Only Euan could come out with that much money, just to prepare a grand banquet of roses.
The voices of exclamation and admiration were echoing in the corridor of the hospital. The young nurses were so excited and envious that they wanted to replace the position of Euan’s woman.
Euan’s woman? Riley sneered at herself. He was putting on a grand banquet of roses to please Lydia, wasn’t he?
Riley did not think much about it anymore. It would only hurt her more if she thought about it. So, she squeezed through the crowd and walked towards the elevator.
She leaned on the cold iron wall of the elevator and closed her eyes. The enchanting red blinded her just now. What was left to be compared? He had never been gentle to her even a bit, but he wanted to give all he could to Lydia.
Damn it!
When the elevator door opened, Riley walked towards the dressing room. Her job was to attend to the outpatients that day. Fortunately, she was in peace when she sat in the duty room.
She had never expected a call to come in when she changed on her white coat.
“Doctor Watson come to the ward quickly. The patient in ward 202…”
202?
The female patient, who was admitted the day before suffered from congenital heart disease and had undergone heart stent surgery before. The doctor advised her to not give birth to the baby. But she and her husband loved children very much and would take the risk to give birth to the baby.
The lady was seven months pregnant now. She had seen that it was a healthy baby boy, but the fetus grew bigger and was oppressing against her heart. The lady was admitted yesterday with a weak heartbeat, and her blood pressure dropped drastically. Her husband and her mother-in-law accompanied her to the hospital. Her husband kept pleading the doctors to save his wife instead of the baby. But the lady patient used all her last might to ask Riley to save the baby instead of her.
The scene from the day before appeared in her memory again. Riley grabbed her mobile phone and ran, “Prepare the ventilator and resonator. Quick!”
“Yes!”
Riley ran to the ward, and the patients who had said cruel things to Riley before stepped back. Some were still on guard. They were afraid that Riley would do something to revenge again. But Riley had only the patient’s health conditions in her mind.
The nurse stood in front of the patient’s bed in a panic, not knowing what to do. Riley pushed the nurse aside and bent down to listen to the pregnant woman’s heartbeat. Then she quickly opened the patient’s eyelid to check on her eyes. The heartbeat of the patient on the monitor was dropping rapidly, and her signs of living were reducing.
“Doctor Watson, the patient needs a pacemaker.” An assistant doctor reminded Riley.
“No, the pacemaker would hurt the baby in her stomach. Hold this!” She handed the stethoscope hung on her neck to the nurse. Her fingers on both her hands crossed tightly, and she pumped them on the chest of the patient. She pumped and called out again and again…
“Mary Farmer, wake up! Mary Farmer, you must wake up, for your child, for your baby! Listen to me! Do you hear me?”
Riley was like she was mad. She glanced at the patient’s bulged belly. There was a child in it, the baby they treasured. Also, something that Riley had looked forward to for these three years but could not conceive.
It seemed that she had a connection with the child of the patient. Riley’s forehead was drenched with sweat because she was pumping with force. The sweat-drenched her forehead and dripped down from her frowning eyebrows to the face of the patient.
The patients in the same ward were stunned by the way Riley tried to save the patient. They looked at Riley dumbfoundedly as if they saw a female warrior trying to battle against death.
At that time, the patients from other wards came to watch when they heard about the matter and crowded outside the ward.
Riley was a woman, after all. Pumping on the heart needed a lot of energy, and her hands were exhausted, making her not able to exert any more force. But she did not want to give up, “Mary Farmer, wake up! Your baby is waiting for you. He is waiting!”
The male doctor that was by the side couldn’t watch it anymore. He pulled Riley, who was crazily pumping away from the patient, and he continued to pump the patient’s heart.
Two male doctors took turns, and after about ten minutes, the patient’s heartbeat was back.
“Doctor Watson, the heartbeat has recovered! It has recovered!”
The nurse exclaimed excitedly. Riley seemed to have drained all her strength. Her body lost its balance, and she stumbled against the wall suddenly. She might have fallen and sat on the floor if she was not leaning against a wall.
Clap…
The patients in the ward and the crowded patients at the door clapped at the same time. They showed their admiration and gratitude to Riley with applause.
Many of them said that if they did not see Riley saving the patient, they would not understand the fact that the woman was meant to be a doctor. She was born to fight against death.
The patient’s family member had gone out to get some fruits. When he saw the scene, he threw off the fruits he had bought and ran towards his wife. After listening to the explanation from the nurse, the man held onto Riley and thanked her profusely.
But Riley’s facial expression was still tensed.
She felt she had to tell him the truth.
Standing at the quiet balcony with the family member of the patient, Riley explained the patient’s real situation, “Your wife must undergo surgery now. Otherwise, when the fetus grows bigger, her heart stent would not be able to support her anymore. You know what it meant.”
The husband of the patient nodded. His eyes were red, “Doctor Watson, please. You must save my wife, please!”
Riley nodded. She was lost after she walked out of the ward. Not only the heart stent of the patient was unable to withstand anymore, but the patient was also suffering from internal bleeding causing a pericardial obstruction. According to the medical treatment, she could only wait until the bleeding stops naturally.”
However…
She looked at her trembling hands.
Judging from her previous surgery experiences, Mary Farmer might not be able to stop bleeding naturally. She and her child might die if she waited till that day.
But removing the blood through surgery…
Which surgeon would risk their reputation to undergo the surgery for her? The patient might die in the operation theatre. Even if the surgery was a success, they might be able to only save either the mother or the baby.
It would be a damage to everyone.
Riley sat on the bench in the corridor. She had forgotten the rumors she had suffered these few days and forgot that Euan was having a sweet time with Lydia at the moment.
She just wanted to save the patient. She wanted the mother and the child, both to be safe!
But…was she too greedy?
As soon as she lowered her head, she felt tears flowing out and dripped at the back of her hands.
She had to consult the plan with the director.
Jeanne? Even if she asked for Jeanne’s help, she might refuse to help her even if she had the intention to perform the surgery, just to go against her. And, no matter how professional Jeanne was, she was only an internist.
There were many senior experts in cardiac surgery in the central hospital, but none of them would risk performing the surgery.
No…Maybe there was one.
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