After about three hours, the lights above the operating room were switched off, and a doctor emerged from the room.
Yelena's heart skipped a beat after she saw the doctor's grave expression.
"Who is the patient's family?"
Before Simone could speak, Yelena couldn't help but interject, "It's me."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized it was inappropriate and awkwardly stepped back.
Simone took a deep breath, stepped forward, and asked, "I'm his mother. How is he now?"
"The patient is temporarily stable, but I recommend transferring him to another hospital for treatment. We can't afford any more delays with his condition."
Simone's vision blurred after she heard these words.
This was already the best hospital in Damoria. If they wanted to transfer him elsewhere, they would have to go abroad.
However, his current physical condition couldn't withstand such a journey.
Simone nearly cried in despair. At that moment, Yelena walked over to Elspeth with a pleading look on her face. "Elspeth, can you help me save him?"
At the sight of Yelena like this, Elspeth could only pat her back. "Don't worry. I've already promised to help you, so I will."
Yelena nodded as she wiped away the tears in her eyes.
After Hank was transferred to a regular ward, Yelena led Elspeth straight into the ward.
Simone's face showed hesitation. "Miss Lynwood, I know you have remarkable medical skills, but his condition is one that no doctor can currently treat. It's a hereditary disease within our family, and the chances of a cure are slim..."
Elspeth understood that Simone had doubts, so she smiled and tried to offer some comfort.
"Ms. Balkan, although I can't guarantee that I can cure him, I will do my best to save him, so please don't worry."
Simone nodded. It was indeed the only option at the moment.
Elspeth asked everyone else in the ward to temporarily leave. Only Wesley stayed behind.
She first examined Hank's pulse and observed his facial features before taking out a set of acupuncture tools from her bag.
Wesley, who had studied clinical medicine, was somewhat at a loss with these traditional medicine practices. "Mrs. Winthrop, are you planning to perform acupuncture on him?"
"Yes. Help me hold him down, so he doesn't move suddenly when he wakes up."
He thought the man was lying motionless and that Elspeth was being overly cautious. "Mrs. Winthrop, he just had surgery. He shouldn't wake up so soon."
"You never know. Just help me hold him down."
Wesley agreed and carefully held Hank down.
Elspeth applied needles to several key acupoints and watched as Hank's expression gradually relaxed. She then removed those needles and inserted others.
After about half an hour, she removed all the needles.
Throughout the process of administering the acupuncture, Hank didn't make any movements.
Wesley was about to say that Elspeth was being overly cautious when he suddenly heard a strange voice.
"Thank you."
The voice was weak and it came from directly beneath him.
Wesley looked down at the man he was holding and realized that the man had opened his eyes at some point.
Wesley quickly withdrew his hand as he was startled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. Please don't misunderstand."
He didn't know why he felt the need to explain himself. Despite his actions being perfectly reasonable, he blushed and his heart raced.
Hank chuckled lightly. "It's okay. I understand."
After seeing that Hank didn't find anything wrong with the situation, Wesley realized that he had been overly worried.
It was all his own fault. He had stayed up late reading some novels the previous night, and perhaps those books contained some inappropriate content, his mind was still preoccupied with those abnormal thoughts...
"Thank you for administering the acupuncture. I feel much better now."
After collecting all the needles, Elspeth looked at him calmly. "You don't have to thank me. Thank Yelena instead. She asked me to come and help you. If it weren't because of how much she loved you, I wouldn't have interfered in your affairs."
At this, Hank didn't insist on expressing gratitude further.
"I just administered acupuncture to temporarily relieve your pain. As for long-term treatment, it will require me to consult my mentor."
When she had examined his pulse, she had already gained a good understanding of the severity of his condition.
With such a disease, there was no guarantee of a complete cure even if Sonny came.
However, he was Yelena's beloved, and if he died, Yelena would have to endure the pain of losing a lover for the second time.
In any case, Elspeth had to find a way to save Hank.
"It's all right. I'm aware of the condition, and if I can't be saved in the end, so be it."
A fit of inexplicable anger surged in Elspeth's heart after she saw his nonchalant attitude toward the possibility of not being cured.
"So, you'll just give up if you can't be cured? You casually broke up with Yelena before because of your own illness. You used such a poor excuse to deceive her and made her suffer for so long. Now that the truth is out and there you still have a chance of being cured, you're saying such pessimistic words. What exactly are you thinking?"
She had wanted to scold him like this for a long time and happened to have the opportunity to do so today.
Although Elspeth didn't usually appear gentle and tender, she had never mercilessly berated someone like she did today.
Wesley trembled as he watched from the side after realizing that Elspeth also had a bad temper.
It seemed that he couldn't be too carefree in the future and should be more careful in his actions.
Hank didn't expect that expressing his rational thought would cause him to be scolded like this, but since she had just saved him, he didn't feel any inclination to argue. "I'm sorry."
To be honest, his decision to break up with Yelena was indeed impulsive, but he had to carry through with it.
He couldn't let this little girl watch him die.
She liked his handsome face so much that every time she saw him, she would hold his hand and drool.
If he lost his hair due to treatment, or worse, became ugly, this little girl would probably avoid him.
Elspeth's anger disappeared after she looked at him lying weakly in bed and apologizing to her. "All right. I won't say anything more. If there's nothing else, rest well for now. I'll come to see you again later."
Hank nodded, and Elspeth left with Wesley.
Simone had been waiting at the entrance of the emergency room for a long time, but she was just persuaded by Yelena to go and have a meal. Now, only Yelena was left waiting alone at the entrance.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love's perfect match novel (Elspeth and Callum)