On The Right Time

CHAPTER 23

J A S M I N E    B R E I    C L A Y T O N

"Congratulations team! You all did a great job!"

I saw how the team got stunned when they saw Scarlett smiled. When they finally recovered from the shock, they all applauded. Some of them are teary eyed and the others are already crying. You can already see the tiredness on everyone's faces but there's still a big smile and joy on it.

We are currently inside the Operating Room. We just finished performing Craniectomy Surgery on a three months old baby and luckily the baby survived.

A Craniectomy is the removal of a small portion of the skull bone. A neurologist and surgeons may perform a craniectomy to obtain access to the brain in order to relieve pressure on the underlying brain. This procedure is typically done in cases where a patient has experienced a very severe brain injury that involves significant amounts of bleeding around the brain or excessive swelling of the brain.

The surgery we performed was very difficult and risky, most of the people undergoing this operation could not cope nor survive. Craniectomy Surgery is one of the surgeries in the world with the lowest number of successful surgeries.

This surgery is really special and challenging for all of us. Especially… the three-month-old baby is the grandson of the Vice President of the country. While the surgery is being performed all of them are watching us. The Vice President, Scarlett's Dad, board of directors and other medical personnel.

They really put a lot of pressure on us. Halos lahat ata kami ay first time maka-encounter ng ganito ka-risky na operation. Kanina sa loob ng Operating Room madaming doctors ang nandun. We really need a lot of doctors there in different specialisations just in case na magkaroon ng other conflictions sa iba pang organs ng bata ay mabilis na maagapan.

Inabot din kami ng seven and half hours sa pagsasagawa ng operation at salamat sa diyos dahil nagawa naman namin ito ng maayos. Nasa ICU pa ang baby, there's still a 50/50 chance of surviving and losing. The baby is still under observation. Hanggang hindi pa siya nagigising ay hindi pa kami pwedeng mapanatag.

Matapos maghugas ulit ng kamay at magpalit ng damit ay nagkanya-kanya na muna kami. May ibang nagpunta sa canteen para kumain dahil gutom na gutom na, may iba namang napiling pumunta sa sleeping quarters para magpahinga muna saglit at matulog. Habang ako naman ay dumiretso sa office ko.

I'm so tired! Straight 48 hours na akong naka duty. Wala pa 'kong pahinga at tulog. Sa pagkakatanda ko din ay kahapon pa ng tanghali ang huling kain ko pero halos hindi ko na maramdaman ang gutom ko dahil sa pagod. Parang mas gugustuhin ko na lang na matulog kesa kumain, jusko!

Napabuntong-hininga ako bago sumubsob sa table ko para sana umidlip na muna kahit saglit lang pero hindi pa man tuluyang nakakalapat ang ulo ko sa table nang bigla na lang bumukas ang pinto ko. Halos mahulog na 'ko sa upuan ko dahil sa gulat kaya kunot-noo kong tiningnan ang taong halos wasakin na ang pinto ko sa paraan ng pagbubukas nito. Nakita ko si Nurse Zamy na sapo-sapo ang dibdib niya, naghahabol ng hininga at tagaktakan na ang pawis sa noo.

"Doc! Gising na yung baby!"

Mabilis pa sa alas kwatro akong napatayo sa kinauupuan ko. Hinablot ko ang stethoscope na kalalapag-lapag ko lang sa table ko at sinabi ulit ito sa leeg ko at saka tumatakbong tinungo ang ICU kasama si Nurse Zamy.

"The baby is finally stable. He is safe now and he'll be transferring to a private nursery room. You can finally visit him but please follow the protocols. Wear the medical gowns, gloves, mask and other safety equipment before going near the baby... The baby is still sensitive, at lubos na makakasama kung makakakuha siya ng virus or any bacteria from others. It may lead him to a critical condition again."