ᴛʜᴇ ɢɪʀʟ ɴᴇxᴛ ᴅᴏᴏʀ ✓

ʜᴏᴘᴇ

Raghav stood before the ICU with his glued on his mother who was lying there unconsciously. He couldn't stand there properly. His hands and legs were shivering in fear. They had reached the hospital half an hour ago, still the doctor had not told him anything.

She was taken inside the ICU, the moment they entered the hospital. Two nurses were by her side, monitoring the machines which were beeping around.

The only thing that consoled Raghav was that his mom was breathing normally with the support of the oxygen mask that was affixed. Her eyes were still closed.

Vicky came running towards Raghav, and shook him. That was the moment! Raghav broke down crying, and hugged Vicky. It was really hard for Vicky to control Raghav.

"What happened to aunty da?" Vicky asked Raghav.

"I... I don't know Vicky... She was calling me from her room.. when I went there... she was struggling to breathe..." Raghav told him in-between sobs.

"How?? She was fine right?"

"I thought she was fine... But... "

"What Raghav?"

"She was not fine da... Since morning, she was very dull. When I asked her why, she said she is okay... but if I recollect now, she was unwell da... For the first time she asked me 'how will I manage if she is not with me'. She never spoke like that da. First time.. I was a fool to not understand what she meant" Raghav cried aloud.

As it was very late at night, no one was around the ICU except these two. Vicky made Raghav to sit on the chair and tried to calm him down.

"Did the doctor say something?" Vicky asked him after some time.

"Doctor has not yet arrived da, only the emergency medications have been done by the nurses. The nurse said that, Amma might have had a mild heart attack.. only if the doctor comes we can know anything." Raghav told in a low voice. " I should have taken care of her"

"Stop blaming yourself Raghav. Let the doctor come and check maa.." Vicky told firmly.

After few minutes, a doctor came there to check on Sharadha. He rushed inside the ICU and started the treatment.

Raghav was impatiently waiting outside along with Vicky. He prayed to all god's and that everything should be normal and nothing serious should happen to his mother. Once the treatment got over, the doctor came out of the ICU and walked towards Raghav.

"Doctor, I'm Raghav, she is my mother.. what happened to her doctor?" He asked him hurriedly.

"Mr Raghav, relax. Take a deep breath first. She is fine now." Doctor replied to him calmly.

"What happened doctor?"

"She had a mild heart attack. But nothing to worry now.. she is fine "

"But how doctor? She was healthy..." Raghav asked the doctor as he was unsure why she had an attack suddenly.

"Even we don't know the reason for it. We need to take some tests to find out the reason. Once the reports come, we can take further steps."

"There won't be anything serious right?"

"We need to wait for the results Mr. Raghav. We hope that there's nothing serious. But let's wait ." The doctor replied and walked off.

'HOPE' the only word which consoled Raghav. He knew that his mom had little health issues earlier. But she refused to consult a doctor as she was taking some home remedies to cure it. Now he felt bad for not forcing her for a doctor's visit.

The whole night Vicky and Raghav stayed awake and walked in the lobby. The nurse had informed them that his mom's condition was better than before and she is just completely drained, that's why it may take some more time for her to gain consciousness.

Next morning, the same doctor came to check on her. They had asked to take few tests to know what was the actual problem.

The moment Raghav was informed that his mother had gained conscious and he can see her, he rushed inside the room.

It killed him to see his mother in such a condition. She was trying to speak but her voice could not be heard about the oxygen mask. Raghav gently held her hand without disturbing the IV tubes connected to her veins and looked at her with teary eyes.

She nodded her head in no, and indicated him not to cry. Even Raghav could not utter a word, as he was sure that if he speaks, automatically he will start crying.

The nurse came there and informed that it was time for taking the tests and she asked Raghav to wait outside.

"She will be fine Machan" Vicky assured him.

"Did you just see how lifelessly she was lying there? Have you ever seen her like this before? She made herself busy all the time and never stayed idle. But now?" Raghav cried.

"Please Raghav... Don't cry now.. she is safe now. May be a week or 10 days she needs rest. Then she will be back to normal da." Vicky told him.

Raghav nodded his head in agreement.

After two hours all the tests got over and she was taken back to her room. Raghav and Vicky went inside the room to see her. But due to medications, she slept.

The doctor had called them to discuss about the reports.

"Is everything alright doctor?" Raghav asked the doctor.

"Mr Raghav, she is out of danger now but the results are not as we expected."

"What happened?" Raghav asked him shocked.

"There is a small block in her heart. We need to operate and remove it immediately. It's because of the block, she had a heart attack."

Raghav was shocked to the core on hearing it.

"It is better that we have the operation soon , so that there won't be any major complications in future." The doctor added.

"Is there any other option other than operation doctor?I mean can't we cure it with just medicine's? " Vicky asked him. He was sure that Raghav was not okay with the operation.

"We can cure this with medicines. But it is better to do an operation. If you want you can get a second opinion from another doctor and proceed with it." He suggested.

Raghav and Vicky came out from the doctor's cabin.

"What have you decided da?" Vicky asked Raghav.

"I don't know Machan..." Raghav replied helplessly.

"Let's go for a second opinion da... If they also suggest an operation then we can proceed."

"But I don't know any cardiologist da.. where shall we go and to whom shall we ask?"

"Let me think for a while da.." Vicky replied.

To be continued.