Riley was so sleep-deprived her brain was practically functioning on dial-up, and she totally bombed a few questions.
Unsurprisingly, she got chewed out yet again.
She was used to it by now.
Trudging back to her desk, she groaned to Wendy, “I must have been a mass murderer in my past life to deserve clinical rotations in this one.”
Wendy laughed, highly amused.
She handed over an iced coffee she had just picked up from the delivery rack.
“Iced Americano. Wake up, we've got nineteen electives to burn through today.”
Elective surgeries were non-emergency cases that had been scheduled well in advance.
But on top of those, there was always a relentless influx of unpredictable emergencies.
Exactly how many times they would scrub in before the day ended was anyone's guess.
The department head would take the lead, with Wendy and Riley acting as first and second assists.
The most grueling, complex cases were always scheduled first thing in the morning.
That coffee was absolutely vital to their survival.
Riley chugged half the cup in one go and wiped her mouth.
“Chief Gates, await my triumphant return at noon.”
Wendy nodded. “See you on the other side.”
Wendy had two operations scheduled for the morning.
The first was an ablation for a patient with premature ventricular contractions.
The second was an elderly patient who had been experiencing dizzy spells and chest tightness for years. The family had ignored the symptoms, ultimately leading to an episode of atrial fibrillation that triggered a stroke.
They needed to perform an afib ablation combined with a left atrial appendage closure.
The operation dragged on until 2:00 PM.
Wendy had barely stripped off her lead apron and hadn't even had time to grab lunch when she received an urgent request for a consult.
It was for one of Riley's patients.
A heart attack victim scheduled for the first slot this afternoon to receive a stent.
But the moment the angiogram was done, Dr. Franklin discovered that the patient had severe congenital vascular defects, and the blockage was positioned in an impossibly tricky spot.
A case like that required an immediate consult from Cardiac Surgery to determine if a full open-chest procedure would be a safer route.
Wendy massaged her aching shoulder as she walked back into the office.

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