Together Hamesha❤

Chapter 24

All the hope from Manik's eyes dissipated. A lost look clouded his features.

Manik : Nahi.. Nahi.. Yeh.. yeh sach nahi hai. Nahi.. Dr. Mehra jhooth bol rahe hai. Nan.. Nandini mujhe aise chod kar nahi jaa sakti hai. No.. Usse.. usse kuch nahi ho sakta hai. Noo..

He stumbled behind as he searched for a hint of deception of Dr. Mehra's face.

Manik : Aap.. aap jhooth bol rahe hai na? Yeh.. yeh sach nahi hai na? Nandini.. Nandini ko kuch nahi hua hai naa? Woh.. woh thik hai na? Bataiye naa Dr. Mehra.. Woh thik hai na?

He questioned Dr. Mehra with bated breaths. A teardrop rolled down his cheek. He wasn't ready to accept that Nandini hadn't made it through the surgery. He didn't know how to live in a world without Nandini. And he didn't want to live in one either.

Dr. Mehra : Nahi Manik. Mere kehne ka woh matlab nahi tha. The operation was successful. And we got the tumor. All of it. Nandini is fine. But..

As the words "Nandini is fine" left Dr. Mehra's lips, Manik felt as if someone had given him oxygen to breathe. He felt relief shoot through his entire body and happiness shone in his eyes.

Cabir : But what Dr. Mehra?

Cabir intervened. Manik glanced towards Cabir before focusing his gaze back on Dr. Mehra.

Dr. Mehra : There was a complication during the surgery which led to swelling in Nandini's brain. And we weren't able to control it with medication. So we had to medically induce Nandini into a coma.

The small smile that had started to form across Manik's face, died down. The colour drained from his face and everyone else's too.

Manik : Mat.. Matlab?

His mind knew what Dr. Mehra's words meant but his heart needed to hear the explanation out loud.

Dr. Mehra : A medically-induced coma is like a coma but reversible. Nandini is in a comatose state under the influence of medicines. Once we stop giving her that medication and they are out of her system, she may wake up. This is really important for relieving the pressure that is being created on Nandini's brain and to provide her brain with some rest. It'll help in decreasing the swelling too. Also, this is crucial in order to save her life.

Manik stared at Dr. Mehra with a blank look on his face.

Manik : How.. how many days?

He stammered. Dr. Mehra gazed at him with sympathetic eyes.

Dr. Mehra : We don't know that yet Manik. We will monitor the swelling in Nandini's brain closely. As we see the swelling go down, we will gradually withdraw the drugs while monitoring brain activity and other vital signs. If everything goes well, at the most, it'll be a week. But if not, then it can take more time.

Dr. Mehra kept a hand on Manik's shoulder.

Dr. Mehra : Have faith Manik. Resecting the tumor is half the battle won. It is just a matter of a few more days before Nandini may open her eyes again. Nandini has come so far. I'm sure she'll make it through this too. I'll take your leave now. We will be shifting Nandini to the ICU. I'll be back in a while to check up on her again.

He tapped on his shoulder and left from there. Manik stood there, numb. His mind was trying to register everything that Dr. Mehra spoke about just moments ago. "Medically-induced coma." "Swelling." "Pressure created on her brain." "A week." All these words rang in Manik's ears. The ward boys pushed the stretcher, on which Nandini lay, out of the operation theatre. Clad in a blue hospital gown, her limp figure looked pale and fragile. Her entire forehead was bandaged with white gauze. Everyone stared at her inert form as the ward boys wheeled her stretcher towards the ICU room.