102 102. The Doctors

Lea walked quickly, half running, towards where her mother was being treated. She didn’t continue the discussion with Linda because an emergency call from Sarah sent her straight to the hospital. Right now, she wasn’t in the mood to burden her thoughts with Linda’s matter.

Lea stopped in front of a room. Sarah stood there, waiting for her. Her sister was in the worst condition. That girl looked so confused and desperate.

“What happened Sarah?” Lea asked in a panic, shaking Sarah’s powerless body.

Wiping away her tears, Sarah replied, “I don’t know. They said that mom had a sudden fever and shortness of breath. Those are signs of rejection. Her body rejects the donor’s heart.”

Anxiety crept into Lea’s mind. She thought everything was okay. She thought that her mother would recover soon. However, this sort of thing happened too. So soon.

“Then, how is mom’s condition right now?” Lea asked again, glaring at Sarah expectantly.

Sarah shook her head weakly. “Mom is being examined by the cardiology team. We have to wait for them. However ....”

“What else?” Lea asked, her chest growing tighter as she saw Sarah’s grim expression. “Something went wrong?”

“One of the team members who treated our mom had an accident and passed away ... last night,” Sarah answered in a whisper, now her tears were flowing uncontrollably. “I’m sorry, Lea! This must be a punishment from God because I earned the money by cheating. Even worse, I sold your baby to Mrs. Decker.”

.....

Sarah covered her face with her hands. She tried to hide her face behind her hands, but of course, it was useless. How could Lea not see her sister sobbing and sinking into deep regret?

“I think I did my best so far. I thought she would recover as long as there was a suitable donor heart. However, why is this unwanted thing still happening? Why does she have to bear all my sins?” Sarah sobbed regretfully. “Lea, why doesn’t God just punish me? I should have just been hit by a truck or something! I will give the rest of my useless life to mom!”

Sarah’s ranting and wailing made Lea unable to hate her sister. Even though Sarah was a reckless girl, she was indeed having pure and innocent intentions. When it comes to love and affection, no one doubted her. Sarah’s love for their mother was like the other’s, she didn’t want her mother to suffer from this disease.

They were a poor family who only had love to survive and support each other. Their mother was the greatest supporter. Her presence was the most powerful and irreplaceable for the family. Sarah and Lea’s siblings had demotivated when their mother was first hospitalized. If their mother died right now, what would happen to their lives in the future?

Lea then hugged Sarah. No words came out of her mouth. Only a hug that she hoped would ease her sister’s panic state.

“Lea, are you secretly angry and cursed? Making all of this happen? Take your anger out, Lea! I will bear all the consequences of my actions,” Sarah whispered again in a sob that was getting worse, making her words almost unable to be heard.

The cold air that covered the corridor made Sarah’s mind get even more frozen. Her tears couldn’t stop flowing. Lea didn’t know what to say in answer to Sarah’s question. She was still angry, but she also didn’t want Sarah to think she was the cause of the disaster.

“Come on, don’t think about the past! Don’t overthink things! Let’s just think about the current problems. Let’s pray for mom! We have to do the best we can do right now,” Lea said in the end. She patted her sister on the shoulder to stop her from crying. “Don’t keep crying! We still have a lot to think about.”

The two young women then prayed and asked God to give their mother some miracle. Moments later, the team of doctors came out of the room. Lea and Sarah immediately ran over to find out about their mother’s current health state.

Three doctors walked slowly, discussing the cases they were facing. The leader of the team, doctor Andreas, removed the mask he was wearing and greeted Sarah and Lea with no smile on his face. He looked so tired.

“How is our mother, doc?” Sarah asked frantically.

“It seems that Mrs. Kane’s body simply cannot accept the donor’s heart. We are temporarily giving immunosuppressants to her. She will probably have to take the medicine forever. However, unfortunately, this medicine also has risks,” said doctor Andreas while looking at Sarah and Lea’s faces alternately.

“What’s that?” asked Lea in a low voice. Her mouth remained open as she swallowed heavily.

“Your mom may experience kidney failure. Of course, we don’t want this,” doctor Andreas explained. A flash of regret crossed his face. “We are also very sorry that doctor Leonard is no longer with us. After all, he was the one who handled Mrs. Kane’s case from the start.”

“Our deep condolences,” Lea and Sarah said almost simultaneously. Doctor Andreas nodded sadly, it was obvious that he felt the loss of one of the talented people he trusted.

“However, that’s fine. We have a substitute doctor who is no less talented. She is very diligent and smart, so we will introduce her to you.” Doctor Andreas turned, looking for one of her team members. “Where is she?”

“She’s still inside,” answered one of the male doctors who was still wearing a mask.

Not long after, a brunette-haired woman came out of the room with a nurse in her blue uniform. She took off her mask when she approached her teammates.

However, when the doctor came closer, how surprised she was because there was someone she didn’t expect to stand near doctor Andreas.

“This is doctor Clara Decker, doctor Leonard’s replacement,” said doctor Andreas with a light smile.

The brunette-haired doctor’s eyes stared at Lea without blinking. So did Lea, looking at Clara with an inexplicably frozen expression.

It flashed back in Lea’s mind that a few hours ago, she and Clara’s mother discussed what was happening to Clara. However, why on the same day she had to face Clara? She didn’t know what to do at the moment.

Sarah greeted Clara and introduced herself as the patient’s daughter. “Decker? I think I’ve heard that name before?” Sarah’s brows furrowed, trying to recall something. “Ah, I remember, that’s the name of the owner of this hospital, no?”

Doctor Andreas chuckled, “She is the daughter of the owner.”

Sarah’s face suddenly went pale. She turned to Lea and found her sister staring blankly, expressionless.

“Ah, doctor Andreas, can we discuss something important?” asked Clara to change the subject. “I think there’s something else we should reconsider.”

The team of doctors then withdrew, leaving the patient’s family to conduct the discussion in their room. Meanwhile, Lea still couldn’t believe what she had just seen.

After the doctors had disappeared from Sarah’s sight, the girl whispered to her sister, “Lea, should we ask the hospital to change doctors? I’m worried that doctor Decker will involve her feelings in our mom’s treatment?” She glanced anxiously at Lea, hoping her sister would support her idea.

“You mean you doubt doctor Decker’s professionalism?” asked Lea in a low voice, almost couldn’t be heard by her sister.

historical

Sarah nodded in response. She then looked at Lea expectantly. “Let’s do it before something bad happens! We’re going to see management right away.”

But Lea didn’t move. “You can’t accuse with no proof. Our mom has nothing to do with my problem. There’s no way Clara would do something ridiculous. It will affect her career.”

“But Lea! Doctors are human too. She would think of you when she saw mom.” Sarah still insisted. She didn’t want anything bad to happen.

“Wait! Doesn’t Clara know about the deal you made with Mrs. Decker?” asked Lea again.

Sarah shook her head. “She doesn’t want Clara to know about this.”

“I see,” Lea whispered weakly.

Lea sighed. What would happen if Clara found out about her mother’s secret plan? Lea’s mind replayed Linda’s words that asked her not to tell Clara that she had leaked her daughter’s secret: infertility.

***

That night, Clara was busy with piles of books and papers about cases similar to those experienced by Mrs. Kane. Her colleagues had gone home an hour ago. However, she was still working overtime and struggling with the same problem.

Doctor Andreas saw her, then entered the meeting room to stop Clara. “As a good doctor, you must know that overworking is useless for your body.”

Clara turned her head, averting her attention from the paper she was reading. “I’ll finish in thirty minutes.”

Doctor Andreas smiled, then patted Clara on the back. “I know that you insist on your analysis. But, don’t forget to take a rest.”

“So do you believe that something went wrong during the heart transplant operation?”