116 116. The Doctor and the Patient

Clara watched Lea lying limp on the patient’s bed. Lea’s eyes could only glance at the doctor who treated her with a weak gaze. However, the frail patient could only stare for a moment, then her vision blurred. Her head felt incredibly dizzy. She was also struggling to breathe. Between conscious and unconscious, her hand stretched out looking for help.

Clara’s chest felt tight. What happened to Lea? Why did she get to the hospital in such a bad condition?

Assisted by a nurse, Clara put on a respirator for Lea. She also gave an injection to Lea to keep her from getting dehydrated. However, it seems that dehydration was not the only cause of her illness. Clara then asked the nurse who was with her to help check her patient’s blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

“Blood sugar is fine but the blood pressure is high,” replied the nurse, “180/110 ....”

“Good grief!” Clara immediately asked the nurse to give her patient an injection to lower blood pressure while she checked Lea’s hospital card to examine her medical record.

***

After a while, Lea’s condition finally improved. Monica, who had taken Lea to the hospital, immediately checked on her condition.

Lea felt guilty seeing Monica’s pale and tired face. “Monica, go home!”

Monica shook her head. “I’m not going home if none of your family is here.”

.....

Lea smiled at the stubborn Monica. That girl had always been a good work partner for her. Monica always paid attention to her condition. She needed help because of the pregnancy.

“Yesterday you said you were dizzy. I asked you to leave and rest at home, but you were stubborn. You’re still determined to work,” Monica grumbled at a fast pace. “Earlier I was scared when you suddenly got dizzy and short of breath. If it ever happens again-”

“Monica, don’t worry about me! My sister will be here soon. She’s on her way,” Lea cut in, trying to reassure her partner. “You’re tired. Don’t let Paula lose two people at the office tomorrow!”

Lea’s reasoning makes perfect sense. Monica realized that she couldn’t let her health drop. She sadly nodded and said goodbye after giving Lea a light hug.

“Get well soon!” Monica whispered. “We are all waiting for you at the office.”

historical

Lea waved to let Monica go. She felt a little guilty for lying to Monica about her sister. However, Monica was exhausted. She didn’t let her friend get sick.

Shortly after Monica left, Clara came to check on her patient. When she opened the curtain, her amber eyes met Lea’s, making that soon-to-be mom get clumsy and try to adjust her sitting position.

Clara didn’t take her eyes off Lea. This time alone, she could not be friendly to her patient. Never mind, doctors didn’t have to always smile at their patients. As long as she didn’t do anything bad to her patient, there wouldn’t be a problem, right?

“Two months ago you went to the hospital for a similar reason. Have you checked your condition with your regular obstetrician?” Clara asked then. Her eyes were still fixed on Lea, not blinking at all.

“I’m fine,” Lea answered simply. She didn’t dare to look at Clara because she didn’t expect Clara to discover her health condition firsthand.

“If you demand a doctor to act professionally, you should act professionally as a patient. All doctors will treat their patients well,” Clara explained further, feeling offended that Lea didn’t answer her question properly.

The brunette-haired female doctor was then busy with her iPad to check Lea’s medical records during pregnancy, once again carefully. She snorted loudly when she noticed how rarely Lea saw the doctor.

“It says here that you only visited doctor Kim once. The second visit was to the ER when you were sick two months ago,” Clara said while staring at her iPad screen even though she already memorized what was written there. A while later, she turned her gaze to Lea and asked again, “Did you visit another obstetrician’s clinic? Can I check the data so I can write down recommendations for your doctor?”

Lea was silent, unmoved. She then hissed and whispered, “I didn’t go to the doctor because I’m fine.”

Clara’s hands clenched. She tried to hold back her emotions so as not to spill over and make the atmosphere of the emergency room chaotic.

“Listen to me. We, at the ER, will indeed only treat the initial symptoms that you experience. Only temporary. If the doctor says you have to check your condition then go to a specialist, please obey the suggestion,” Clara grumbled, feeling her chest clenched tightly. She didn’t know what made her feel that way. Perhaps, it was because of her analysis of Lea’s condition. Maybe also because Lea was the one who experienced it. It could also be because of Lea’s stubborn behavior.

What was even more certain was the combination of all of them.

Lea, knowing that she had made a mistake, said, “I’m so busy at work, I don’t have time to schedule a doctor’s appointment.”

“Is it because you’re going to give your baby to someone else, you don’t care about his or her condition?” Clara asked again and she knew that this time she had crossed the line. Inhaled deeply, Clara then combed her hair with her fingers.

Maybe doctor Andreas was right. Supposedly, she asked permission to leave so as not to do silly things to her patients. Look at this time, she even blamed Lea and mixed personal feelings into her medical analysis. It was truly bad, both for her and her patient.

Lea was nervous. The mother-to-be swallowed hard, joining her right and left fingers nervously. She wanted to leave the hospital right now. If it wasn’t for Clara being here, she would have done it soon. For her, the hospital was never a good place. However, with Clara as the doctor who treated her, it was the worst.

“You’re getting unprofessional,” Lea protested in a low voice.