Stay with me?

Chapter 26:

I went inside the gallery - kung saan pwedeng manuod at matuto ang mga doctor sa pag opera sa pasyente - to watch the surgery of Aurelia. Her body's lifeless and open on the table. I can hear nothing but the silence of the whole operating room dahil tahimik ang lahat. "Forceps." utos ni Doc sa mga surgical residents nito. "Vital signs?" tanong niya mula. "Stable parin po, doc." sabi ng anesthesian.

I went back to the operating room to check on Bada and to tell her that the surgery is currently going well. Umupo ako sa tabi nito at tinapik ang balikat nito dahil nakasubsob ang mukha nito sa palad niya. "Hey, she's doing great. Its all going well as of now. Let's just pray na walang maging komplikasyon." I gave her another smile. Tumango lang ito and mouthed a thank you to me. "I'll get going, okay? I'll have someone page me when she's out of surgery."

I left Bada alone with the lady Aurelia came in with. She really looks familiar pero hindi 'ko siya mamukaan.

I went in one of my patient's room, David, to check on him. He's one of my patients who had dengue and suffered miserably pero buti na lang lumaban ito at hindi sumuko. Naka ilang salin na din kami sakanya ng platelet kaya naman malaking tulong din ang mga nagdonate para sakanya. "Mukhang magaling ka na ah! Did superman gave you his powers?" I said. "Yes, Doc! He also told me to say thank you to you." he playfully giggled. I signaled his mother to come outside with me. "Pwede na po siyang madischarge bukas ng umaga, may follow up check up lang po siya with me next week po. Congrats, mom. Your son's a fighter." niyakap ako ng ina at nagpasalamat ng madami dahil sa naitulong 'ko sa anak niya.

This is one of the best parts about being a doctor. Not just the healing part but the mere fact that your patient survived at syempre ang pasasalamat ng lahat sayo.

Bumalik ako sa nurse station kung nasaan si Kian para sabihin sakanya na ibigay na ang discharge papers kay Mrs. Dela Cruz, nanay ni David. Hindi kumikibo si Nurse Kian sakin. Siguro dahil nagguilty padin ito sa nangyari. "Kian." sabi 'ko. "'Wag mo na lang ulitin, ha? and yes. siya 'yun." mukhang kinilig naman agad ang bading kaya tumawa na lang ako. Aalis na sana ako nang bigla niyang sinabi "teka lang doc, kamusta ka naman? masakit ba?" nagtataka akong tumingin sakanya. "Mukhang pamilyado na, doc eh. May anak na, oh?" sabi nito.

It wasn't really painful seeing her with a daughter pero it was painful when she said na Aurelia is all that she has. Was it painful to see her? No. But it still gets to me whenever I see and hear her cry.

"Baliw! Bumalik ka na nga sa trabaho!" natatawa 'kong sabi. Saktong sakto naman ay I was paged to the ICU dahil tapos na daw ang operasyon ni Aurelia. Dali dali akong pumunta rito. Since kakatapos palang ng operasyon niya ay kailangan ng mas madaming precautions. Any person entering the room should be wearing masks at all times.

"Doc, how is she?" bungad 'ko rito. "She's a fighter. Hindi naman ako nagkaroon ng komplikasyon sa pag-opera sakanya kaya I'm hoping that she'll be okay." sabi nito. I immediately went to Bada to tell her the good news pero hindi 'ko na ito nakita bigla.

"Doc." sabi ni Nurse Kian sabay turo kay Bada na nakaupo sa bench sa labas ng ospital. Nagpahangin siguro.

I went outside and sat beside her. She was staring up in the sky, like she's praying. I can see tears falling from her eyes. I miss seeing her face. Her rosy cheeks, her plump lips. I miss her.

I broke the silence by calling her name gently. "Bada?" mukhang nagulat ito sa presensya 'ko. She was anticipating my next words. "She's okay. Nasa ICU na siya, nagpapahinga." I can see her body loosen up. Narinig 'kong huminga ito ng malalim. "You can visit tomorrow. For now, I'll monitor her and send you updates from time to time." Sabi 'ko. Tumango ito. Since its also my break time, binabalak 'ko sana itong ayain dahil alam 'kong hindi pa ito nakakakain. "Uhm, I know its not the right moment pero gusto mo bang kumain? Bukas pa naman cafeteria namin." tinignan lang ako nito at tumango. Pumasok na 'ko sa loob at sinundan niya lang ako hanggang sa makarating kami sa kainan.