Stay with me?

PROLOGUE

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

This story is not affiliated with the universities and places that will be mentioned.

Please be advised that this story contains mature themes and strong language that are not suitable for very young audiences. Read at your own risk.

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"Paging Doc. Valdez to the Emergency Room" "Doc. Valdez to the Emergency Room"

"Sigh. Hindi pa nga ako tapos sa isang gawain, may dadagdag na naman" sabi 'ko sa sarili 'ko habang naglalakad papunta sa ER. 'Yung pagod na nararamdaman ko ngayong araw pang isang taon na. Ano ba naman itong pinasok 'kong propesyon.

I used to love what I do pero bakit parang lately, ang bigat bigat ng lahat?

When the doors to the emergency room opened, I immediately put my smile on to greet the staff and the patients around me. "Saan ang pasyente?" tanong ko kay Kian, ang aking paboritong nurse. "Bed 3 po, Doc. The patient is 5 years old, suffering from shortness of breath."

Oh, its a kid. Ito ang ayaw 'ko sa trabaho. Ang mga bata. Hindi dahil hindi 'ko sila gusto but seeing them in pain affects me as well.

Dali dali akong lumapit sa pasyente. "Hi, baby. How are you?" tanong 'ko sa bata. "Doc, hindi po siya biglang makahinga kanina. We gave her oxygen to help her relieve the pain" pag-orient ni Nurse Kian. "Thats good. Kamusta ka, ija?" the little girl gave me a faint smile and a very weak thumbs up. I monitored her breathing using the stethoscope and ordered tests. "I'd like an ECG, STAT. CBC and Chem panel." I said to the new set of PGIs surrounding me.

I asked Kian for her chart. "Doc, when the patient entered the ER, she was turning purple." I looked at Kian and immediately got irritated. I'm not usually affected by late information but for God's sake this is a kid we're talking about. "I'll talk to you later." I coldly said to Kian.

I opened the chart and saw the little girl's name. Aurelia Charlotte Lee. Huh?

"Kayo po ba ang guardian ng bata?" tanong 'ko sa kasama nito. She looks so familiar to me. Her eyes, her voice. I shrugged the thought off when she spoke "No, I'm a friend of her mother and ako kasi yung kasama niya kaya sinugod 'ko kaagad siya. Papunta na daw 'yung mother niya." tumango na lang ako and asked a few questions.

Me: When did the difficulty of breathing started po?

Lady: Ngayon 'ko lang siya nakita na ganito. We were playing in the playground and bigla niyang sinabi na she couldn't breathe kaya dali-dali 'ko siyang dinala.

Me: Quick thinking, Ma'am. Meron po bang history ang bata ng sakit sa puso?

Lady: Not that I know of, Doc.

Dissatisfied with her answer, I proceeded to explain the possible situation that the child is in. "It is possible that the child is suffering from asthma. I already ordered some tests to determine if tama ba ang aking diagnosis. For now, I'd like to monitor her for a few days before releasing her, is that okay?" bago pa man siya sumagot, may pumasok sa emergency room na hinahanap ang pangalan ng bata.

"Doc, this is Miss Lee, the mother of the patient." I froze when Kian told me her last name but I have to be professional about this. Baka naman kasi hindi siya 'yon. When I looked at the parent not sure if my hunches are correct, I told her the same thing I said before. Habang ineexplain 'ko ang sitwasyon ng bata, hindi 'ko parin maiwasan na isipin kung siya ba 'yung kausap 'ko. Same scent, same height, same voice. Nakatago ang mukha nito sa mask at sa cap so her eyes were the only thing to be seen pero she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at her child. Hindi pa siya nakakapagsalita, pero alam 'kong siya na iyon. Ito na siya, nasa harapan 'ko na siya ulit.

Nagpasalamat na ako sa mga kasama ng bata and bid goodbye to the little girl. I was about to leave the area when I heard her say, "Thank you, Cass."