hospital’s reputation had also started to soar.
“Dean, look at this…”
One day, Mr. Cavanaugh, clutching a stack of medical files, was on his way into the office.
“Wait!” Thomas stretched out his hand in alarm, signaling a refusal.
“What’s wrong?” Mr. Cavanaugh was puzzled.
Thomas cleared his throat and said, “The specialist, well… he’s really worn out and needs a few days off
to recharge.”
Mr. Cavanaugh was caught off guard, then slapped his forehead in realization, “That’s on me, I didn’t consider that! Director, let the expert know to take it easy. We can handle the patients for the time
being.”
“I’ll tell him,” Thomas nodded.
Mr. Cavanaugh then left with a guilty look on his face.
These past few days, he had really been slacking off.
These patients, none of them particularly difficult cases, but he still sent their files over.
Who could blame him? After all, those patients‘ chances of recovery always skyrocketed once that expert got involved.
Mr. Cavanaugh told himself that next time, he shouldn’t bother the expert with ordinary cases.
After Mr. Cavanaugh left, Thomas finally let out a long sigh of relief.
But with the relief came a sense of emptiness, no more cases by his side.
Was he actually feeling a sense of emptiness?
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He found himself thinking, “What the hell is that?”
Thomas shivered Involuntarily.
It seemed he wasn’t fit to stay in the hospital lately.
Then, Thomas decided to skip work.
He was the director, after all, and nobody was going to stop him.
Thomas said he’d skip work, and he did just that, slipping away.
On the street, Thomas couldn’t help but pull out his phone, looking confused.
It had been almost a month since he returned from Snowstock.
And a month since he’d last seen Theresa.
Every day, he’d send Theresa trivial messages.
Sweet texts to start and end the day, always making sure she’s okay.
He’d been sending these for over a month, and Theresa hadn’t replied even once.
He’d secretly asked Mrs. Austin for news.
Mrs. Austin said Theresa was busy preparing for her final thesis and exams lately.
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