Hour Before Dawn

Chapter 7

It was a grueling total of twelve-hour wait for the surgery to finish, but all the anguish he dealt with was replaced with relief when he was finally told that it had been successful.

Bin was told that the screws and rods are in place to re-align her spine. They had a bit of difficulty managing her heart rate just as they were getting started on the surgery but fortunately, it stabilized. Though the surgery was successful, she was going to be closely monitored in the ICU for her cardiac issues.

Ye-jin was taken into the recovery room for two hours before being transferred to the surgical intensive care unit where Bin was already waiting for her. She fell asleep shortly after the transfer, not having a clue how crucial the next while was going to be.

When Ye-jin woke up, the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Bin giving her a warm smile.

"Yejie," he said quietly as he leaned forward to brush his finger against her cheeks. "Hi, sleepyhead."

She gave him a weak smile. The comfort in seeing him there was beyond what she could explain. She was about to reach for his hand that was caressing her cheeks when she realized his other hand was already holding on to her, making her smile more.

"Hi," she said softly, barely making a sound.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly.

Ye-jin took a deep breath before looking in his eyes again. "Could be better," she answered honestly.

Bin continued to lightly brush his thumb on her cheeks. "How bad is the pain?"

"Manageable," she said.

He watched as her eyes roamed around the room to get a feel for her surroundings. She closed them briefly while taking a deep breath before opening them again. She was so groggy following the surgery, she could barely remember what happened when she woke up from it.

Ye-jin looked up and saw two screens to the side of her head, one was connected to the leads on her chest to constantly monitor her heart. There were IV channels running multiple lines on two different IV sites on both of her arms, a pulse oximeter was kept on her finger and the nasal cannula still in her nose for her increased oxygen requirements. She tried to figure out where the sounds were coming from because there was beeping from the machines above her head, her side and at the foot of her bed. She felt as though there was so much going on around her and with her.

"You're in the surgical ICU, Yejie," Bin explained as he watched her eyes wander around.

"ICU? What happened?" She asked when she looked at Bin again.

"You had a rough time after you came out of surgery yesterday," he replied softly while stroking her forehead.

"Yesterday?" Ye-jin didn't realize it had already been a day since she had the procedure.

As if on cue, the doctors and nurses walked in just as Bin was about to explain. Bin got up and was about to give them room but Ye-jin gave his hand a weak squeeze, meaning she wanted him to stay by her side. He gave her a nod and a smile while holding on to her, staying by her side as the doctors explained the events during and after the surgery.

In spite of it taking longer than expected, the surgeons were pleased with the results and there was no concern with regards to the procedure itself. She was taken into the ICU for cardiac monitoring and she had been sedated the previous day and throughout the night because the physical stress of the surgery and pain was causing her heart to be in distress.

"You look much better than you did yesterday," the doctor observed. "You were in a pretty rough shape because we couldn't stabilize your vitals. All of this is really putting a strain on your heart but you're going in the right direction today. You're already looking much more settled. We'll keep you here for another day and if you continue to progress well tomorrow, we'll transfer you to the orthopedic unit. In the mean time, let's keep up with pain management so you don't strain your heart too much, okay? If the infusion is not managing your pain, let your nurses know so we can make some changes."