Chapter 3: The biggest mistake

In the operation theatre, Dr. Sharma and the doctors were operating on the child. All the doctors were trying their best to save the patient’s life. 

Dr. Sharma then said, “The wound is contaminated, so I want it sterilized in 20 minutes. We will start with the bullet entry. Then we will pick out the nerve crush quickly before the brain swelling can begin."

Dr. Sharma then ordered, “Get the debridement done thoroughly!”

After a few minutes, Dr.  Sharma then said, “Bullet extracted.”

All the doctors there were impressed by Dr. Sharma’s skill.

“What an amazing feat. “

“Taking it so carelessly from such a difficult place.”

“It was touching the central artery. I might have ruptured it if it was me.”

Dr. Sharma then said, “It’s too early to feel relieved. There is still reinforcement from the damaged blood vessel walls.”

“Yeah.”

A doctor then said, “Some 8-0 proline chains. What’s the blood pressure?”

After 3 hours, the operation was finally done and successful. Dr. Sharma didn’t even realize it was morning already.  The child was still surrounded by the doctors and the nurses, who themselves couldn’t believe that they were able to save the child.

A nurse then said, “Blood pressure 128/72, pulse 88.”

A doctor then said, “It appears the anesthetic is still in effect.”

Dr. Sharma then went out of the room. He was relieved. With a smile on his face, he sat on the bench near the counter. Hours of operation had made him tired, but he was still thinking about the boy.

 “Hang in there…hang in there and pull through.”

He then saw Dr. Nolan and Dr. Curtis on the counter. Both of them gave a cold look to Dr. Sharma.

 Dr. Nolan then said with a cold tone, “Well it seems your operation was successful.”

Dr. Sharma then curiously asked, "Yes for the time being, and yours?"

Dr. Nolan replied with an impassive tone, “The mayor is dead.”

Dr. Sharma was surprised after hearing that. It always pained him whenever a patient couldn’t survive.

Dr. Sharma then said, “Oh…that is a terrible shame.”

But Dr. Nolan said, “You say that as if you had nothing to do with it.”

Dr. Curtis then said, “You ran from the team right before the operation.”

Dr. Sharma tried to deny their blame by saying, “But that boy was here before the mayor was.”

But Dr. Nolan said, “Who came first is irrelevant in this case. The problem is, we had to rush to fill the hole caused by your absence.”

“But please listen. I…”

But then he heard a voice coming from the right side.

“You threw the teamwork out of the order.”

As he turned right to see who it was. It was Dr. Fletcher.

Dr. Fletcher then continued, “I directed you to take over the mayor’s operation. As per the director’s orders. But you ignored me. This is unheard of.”

“But Sir I…”

Dr. Sharma tried to convince Dr. Fletcher but Dr. Fletcher interrupted him.

“But you pulled this stand play. Just because you think you are good doesn’t mean you can be arrogant about it, Dr. Sharma.”

Dr. Fletcher then continued, “Dr. Curtis and Dr. Nolan did an excellent job in your absence. But your responsibility is a heavy one. The director has already been informed.”

Dr. Sharma was shocked after hearing that.

“N...No.”

Dr. Fletcher then said, “He is exceedingly disappointed. And this is going to severely affect your influence at this hospital.”

 He then paused and said, “You should prepare yourself.”

He then started walking back with Dr. Nolan and Dr. Curtis.

“Ah…please wait!” Dr. Sharma tried to call them back but to no avail.

A nurse then called out to him, “Dr. Sharma.”

She then said, “The boy’s blood pressure is at 114/82 and his pulse is 84 at the moment. His vital signs are all stable.”

Dr. Sharma was feeling good after hearing that but he was still afraid of something. Still, he tried his best to smile and said, “Oh that’s good.”

***

Dr. Sharma was laying down on his bed and watching the TV news in his room. Because of the lack of sleep, Dr. Sharma had dark circles under his eyes. The TV news was playing the following news:

“After collapsing at his retreat, Mayor Hensley passed away at Randall Memorial Hospital. Many residents, after hearing of his sudden death, rushed to city hall with bouquets and other things and recalled memories of the mayor in past times. Earlier today, there was a press conference at Randall Memorial, where the Mayor was being accommodated."

It was Dr. Olson on the TV, answering the press conference.

“Mayor Hensley’s cause of death was an acute stroke caused by an occlusion of the internal carotid artery. We applied every possible treatment but the damage was irreversible. We gave our greatest effort but advanced brain swelling occurred and the consequences were extremely unfortunate.”

“The city authorities will reveal concrete information about the system of succession very soon. The funeral service this weekend.”

Dr. Sharma then thought, “Must get some sleep…”

"Next in the news, regarding the murder of the East German Foreign trade advisor Mr. Fischer and his wife. At the edge of town, police are reporting that there were signs of searching in the house and that a robbery or a politically motivated attack are both possible. The investigation is still in progress.”

“The couple’s daughter is unharmed, but her twin brother was shot in the head. The bullet was successfully extracted. But he has not regained consciousness yet. “

Dr. Sharma then said, “So that’s it…right when he comes into the United States. Something like this happens to him. What will he do now? “

He then thought to himself, "I'm in the same boat as him."

***

A nurse said, “Mr. Levy in ICU, seems to be having trouble sleeping. Could we administer sleeping pills, Dr. Sharma?

But it seemed Dr. Sharma wasn’t listening to her.

She asked, “Dr. Sharma are you listening?”

This time Dr. Sharma finally listened to her and said, “Yes. Give him a salver of Halcion then.”

The nurse then started walking off with another nurse and said, “He’s been staring off into space like that all day.”

Dr. Sharma was still lost in his thoughts but then he heard someone calling him.

"Hello, Dr. Sharma. I guess you've got into some trouble lately. Have you received your judgment from the director yet?"

“Dr. Durham.”

“And I told you what you needed to do. Hospitals are in the realm of politics, you have to get ahead.”

Dr. Durham then put his hands on the table and said, “If you knew how to get ahead well, it would have been smooth sailing for you. You wasted a great opportunity."

He then laughed and said, "Well, I guess this means you're my partner too. It's quite easy really. Promotions aren't all there is to life. Enjoy yourself, Dr. Sharma. You already earn a lot and just the title of doctor makes you popular with the ladies."

But Dr. Sharma still didn't look toward him.

"Come on, don't look so depressed. There will be a chance for you to restore some of your name at the director's social party tonight. Nothing like a party to raise your spirits.”

***

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The detective was walking down the hallway of the hospital. He then asked a nurse, “Can we still not debrief the twin girl yet?”

The nurse then replied, “This isn’t time for that detective.” 

“Huh?”

The nurse then worriedly said, “She’s supposed to be resting, but she snuck out of her room and is wandering around the hospital."

***

The boy’s twin sister could be seen walking down the hallway of the hospital.

“Kill…”

“Kill…”

“Kill…”

***

It was the director's social party. All the doctors and staff who worked in the Randall Memorial hospital were present there including Dr. Sharma.  Dr. Olson was delivering a speech.

“And the reason we at the Randall Memorial Hospital have been established as the leaders of our nation’s medical society is because of all the talented people like yourselves, that we are so grateful to have been blessed with. I’m sorry to say that Mayor Hensley passed away at our hospital two days ago.”

He then paused and said, “But we did everything in our power, as we always do. The value of our hospital to society will not change so whatsoever.”

He then turned towards Dr. Nolan and Dr. Curtis and said, “Please give a round of applause to Drs. Nolan and Curtis who fought to save the Mayor’s life to the very end.” 

Everyone started clapping including Dr. Sharma.

Dr. Sharma then heard Dr. Olson talking with Dr. Nolan.

“I took a look at your thesis. You’re doing very well. Keep up the work with your research.”

As the director and Dr. Nolan stopped talking, Dr. Sharma went to the doctor and said, “Director. I must apologize for what happened.”

Dr. Olson then put a hand over his shoulders and said, “There there, what’s past is past. You acted as you saw fit, isn’t that good enough?”

Dr. Sharma was surprised after hearing it, but he was incredibly glad that the director understood his point of view.

The announcer then announced, “Next we would like the chief cranial nerve surgeon to come up and say a word.”

Dr. Sharma then said, "Excuse me, sir, I must go up and…"

But Dr. Olson interrupted him and said, “That’s not you.”

Dr. Sharma was shocked after hearing that.

“Pardon?”

The announcer then said, “Please welcome our newly inaugurated chief, Dr. Nolan.”

Dr. Sharma couldn’t believe what he heard.

“Sir! What?!”

Dr. Olson then said, "If you wish to stay, then stay. But you should give up hoping to raise your position as a doctor. It is impossible for a person with such a personality problem as yourself."

“Sir, but please listen!” Dr. Sharma tried to explain but he was interrupted by Dr. Olson.

Dr. Olson then said, “I value your skill, but that is all. Forget about introducing your thesis at the academic meeting, too. Even if you wish to transfer to another hospital. I will not write a letter of introduction. In other words, your aspirations will do no good here. Consider the doctor’s path you have envisioned to be closed.”

Dr. Olson then continued, "You were nothing, just a talented and hardworking Indian student. But you seem to forget that in this world, you need connections with powerful people to rise up. The mayor's life was much more important than that child's life but you operated on the child even when I ordered you."

He then paused for a few moments and said, “This will be the biggest mistake in your life and you will regret it all your life Vikash.”

Dr. Olson then started walking while Dr. Sharma stood there with a shocked face.

***

Dr. Sharma was standing outside the entrance of the party. He didn’t feel like going in. He didn’t do anything wrong. Why wouldn’t the director and the other doctors understand him?

He then suddenly saw a taxi arrive in front. A lady got out of the cab.

“Hurry, the party’s already started.”

It was Alicia.

“Alicia!”

Dr. Sharma said, “Alicia you must say something to your father. I wasn’t mistaken at all. I simply performed the operations on the patients in the order they were brought in.”

But instead of appearing shocked, she smirked and said, "You are a fool."

She then pulled the engagement ring out of her fingers and dropped it in front of him.

Dr. Sharma was shocked.

“My engagement ring.”

She then started walking away while Doctor Sharma tried to call her.

“Alicia!”

But then he saw Alicia conversing with Dr. Holden.

“Oh Dr. Holden, that suit is amazing.”

“You are even more beautiful than ever tonight, Alicia.”

And then they both went inside the party together while Dr. Sharma stood there heartbroken.

***

Dr. Sharma had already left the party and now he was in the room of the child he operated on. The boy was sleeping on his bed while Dr. Sharma was sitting on the chair.

“Isn’t that an awfully funny story?”

“I came to the United States from India, by myself. I always had this dream of having better living conditions. I wanted to live and experience the American dream. Since my older brother was going to take up father’s shop and will take care of my parents, I thought I could sneak my way into a hospital somewhere. I happened to find Director Olson’s thesis, came to the US and he raised me this far and I’m thankful for it.”

He then smiled and said, "But now I realize that the thesis that made such a deep impression on me, must have been written for the director by someone else. Just like me. I knew I was being used, but I thought, from the status I gained by doing that much, I would be able to research as I wanted."

“We are concerned with the academic first, saving lives second…am I wrong Vikash?”

“Not all people’s lives are equal.”

He then angrily said, “You are wrong! A doctor’s first priority is always to save the lives of others. There is no difference when it comes to lives. All people’s lives are equal! I am not wrong!”

He then continued, “What about you?! You’re nothing but a filthy money monger, not a doctor! He ought to be dead!”

He then calmed himself up and said, “Thank you. You opened my eyes as a doctor. Hang in there. Stay alive. I lost everything to do your operation. I did that all to bring you back to life and I don’t regret it.”

Dr. Sharma then stood up and started walking outside the room. But as soon as the doctor left the room, the child opened his eyes.

   

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