Thorns and Roses

2

"I am not going to hang up Leeka, who's more important? Your patient or your husband?" Ahmed Nurrain's voice came through the server. It's been an hour since he called his wife, Dr Maleeka, who is also his best friend for  as long as he could remember; and that's more than 15 years.

"We are not talking about importance, I have to respect their privacy Noor." Maleeka replied rolling her eyes. "I am hanging up now."  She said one last time before she walked into her office to meet a patient sitting down.

With a beautiful smile plastered on her face; she sat opposite the patient.

"Good morning Mr..." she glanced through the file in front of her to pick up the name. "Okoyi." She completed looking up.

"Good morning doctor." He replied neutrally.

"How do you feel?"

Her eyes twitched when she read the reports. His temperature is higher than expected and certainly, if care is not taken he will collapse.

"Mr Okoyi, I need you to lay down on this bed please." She said trying so hard to mask up the worried expression on her face.

Confused, he did as requested.

"Do you feel any pain in your abdomen?" She asked slightly pressing his lower abdomen.

"Yes, it's been going on for days." He responded.

"Anything again?"

"Yes, I have been vomiting; almost every day for the past two weeks now, I also feel cold, like right now even...my bones feel like they are freezing." He responded his eyes slightly closing.

"Mr Okoyi." she taps on him light but no response...she tapped harder this time and still no response.

Realization hit her that he has lost consciousness due to the temperature.

"I need help right here please." She shouted to the group of nurses close to her office, adjusting the bed down.

"This is his previous reports, he is suffering from kidney infection...sepsis. He was offered surgery but he rejected back then." A nurse said.

She placed her hands on his carotid artery to feel a beat but their was nothing. A finger below his nose, no breathing.

"Push in Acetaminophen and Prepare the OR, he needs surgery as soon as possible. Also, page Dr Khalil and Dr Zahida." She roared commands and three nurses rushed out. Soon, they are trolling his bed to the OR.

On their way, they met Dr Khalil, who is her mate and Dr Zahida; the head of trauma department.

Everything was prepped, Mr Okoyi lay down their while the stood on him, waiting for his family's consent.

"How long are we going to wait?" Maleeka asked fidgeting her fingers, it's been thirty minutes get no one from his family arrived.

"He needs this surgery! NOW!" She barked letting her anger flow.

"You know well this is against the protocols of this hospital, you might as well loose your license for this."

Her eyes twitched both in anger and pity.

"His heart rate is falling..." a nurse said... "we need to do something now, we might loose him."

Maleeka's hands were shaking at this rate, her heart beats faster than usual and at this point, she is willing to let her license go. It's been a year since she started going into the OR, and it has been nothing but a success.

The mare thought of loosing MR Okoyi broke her into pieces.

A loud sound of the machine beep caught their attention. They are loosing him...