The Journey Forward | ONC 2023 Version

Epilogue

"I swear she looked like she was waking up," Elija insisted as Dr. Rogers finished repositioning the chest tube that had become dislodged in his patient's chest.

"God, I hope not. That would have been pretty painful if the sedation was wearing off," Dr. Rogers answered. He let Elija finish dressing the area while he glanced at the mechanical ventilator helping his patient breathe. "It doesn't look like she's breathing over the vent, so I'm unsure what you saw."

"Hm, maybe it was just wishful thinking," Elija sighed, then pulled the blanket up to his patient's chin and turned to the exit.

"Maybe," Dr. Rogers agreed. "Don't tell Dr. Wei your suspicions when you let him back in," he added and sighed, looking down at his patient's face.

"Do you think it's weird that he still visits her daily?" Elija ventured the question everyone had been asking each other in the nurses' lounge for weeks.

"Yes, this has got to be a major interruption in his life. I know his brother was right next door for several weeks, but he's been gone a while now. Did she know them before the accident?"

"I don't think she did," Elija admitted.

"She's not brain dead. She can breathe independently, and there's still a chance she will recover," Dr. Rogers said after a few seconds of silence, changing the subject away from his personal feelings.  They walked out of the room together, but before going into the next room, he turned back to Elija. "We shouldn't give Dr. Wei false hope. He's already dealing with his brother."

"I know," Elija answered.  Dr. Rogers put an understanding hand on Elija's shoulder and then walked away. Elija smiled and walked over to the locked ward's entrance.

"How is she today?" The handsome Asian man asked Elija once he had gained admittance.

"About the same," Elija answered, then blushed at Dr. Wei's raised eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Her eyelids fluttered a little when the chest tube moved," Elija whispered in a rush.

"Ah, well, that could mean something," Dr. Wei muttered.

"How's your brother doing at the long-term facility?" Elija queried.

"He hasn't woken up yet." A sad look crossed the young doctor's face.

"Each day is another chance for improvement, right?" Elija encouraged.

"Yes," Dr. Wei agreed and entered Dr. Tang's room. He took his usual spot next to her bed and opened the book he had been reading to her for the last several weeks. Elija shook his head at the world-renowned surgeon sitting in a room reading a Chinese novel to a woman he had never met while awake. Most whispered that Dr. Wei paid more attention to her than her family, and some, if they were honest, would admit he spent more time with her than any of them did.

When Dr. Wei first arrived, everyone was shocked by the TV personality walking into their ICU. No one had put together his shared name with Mr. Wei while watching him give medical advice on the highly-rated twenty-four-hour news station. Elija had been the one to introduce Dr. Wei to Dr. Tang when the man had asked who saved his brother's life after the bridge collapsed. Of course, much of the gratitude had to go to the first responders who pulled him from his car and helped him safely to the hospital. But Dr. Tang had been excellent, bringing Mr. Wei back from the brink of death and staying overtime until he was stable. Maybe, that is why she didn't see the truck in time. She had been just a little too tired.

"How did she get like this?" Dr. Wei asked as he put a hand on Dr. Tang's wrist to check her pulse.

"Her car was side struck by a semi-truck that couldn't stop on the ice in time for a red light," Elija answered.

"Does anyone visit her?"

"Only her mother," Elija admitted. "She doesn't have any other family local."

"Her father?"

"I think they are estranged."

"Ah, you have been very accommodating.  Thank you. Please let me know when her mother gets here. I would like to talk to her."

When Ms. Tang arrived, Dr. Wei dazzled her with his attention, and she readily agreed to list him as a guardian for Dr. Tang. With this permission, he could help Ms. Tang make the difficult decisions ahead. Everyone thought it was kind of the famous doctor to help the older woman.

Soon, Ms. Tang's visits slowed to weekly, while Dr. Wei's remained daily. And a month into Dr. Tang's hospital stay, her sister arrived in town and convinced her to return to San Francisco to be around family. Ms. Wei had talked about transferring Dr. Tang to a facility near her home but couldn't find one that would accept her daughter. Dr. Wei reassured her that he would watch over Dr. Tang even after his brother recovered. To do this, he applied for credentialling at this hospital, and a studio in town worked with him to ensure he could continue to go on air.

So, in the end, Dr. Tang remained in the small hospital thousands of miles from her mother, under the care of a famous doctor she had never met.

Elija always asked to be Dr. Tang's nurse when he worked, so he was often at the bedside when Dr. Wei arrived. Even after Mr. Wei stabilized enough to leave the ICU and was moved to a private facility catering to coma patients, Dr. Wei kept his promise and continued to visit daily.

No one knew what he read to her until one of the traveling nurses mentioned she could read Chinese, and Elija brought her to the book a few days after he had witnessed Dr. Tang's eyes fluttering.

"What is it," Elija asked.

"A cultivation novel," she answered.

"A what?"

"You know, like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Lots of Kung-Fu and magic."

"Seems like a strange book for a doctor to read to another doctor."

"Probably the only Chinese book he could buy in the airport or something. It's pretty popular. They made a TV show about it in China."

"Oh, well, I guess that's cool. I hope it has a happy ending." Elija looked at the book again and sighed as the other nurse returned to her patients. He stood alone in the room with Baiyu Tang, the only doctor Elija had ever hung out with outside of work for a long time without moving. Then, he pushed a stray hair back from her face. "I hope you have a happy ending, too."

"It depends on what you think a happy ending is," Dr. Wei answered. Elija jumped away from Dr. Tang's body and laughed self-consciously. Dr. Wei's hospital credentials had come through, and he wore a hospital badge, which gained him admission to the unit without assistance from the nurses.

"A happy ending would be her waking up!" Elija insisted.

"I wonder if she would agree," Dr. Wei replied wistfully. "But, I hope you are right."

Elija shook his head and left the room. Dr. Wei settled down next to Dr. Tang and pulled the book open to where he had finished the day before. But before he started reading, he looked at Dr. Tang with a frown.

"Which world will you choose to remain in, Baiyu?" He asked the silent woman whose breathing perfectly matched the machines keeping her alive. "Do you even know you have a choice?"

WC1223

RT39548