Love Me, Susie (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-Two

WALANG nagsasalita sa kanilang apat habang nasa labas sila ng emergency room at hinihintay ang paglabas ng doktor na sumusuri kay Susie. Kung natagalan pa raw sila nang pagsungod sa dalaga sa ospital mas marami pa raw na komplikasyon ang natanggap nito. He was just staring at the glass walls. Hindi siya makalma hangga't hindi niya alam kung ano na ang lagay ni Susie sa loob. Hindi niya matanggap na sa pangalawang pagkakataon ay napahamak ito sa batis. They need to talk about Charlene, too.

Maybe he is the one bringing trouble in her life. Maybe it is God's way of telling him that he should leave her alone.

"Hey," anang nagsalita.

It was Sebastian that came right away after their call. Eksaktong tumawag ito sa kanya nang papunta na sila sa nag-iisang ospital sa Alvarez kaya sinabi niya rito ang nangyari.

Umupo ito sa tabi niya at saka siya hinawakan sa balikat. "She's gonna be fine, man."

Hindi nabawasan niyon ang pag-aalala sa dibdib niya. "I'm just worried. Paano kung hindi ko naisip na baka nasa batis siya? If we were late, she would have drowned in there. She was helpless, Seb. Hindi ko siya matingnan kanina sa lahat ng sugat niya. It is really a miracle that she survived. That was a big drop."

"Yeah. Naalala ko noong nagswimming tayo sa batis, maganda nga ang lugar na 'yon pero delikado. Kung walang tubig sa ilalim at bumagsak siya sa mga bato..." hindi nito itinuloy ang sasabihin dahil alam nilang dalawa kung ano ang kinahinatnatan ni Susie kung sakaling ganoon nga ang nangyari.

He did not want to think about it, mahirap isipin na muntik na naman itong mawala sa kanya.

"I already talked to some people to put a barricade on there. Hindi na 'to puwede maulit kahit na kanino. I'm scared. I could have lost her."

"Hey, man, she's alive and she is going to be all right. Nagpakita na ba ang mga doktor?"

Umiling siya saka sumulyap sa pinto ng operating room. Ngayon siya nagpapasalamat at maganda ang naidulot ng donasyon niya sa pagpapatayo sa ospital na iyon.

"They're running some tests. I'll ask them to transfer her to the best hospital in Manila. I need to make sure that she gets the best treatment possible."

Tumang-tango si Sebastian na naiintindihan ang pinanggagalingan niya. Biglang bumukas ang emergency room at napatayo siya agad para lapitan ang doktor.

"Are you the husband?"

Wala na siyang panahon para doon. He needed to know that Susie is all right!

"Yes. Doc, I need to know her condition, is she okay? Is she stable? How is she?" sunod-sunod niyang tanong.

Sumulyap muna ang doktor sa pinanggalingan nito bago siyang tiningnan ulit. "The patient has six broken ribs, a small pneumothorax and broken scapula. She also had a partial bone fracture in her right leg—"

"Doc, I am not a fucking medical savvy or anything, could you please speak in which I would understand you better?"

Hinawakan siya sa balikat ni Sebastian.

Napahinga ng malalim ang doktor. "Mr. Castillo, I understand that you are worried about your wife. Broken ribs usually heal on their own in one or two months. Adequate pain control is important so that she can continue to breathe deeply and avoid lung complications, such as pneumonia. She wouldn't be able to return to her normal activities to give enough time for her body to heal. As for the small pneumothorax, which is also mean collapsed lung, she's given an oxygen and we will keep on observing her and have a few chest X-rays to make sure that we are not missing anything else.