Doctor Series 1: Soren Tiu

Chapter 16

"Akin yan! Ako ang una!" sigaw ni Tobias kay Siobhan nang nag-agawan sila sa crabmeat na binalatan ni Pantaleon.

"Gago, ako ang una!" sigaw pabalik ni Siobhan sa kaibigan at hindi nagpaawat.

"Ako!" sigaw ni Tobias at inagaw ang crabmeat kay Siobhan.

"Ano ba, ako nga! Wag ka ngang epal!" sigaw ni Siobhan pabalik sa kaibigan at inagaw ito.

"Sana mahulog nalang yan." sabi ko habang nagbabalat ng sariling crabmeat.

"Magsitigil na nga kayo, oh ayan." sabi ni Pantaleon at binigay ang bagong crabmeat na kanyang binalatan kay Tobias.

"Nakakahiya talaga kayo." sabi ko habang napapa-iling saka nagpatuloy sa pagbabalat ng sariling crabmeat.

"Minsan tinatanong ko saaking sarili kung bakit may kaibigan akong mga isip bata kahit matatanda na." sabi ko saka tumingin sa dalawa na hindi man lang pinansin ang aking sinabi at nagpatuloy lang sa pagkain.

"Imposibleng papansinin ka nyan, seafoods na ang nasa harapan." natatawang sabi ni Pantaleon at napatingin din sa dalawa.

"Tayo lang ata ang may maayos na pag-iisip." sabi ko kay Pantaleon at seryoso siyang tinignan kaya nagtanguan kaming dalawa.

"Maam! More portion for shrimp please!" sigaw ni Siobhan kaya nakanganga akong napatingin sakanya at sa pagkain hindi pa nauubos sa aming harapan.

"Scallops din." sabi ni Tobias kay Siobhan at nagtanguan naman ang dalawa kaya sinigaw ulit si Siobhan ang gustong i-order.

"Parang magkabati na sila." sabi ko habang pinagmamasdan ang dalawa na parang hindi na ata maiistorbo dahil nasa pagkain lang ang buong atensyon.

Biglang tumunog ang aking cellphone at nakita kong si Daryl iyon kaya hinubad ko ang suot na plastic gloves sa kaliwang kamay at agad itong sinagot.

"Professor, we have a bit of an emergency." bungad nito kaya napaayos ako ng upo.

"What is it?" napatigil ako sa pagnguya dahil sa sinabi ni Daryl.

"Jane's left-side motor control is poor. I'd say her arm is at about grade 2 and her leg is at grade 3." sagot nito saka ko tinanggal ang suot na plastic gloves sa kabilang kamay.

"What's her PT?" tanong ko at tinuro ang tissue saka inabot naman ito kaagad ni Pantaleon saakin kaya pinunasan ko ang aking pawis na kamay.

"Her INR is 2.8." sagot naman nito.

"We can't do an MRI because of the VAD. Let's do a CT scan. Call the Neurology and ask them to have a look. Talk to Jane's mother and keep me updated. I'll be there." sabi ko habang nagpupunas parin ng kamay.

"I'll go first, may emergency." sabi ko saaking mga kaibigan na napatigil sa pagkain dahil saaking pagmamadali.

"Should I go too? You mentioned the Neurology." tanong ni Siobhan kaya umiling ako at agad naglakad paalis para magtungo saaking sasakyan na naka-park sa labas ng restaurant na aming pinagkainan.

"I'm coming now." bungad ko kay Daryl ng tumawag ito ulit.

"Thankfully, no hemorrhage was detected. I showed it to the radiologist. There's no hemorrhage, but we're not sure wether or not an embolism has occurred. And Jane has almost fully regained her motor function." sabi nito at bumuntong hininga sa kabilang linya.

"How much warfarin did she get?" tanong ko at pinindot ang button ng elevator.

"She got 1mL yesterday." sagot nito.

"Give her 1.5mL today, but it'll take a while so give her enoxaparin too." sabi ko at pumasok na sa elevator nang bumukas ito.

"Jane's mother is very worried. I did explain to her that Jane is okay now, but I think you should talk to her. It'll help her calm down." sabi nito.

"Yes, I was going to talk to her anyway. I'm almost there." sabi ko nang tumigil ang elevator sa palapag kung nasaan ang PICU.

"Even if we use blood thinners, blood clots can form. Micro embolism is the medical term for this illness. I believe a small blood clot in the brain caused the blockage. Thankfully, the obstruction has been removed." paliwanag ko sa mga magulang ni Jane pagkatapos ko siyang natignan at na-check sa loob ng PICU.

"Then what if we give her more blood thinners?" naiiyak na tanong ng ina nito.

"This is something I've explained before, and it's something we've both experienced. Bleeding can occur if you take too many blood thinners. It will be extremely dangerous if it occurs inside her brain. We maintained a close eye on Jane's blood tests and were cautious with the blood thinners, but it still happened, indicating that it could happen again." sabi ko at bumuntong hininga.

"In a way, it's like having a time bomb in your chest. I feel like time is running out. So, she should get the surgery as soon as we find a donor." patuloy ko.

"Dr. Tiu.." ramdam na ramdam ko ang bigat na pakiramdam na dinadala ng ina ni Jane sa bawat hinga dito at pilit nagpipigil na umiyak saaking harapan, "Every day is a torture. My little girl... I'm completely exhausted, and I'm having trouble getting through the day. I'm always worried about what's going to happen when I get up in the morning." huminga ako ng malalim nang nakita kong kusang tumulo ang luha sa mga mata nito.

"My heart races like crazy." sabi nito at tinuro ang kanyang dibdib. "I can't continue like this. I'm starting to think we should simply give up." hindi na nito napigilan humikbi at tumalikod saakin.

Dinaluhan siya ng kanyang asawa at hinimas himas ang likod upang kumalma ito, "You've been staying so strong, don't be like this.." naiiyak na sabi ng kanyang asawa sakanya.

Napayuko ako at napahilamos saaking mukha dahil sa nararamdamang awa.

"I'm sorry, I apologize." paumanhin nito kaya agad akong umiling, "It's okay, Maam. It's okay." sabi ko.

Humugot ako ng malalim na hininga, "Maam.. You've been doing so well. Jane is staying strong too. We won't be the ones to give up first if you don't give up. Jane will receive a heart transplant after we identify a suitable donor. Please keep your spirits up and don't give up, okay?" I assured them.

Yumukod ako bilang paalam at nagtungo ulit sa loob ng PICU para tignan si Jane. Mahimbing itong natutulog habang yakap-yakap ang kanyang teddy bear.

"Hang on there, I will definitely save you so just hang on there, hmm?" mahina kong sabi.