‘Shut up! Shut up! I know!’ Panic washed over Abby as she futilely attempted to staunch the unrelenting flow of blood with surgical sponges, then suction devices.
The bright red colour of the blood meant she must have nicked an artery somewhere, but with so much blood flooding his chest cavity, it was hard to identify the exact location of the leak.
‘Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!’ Abby’s hands shook violently.
Her confidence had misled her into believing this surgery would be a breeze.
Disregarding Callie’s warning, she had taken matters into her own hands, operating without proper authorisation.
And now, everything had spiralled out of control.
Not only had she violated the hospital’s rules, but she had also caused a medical mishap.
To make matters worse, the patient lying before her was a soldier.
What if he died on the operating table?
The weight of the consequences pressed upon her, leaving her paralysed with fear.
Her trembling hands failed to halt the bleeding, rendering her helpless.
Wendy, though just as flustered, knew she couldn’t afford to panic.
She tried to keep her voice steady as she admonished Abby, ‘Dr Colman, this is not the time to freeze. The patient’s going to bleed to death if you don’t do something!’
‘I... I...’ Abby’s voice wavered, her distress seeping through her words. ‘I... I don’t know. What should I do?’
Wendy swore under her breath and fought the urge to shake some sense into the young woman.
Abby was the doctor here, even if she was just a first-year resident.
If she didn’t know what to do, what hope was there for a nurse like Wendy?
But Abby was clearly incapable of acting right now.
Wendy shoved her aside, used suction devices to remove excess blood and fluid from the patient’s chest cavity and tried to locate the bleeding source.
But there was simply too much blood.
And even if she did find it, she’d need a surgeon to help stop the bleeding.
Abby stood by the side, watching helplessly.
Wendy shot her a glare of frustration before hurrying off to Operating Theatre Two.
She shouted into the intercom. ‘Dr Hawthorne! We need you in Theatre Three!’
Callie was drenched in sweat, having just closed the patient’s pericardium with absorbable sutures and the chest incision with surgical staples.
She was about to place drains to evacuate any fluid or blood that may accumulate postoperatively.
Continuing her work and without looking up, she asked, ‘What?’
‘Dr Colman performed the emergency thoracotomy alone. Midway through the operation, the patient started haemorrhaging profusely. He’s in tachycardia, and none of his vital signs looks promising.’
Callie’s movements momentarily faltered, but within seconds, she recovered and picked up her pace. ‘Wendy, prepare for a blood transfusion immediately. I’ll be there in three minutes.’
‘Dr Colman, that’s the other problem! The patient is blood type A, MNSSU. We don’t have that in our blood bank. And compatibility test with blood types A or O takes time.’ Wendy’s voice was hoarse from shouting. ‘As far as I know, you’re the only one in this hospital with that exact blood type.’
Callie bit her lip, her grip tightening around the chest drain tube. ‘Is Dr Moncrieff available?’
‘No. I looked into Theatre One. He’s just getting started on patient Number Two.’
Which meant Callie had to do both: treat the patient and donate blood.
There was a flicker of unwavering resolve in her almond-shaped eyes as she repeated herself, ‘Wendy, I’ll be there in three minutes. Set up the transfusion pump. As soon as I find and close the bleeding site, we’ll do the transfusion.’
‘But Dr Hawthorne—’
‘Go. Now!’
With that, she shut out Wendy’s protests, diving back into her patient’s care.
Abby’s disregard for her instructions and unauthorised surgery had caught Callie off guard.
But this was no time for pointing fingers.
That would come later.
Callie picked up her pace once more, closed the incision site, then left instructions for the surgical nurse to apply sterile dressing before darting out of Operating Theatre Two into the adjacent Theatre Three.
She scrubbed up and stormed into the theatre.
‘Is the blood pump ready?’ she asked Wendy, not sparing a glance at Abby, who stood frozen to the spot.
‘All set.’
With Wendy’s help, Callie examined the patient’s chest cavity, gently manipulating the surrounding tissues and structures to identify the injured artery.
It took her about twenty seconds to find the bleeding spot.
With a pair of vascular clamps, she clamped down on the artery until there was no more blood seeping out.
Then she sutured the artery with a curved surgical needle.
Once haemostasis was achieved, she relaxed slightly.
She turned to Wendy. ‘Let’s do the transfusion.’
She sat on a stool and rolled up her sleeve. ‘Let’s do 300cc first.’
‘Got it.’
Wendy drew Callie’s blood with practised ease, collected it into a sterile canister, then processed it in the blood salvage machine to separate the red blood cells from other fluids.
Once separated, the red blood cells were washed with a sterile solution to remove any contaminants, then filtered to get rid of any remaining impurities or clots.
Finally, it was transferred to a blood bag and immediately administered to the patient with a transfusion line and a blood filter.
Throughout the process, Callie kept her eyes on the monitor, observing the patient’s vital stats.
They had stabilised somewhat, but his systolic blood pressure and oxygen saturation level were still dangerously low.
‘Draw another 500cc,’ she said to Wendy, who did as told.
‘Another 300cc,’ Callie said after the second transfusion was done. ‘His oxygen saturation level is still below ninety per cent.’
The nurse sighed when she noted Callie’s increasingly pallid face, but she carried out the order without protest.
It wasn’t until the patient’s oxygen saturation level was brought back up to a healthy 98% that Callie finally stopped.
She rose to her feet, swayed and saw black dots swimming in front of her eyes.
Wendy shot out an arm to steady her. ‘Are you all right?’Callie blinked away the black dots. ‘I’m fine. Just needed a sec.’Her entire left arm felt numb, like she had a dead tree branch attached to her body.Enduring the weird sensation, Callie removed her mask with her right hand and walked towards the door. ‘Wendy, let me know if anything changes.’‘Will do, Dr Hawthorne.’Callie beckoned at Abby, who had not made a sound since she entered the operating theatre. ‘You. Come with me.’Abby hesitated, her expression a mix of fear and defiance.But she had no choice but to follow Callie out of the room.Wendy shook her head as she watched the two women leave.Though both were surgical residents, in her mind, only one of them could be called a doctor.As they stepped into an empty hallway, Abby braced herself for a dressing-down. ‘I was only trying to—’Smack!Before she could finish her sentence, Callie’s right hand connected solidly with Abby’s cheek, leaving a fiery mark behind.The
Some distance away, the emergency room buzzed with activity as doctors and nurses hurried past, their scrubs swishing in a flurry of purpose.But the hallway outside the operating theatres was quiet.Callie leaned against the wall, her white coat wrinkled and stained with blood.She tried to compose herself, wiping away the remnants of tears that stained her cheeks.Elias didn’t release his grip on Callie, his eyes penetrating into her soul.‘What happened?’ he asked, his concern seeping through the sternness in his tone. ‘Why were you crying? And what’s with the blood on your arm?’Callie’s guard shot up like a fortress wall.She wiped away her tears, determined not to let a stranger witness her vulnerability.‘It’s none of your business,’ she snapped, her voice tinged with defiance.Elias moved closer, his gaze unwavering.Callie’s breath hitched as she felt his proximity, his presence engulfing her.‘Maybe it is my business,’ he countered, his voice low and commanding. ‘I don’t lik
Callie and Wendy exchanged amazed glances, struggling to process the revelation.Callie couldn’t help but feel a sense of astonishment at Elias being a soldier, as he wasn’t dressed in uniform.But then, it would explain all the bullet wounds and scars on his body.Lieutenant Colonel—a high-ranking position, she assumed, given the young soldier’s respect.There was something undeniably alluring about a man in uniform.Wendy, always the romantic, seized Callie’s hands, her eyes shining with excitement. ‘Oh my gosh, Callie! Are all soldiers that ridiculously attractive?’Callie was about to respond, but a sudden wave of dizziness crashed over her like a rogue wave.Her head spun, the world blurring into a whirlpool of confusion.And then, without warning, her legs buckled beneath her, and she slumped to the ground in a heap.‘Woah, hold up!’ Wendy lunged forward, but before she could catch Callie, a pair of strong arms swooped in and cradled her limp form.‘Callie!’ Wendy reached for Ca
Callie could feel the waves of anger radiating from Elias, like a volcanic eruption about to happen.Why was he angry?What did any of this have to do with him?It was her embarrassment, her pain—it had nothing to do with him.‘Lieutenant Colonel Westwood, this is a hospital!’ Callie’s voice quivered.‘That night, you could have left me on the street. Why did you save me? Why did you take me home?’ Elias’s gaze locked with Callie’s reddened eyes, his own eyes deep and intense‘Because, like I told you, I’m a doctor,’ she replied with utmost seriousness. ‘A doctor’s duty is to save lives and heal wounds. What happened that night, I would have done it for anyone.’Elias’s fingers tightened gradually, conflicting emotions swirling within him.As he looked into Callie’s red-rimmed eyes, he knew she spoke the truth.And yet, the knowledge that she would have done it for anyone agitated him.In the next instant, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.Unlike their previous staged
‘I don’t owe Callie anything,’ Abby retorted defiantly. ‘She only intervened to show off and prove herself better than me. I won’t thank her for that.’Stuart’s frustration deepened, his face reddening with anger. ‘Abby, this is not about your personal vendettas or petty rivalries. This is about patient care and professionalism. You must learn to put your ego aside and acknowledge the assistance you receive, regardless of who it comes from.’Simon, a suave and ambitious surgeon who always had a smooth answer ready, stepped forward to defend his fiancée. ‘Mr Colman, it’s Abby’s first year as a surgical resident. Mistakes happen, especially in high-pressure situations. She was only trying to help. I can assure you that she has learned her lesson.’Stuart glanced at Simon, his expression softened slightly. ‘Simon, as Abby’s future husband, I expect you to take good care of her at work. Ensure that she learns from this incident and improves her practice. We can’t afford any more slip-ups.
Callie’s eyebrows furrowed in surprise, but she maintained her composure.She appreciated Joshua’s straightforwardness, even if his approach seemed a bit cold.She nodded, indicating her willingness to participate.‘How much do you earn per month?’ Joshua asked.‘Well, as a fifth-year surgical resident, I make around five to six thousand dollars a month.’‘Not bad. Now, what about your parents? What do they do for a living?’‘Actually, I don't have parents. I grew up as an orphan.’Joshua scowled. ‘I see. Moving on, do you own any property or are you living in a rental?’‘I currently live in a rented one-bedroom apartment.’‘Fair enough. Last question, are you currently in debt?’‘Well, I do have a student loan of about two hundred fifty thousand dollars.’ Callie shrugged. ‘Medical school loans, you know how it is.’Joshua stood up abruptly and started packing up his belongings. ‘Well, this has been a complete waste of my time. You should know better than to lead people on, Miss Hawth
Despite her tough exterior, Callie was still hurting from the breakup.She had poured her heart and soul into the relationship, only to be betrayed by Simon for the sake of his career.Simon’s face contorted with pain, his voice filled with anguish. ‘Please, Callie, give me another chance. Let me prove to you that we belong together.’He grasped Callie’s wrist, pleading with her. ‘I know you still have feelings for me. I remember the promises I made, that I’d take care of you for the rest of my life. I haven’t forgotten.’Callie’s eyes narrowed, disbelief written across her face.She said mockingly, ‘Take care of me? Really, Simon? With your empty promises and broken trust?’Simon’s voice quivered as he tried to explain himself. ‘You don’t understand, Callie. I’m just a surgeon from an ordinary family. I can’t give you the luxurious lifestyle you deserve. That’s why I had to marry Abby. But it’s only temporary, I promise. Once I have everything I want—the hospital directorship and wea
Abby, clad in her pristine white coat, finished her morning rounds and emerged into the bustling hospital hallway just in time to overhear Callie and Wendy’s conversation.A smug smirk danced across her lips as she savoured the opportunity to stir up trouble.She approached Callie, her voice dripping with false sympathy. ‘Oh, Dr Hawthorne, I heard about your article. Such a shame it got rejected. I thought it was top-notch.’Her tone was smooth and sugary, but her words rang hollow.Callie remained silent, refusing to take the bait set by her ex-boyfriend’s conniving fiancée.Abby continued, unfazed, ‘Maybe it just wasn’t good enough, Callie. It’s too bad. Such a rejection might even hinder your chances of getting your full-time position at the hospital approved.’Callie’s composure remained unshaken. ‘Thank you for your concern, Abby. But as a fifth-year surgical resident, I have offers from other hospitals. Staying at Rosedale isn’t my only option. Besides, you should be more concer