Feelings

Chapter 5

Lim improved a little over the next week, at least enough to be weaned off of the antiviral medication and switched to a steroid to reduce the swelling in her lungs. After a week, she was breathing well enough on her own that both John and Melendez determined they could take her off of the ventilator and switch to supplemental oxygen. If it was one thing Lim was looking forward to, it was getting that tube out of her throat so she could give Melendez a hard time. Oh sure, he had been excellent in treating her, but still, it would be fun to agitate him a little. She was still in isolation, but hopefully, she would test negative and be able to be moved to a standard private room before Christmas, but she knew there was a long recovery ahead. Melendez grabbed his gown, gloves, and full mask before entering the room since she was still potentially contagious. He walked over to Lim and said, "Well, I know you've been dying to critique me all week, so how about I take that tube out of your throat and then I'll let you lay it on me, okay?" Lim nodded a little too eagerly, "Alright then," Melendez suctioned everything, removed the mouth holder, and suctioned the tube before he went to remove it, "Alright, you know the drill. Deep breath," he instructed in a teasing tone.

Lim did so and Melendez pulled the tube out. Lim coughed a few times before she glanced over at him and said, "Do you know how much I've been wanting to give you lip all week?"

"I'm sure you have, Lim," Melendez chuckled lightly and sat down next to her. He put the oxygen piece in her nose and turned on the supplemental O2 before he asked, "So how are you feeling?"

"My throat is sore from the tube," she said.

"I can go get some ice chips," said Melendez.

Lim shook her head, "No that's okay. The meds have been making me nauseous anyways."

"Well, you still might be contagious so you're stuck here for a little while longer, but your fever is going down and your vitals are stable. Anything else you want to throw at me?" he joked.

Lim took a deep breath and coughed some more before she answered, "Well, I'm surviving a deadly airborne virus that killed three of my patients within hours, thanks to you, so right now, I feel like Wonder Woman," she responded, "God, I can't believe I just said that," she joked.

"Well you were Wonder Woman," Melendez complimented her, "You put everyone before yourself. You led Dr. Reznick through an emergency surgery as you were struggling to breathe, you were willing to pass out cold instead of resting," he said.

"Are you mad?" she asked hesitantly.

Melendez shook his head, "No, because that's the Dr. Lim I've known for ten years now," Melendez held back a few tears, "But you could've died, Audrey," he admitted, his voice softer and more compassionate.

"I know. But I didn't," she mocked him a little, "Because I had a good doctor looking out for me."

"You know you have a long road ahead of you. Once you test negative, you'll be moved to a private room out of isolation, but I was speaking with John and depending on how much the virus attacked your lungs, you could be facing a rough recovery. It can include residual damage so that means medications, exams to test lung capacity, albuterol treatments, pulmonary rehab, and possibly even oxygen use and inhaler use at home. It depends on the severity of the damage. You'll be out of work for a while," Melendez admitted, knowing she wasn't going to be happy about that fact.

Lim sighed and coughed some more, "But, I'm sure you'll ride my ass to do as I'm told, even though you know it won't work because I never do as I'm told."