Chapter 16 — The Patient I Saved Twice

He was grinning.

“Doctor To.”

“I remember you wanted to die.”

I wear gloves. Glanced at him.

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“Get ready.”

Old Ngo laughed loudly.

"Right."

“It's really you.”

The surgery went extremely smoothly. Forty minutes later. The surgery is over. When sewing the last stitch. I looked at my hands. Still as solid as before. Not slow. Never lose the feeling. Half a year ago. I have never forgotten how to hold a scalpel. Step down on the operating table. Old Ngo patted my shoulder hard.

“It's good to be back.”

This time it was a genuine smile.

“I'm back.”

Life gradually returns to its old trajectory. I started getting surgeries again. From minor surgery. Go to surgery. Then major surgery. Little by little everything returned to the way it was before. One month later. Chairman Co officially retired. Farewell day. The whole department organized a small party. Director Co drank two glasses of wine. The face was a bit red. He pulled me back to a corner. Look at me for a long time.

“I'm better than you.”

I was stunned.

“Director Co?”

He shook his head.

"Something happened to me last year."

“I chose to step back.”

“And you don't.”

I poured him a cup of tea. Softly replied:

“If you hadn't told me those stories that year…”

“Maybe I can't do anything.”

He just laughed. Say no more. Two months later. Tien Quoc Dong's case officially had results. Tien Quoc Dong was expelled from civil service. Transfer the file to the judicial agency. Phuong Thanh was approved for arrest. Ton Hong was forced to resign and continued to be investigated. Chu Chi Minh was identified as an accomplice. Released on bail pending trial. The 200,000 yuan compensation in my case was revoked. Unusual compensation amounts in other cases were also collected one after another. The news spread throughout the hospital. Everyone talked for a few days. Then gradually forget. Hospitals are such places. Every day there are new patients. New case. New story. No one will always remember the downfall of a Deputy Director. But I still remember. Not out of hatred. But because I want to remember. Remember yourself that day. Person sitting alone in the dressing room. Eat cold instant noodles. Remember your shaking hands when signing the compensation agreement. Remember the girl standing in the rain at the bus stop. No one nearby. Only yourself. If you forget all that. Perhaps I will no longer know why I have to persevere to the end. Time passes very quickly. In the blink of an eye, four more months have passed. Winter comes. December. Two o'clock in the morning. I'm on night duty. The emergency phone bell suddenly rang. I picked up the phone. The nurse's voice rang out urgently:

“Doctor To!”

“The Emergency Department just received a critically ill patient.”

“Extensive abdominal hemorrhage.”

“Very bad condition.”

“Need emergency surgery.”

I immediately stood up.

“Come now.”

I put on a blouse. Go straight to the Emergency Department. Just pushed the door in. We saw nurses urgently inserting an intravenous line. The patient lies on a stretcher. His face was as white as paper. Cold sweat covered his forehead. The blood pressure index on the screen continuously drops. Extremely dangerous situation. Next to the hospital stretcher. A woman was crying until she could barely breathe.

“Please save him!”

“Please save him!”

“Please guys…”

I stepped forward. Habitually bow your head to check on the patient. But the moment I saw that face clearly. My steps stopped. Just one second. A very short second. The person lying on the stretcher... is Chu Chi Minh. Right at that moment. The woman next to her burst into tears again.

“I just need Doctor To!”

“Last time she performed surgery on my husband!”

“No one understands his condition better than her!”

“I only trust Dr. To!”

It's Tran Phuong. Perhaps because the emergency lights were too bright. Maybe because I cried for too long. Her eyes were so swollen and red that she still didn't realize I was standing right in front of her. A nurse next to me quietly looked at me. Say nothing. I didn't say anything either. Just turn your head to look at the monitor screen. Blood pressure continues to drop. Alarms rang out intermittently. In that moment. I remember half a year ago. Remember the complaint form. Remember the compensation agreement. Remember those instant noodle packages. Remember those sleepless nights. Then he looked at the man lying dying on the hospital stretcher. The person who ruined my life. People once considered doctors' honesty as a money-making tool. The person who once smiled triumphantly when receiving 200,000 yuan. His life is once again in my hands. And this time. No one said anything anymore. Only the sound of the vital signs monitor continuously echoed in the emergency room.