Alejandro's Hombre

Ch. 16: Estella, the girlfriend

"Sir Gabriel, can you follow where I will position the light?" Doctor Alein said softly to Gabriel, while holding his penlight to the patient's eyes. the doctor moved the penlight from left to right, up and down. Xander sighed in relief, seeing that Gabriel's eyeballs follows the light from Doctor Alein's apparatus. it means one thing: he's  responsive.

Doctor Alein nodded and tap into his tablet, then checked Gabriel's dextrose.

"Nurse Pam, give him another D5NS for the next 3 intravenous solutions. We still need him to be in that treatment for his sustained nourishment." the Doctor said. "I still have to monitor his condition thoroughly every now and then."

D5NS is a nutrient solution prescribed by physicians to prevent dehydration and ketosis. it contains the right amount of cations and anions--- electrolytes that will help replace the loss fluids in the body of a patient who suffers from mild to severe loss of bodily fluids, like water and blood. and Xander understands na sa dextrose pa talaga aasa ngayon si Gabriel dahil mahina pa talaga ang katawan nito sa ngayon.

Xander gently patted Gift's back, as he could feel the lady shaking upon seeing her brother's state of health. masaya man ito dahil gising na ang kapatid, ngunit ramdam nya pa rin ang pangamba nito dahil tila
mananatili pa si Gabriel ng matagal sa ospital, given his weak condition.

"Ma'am, can I talk to you about the patient's case?" Doctor Alein ask Gift. "by the way, how are you related to the patient nga po pala, Ma'am?"

"I'm his sister po, Doc." sagot nito. "uhm, can we wait po, until my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin gets here? papunta na po kasi sila, gusto rin nilang malaman ang diagnosis ni Kuya Gabe. sila na po kasi ang tumatayong pangalawang magulang namin, s-since... since patay na po ang magulang namin many years ago..."

" it's okay, we can wait for them. You can stay here in your brother's room for a while---"

the doctor halt in his talk when they heard a knock on the door.

" I'll get it. " Xander said, reaching the knob and turn it. as the door opened, came in Gift's family. agad na yumakap ang assistant nya sa tyahin. pinakilala sila ni Gift sa doktor na umaasikaso sa kapatid nito.

"I'm glad that you're here, Ma'am and Sir. I'm Dr. Alein Theodore Manansala, ako ang physician in charge kay Sir Gabriel." ani Alein, shaking their hands. "I'd like to discuss to you about his condition in my office. please follow me po."

nagpaalam ang mga ito sa kanya, pati na kay Gabriel na tumango lang. He's not capable of speaking just yet, dala ng mga serious injuries nito. hindi na rin sya sumama sa pamilya nito sa opisina ni Dr. Alein, dahil wala syang karapatan na makinig sa diagnosis nito. only the patient's family has the rights to do so. at isa pa, delicadeza na rin at respeto kay Dr. Manansala, bilang ito naman talaga ang doktor ni Gabriel.

Xander heard Gabriel groan kaya agad nya itong nilapitan. he's wincing in pain, his hand gripping his chest. Xander bit his lip as he recalled how badly hit this man's chest was when he found him in that place many weeks ago. hindi na nya kailangang marinig ang diagnosis ng doktor nito para malaman na nakakaranas ito ng blunt chest trauma. at sa mga pasyenteng may ganitong kundisyon, kahit ang simpleng paghinga ay kalbaryo na sa kanila.

(blunt chest trauma= "injuries caused by traumatic blunt force attack on the chest by any accidents, e.g : fall, road accidents, blast injury or any solid/hard objects like a baseball bat. it causes difficulty of breathing, bruising, pain and soreness to the affected area." source:https://www.drugs.com/cg/blunt-chest-trauma.html)

"h-hey, don't move too much. baka mabinat ka nyan. Just lie down still, okay?" he said delicately, placing both  his hands on Gabriel's shoulders to make him lie on his back again. He's careful not to touch his injuries dahil tyak na hihiyaw ito sa sakit. ilang linggo pa lang itong naka-confine kaya  hindi magiging madali ang proseso ng paggaling nito.