Chapter 43
Chapter 43: Where’s Your Son?
Nora was shocked.
She, who was checking Mrs. Hunt’s various health indicators, froze. She slowly lowered her head and immediately saw the little boy who always brought her a sense of familiarity. He was currently looking up at her.
He had a mask and a cap on, so his looks couldn’t be clearly seen. However, those familiar eyes of his were full of familial love and pleading.
Nora’s mind suddenly went blank. Some kind of thought was about to flash across her mind, but it was at this moment that another machine sounded an alarm.
Saving the patient was what mattered the most at the moment.
She refocused on the situation in front of her and looked over—Mrs. Hunt’s blood pressure had risen a little.
Tina also hurried in at this point, and it was then that she finally noticed Nora. She put on a mask and frowned as she asked, “Who are you? This is the ICU ward. Please go out immediately!”
“Miss Smith is here on my request.”
Justin shortly also entered the ward. He ordered, “Let her take part in the rescue efforts.”
Tina paused for a moment and a sharp look flashed across her eyes. However, she suddenly thought of something and she nodded and said, “Alright, sure.”
The ward entered another busy period.
Justin took Pete with him and left the ward.
Nora wisely stood at the side.
Tina suddenly looked at her and asked sarcastically and disdainfully, “Sodium nitroprusside, Dr. Smith?”
Sodium nitroprusside was the most basic drug to lower blood pressure.
Nora nodded.
Tina quickly injected the drug into Mrs. Hunt and stabilized her condition again.
After reading the medical records, looking at the latest CT scans, and getting a good idea of the patient’s condition, Nora finally walked out of the ward with Tina.
Tina was walking in front. As soon as she left the ward, she saw Justin striding toward her. She took off her mask and, with a solemn look, was about to speak when Justin walked straight past her to Nora instead. He looked nervous as he asked, “Is surgery possible?”
Tina quickly spoke ahead of Nora. She said, “Mr. Hunt, Mrs. Hunt’s current condition is very complicated. She has high blood pressure, multiple organ failure, and it’s taking a huge toll on her heart. If she undergoes surgery now, even if Anti were around, there’ll only be a 30% success rate if we can’t protect her heart.
“There’s a 70% chance that the patient will die mid-operation. Additionally, the operation is also very traumatic to the patient. Even if she’s lucky enough to survive, her heart would be damaged, and she may only end up having half a year left. Dr. Smith, am I right?”
Her analysis was very reasonable. Nora nodded.
When Tina saw that she at least still had some self-awareness, she didn’t pay any more attention to her. She glanced at Raymond and the others who were nearby and suddenly lowered her voice and said, “However, I do have a safe suggestion here, Mr. Hunt.”
Justin finally looked her way.
Tina raised her chin slightly and said unhurriedly, “As you know, I’m a student of Mr. Myers, a master of alternative traditional medicine techniques. I’m also familiar with some of these techniques. To be honest, I can use acupuncture to allow Mrs. Hunt to temporarily regain consciousness.”
“Temporarily?” Justin was puzzled.
Tina had both hands in the pockets of her white lab coat and her straight hair was all tucked behind her head. At nearly 30 years old, her age made her look reliable yet also feminine. Her voice was even and mild, which made people put trust in her.
“Yes, I can use acupuncture needles to forcibly break through the blood clot in her brain so that she’ll wake up temporarily. This is the commonly known phenomenon where one experiences a short-lived period of good health prior to their demise. However, she’ll only be able to last one day after she wakes up. After that, she’ll…”
Justin’s eyes suddenly widened and he pressed his lips tightly together.
When Tina saw that he understood what she was saying, she slowly said, “Mrs. Hunt’s condition is such that if she undergoes surgery now, even if it goes well, she’ll only be able to last half a year after using the best medication. If the operation fails and she fails to regain consciousness, going by her current condition, she’ll only be able to live for another two months.
“But if you take up my suggestion, Mrs. Hunt can wake up immediately and clear Pete’s name. You don’t want him to be slandered for life, do you?”
Nora, who had been standing next to her all this time, was bewildered.
Doctors should be benevolent.
However, her suggestion was tantamount to murder!
She cast her cat-like eyes down slightly to hide her disdain.
As the head of the number one family in the States, Justin was a ruthless and domineering man. Tina’s suggestion was indeed in his son’s best interests.
The thought had only just formed in her mind when she heard Justin’s cold warning. “Dr. York, your duty is to the patient.”
Suppressed by his aura, Tina immediately lowered her head and said, “My apologies, Mr. Hunt. I watched Pete grow up, so I ended up too concerned and got my priorities wrong.”
Justin didn’t pay any more attention to her. He asked Nora, “Ms. Smith, is surgery possible or not?”
These words were something that Nora had heard countless times from her patients or their families. However, the man’s voice was as low and rich as cello timbre, which made her mood improve for some inexplicable reason.
The corners of Nora’s lips quirked upward slightly and she slowly uttered, “Yes, it is.”
Then, she even added an extra line as reassurance for the narcissistic man in front of her: “The success rate is 99%.”
The remaining 1% was attributed to force majeure.
After all, what if an earthquake were to suddenly occur?
“Dr. Smith, you must be bluffing?” Tina said, “Mr. Hunt, as Mrs. Hunt’s doctor, I must tell you that the success rate would only be 30% even if Anti were here. You mustn’t let her fool you!”
However, Justin didn’t seem to have any doubt about her words. He immediately ordered, “Prepare the operating room.”
Seeing that he wasn’t listening to her at all, Tina tried to calm herself down. Then, she secretly sneered, That doctor honestly thinks too highly of herself! She’s just courting her own death!
Let’s see how Mr. Hunt deals with her when the elderly Mrs. Hunt dies mid-operation!
By the time the operating room was ready, Lily and her other assistants had already arrived.
There was no way she would use outsiders for such a difficult operation, of course.
Nora entered the ward after she put on the surgical gown in the sterile room.
Lily complained softly, “The patient is very advanced in her years, Anti. The biggest problem isn’t the head but the heart. Surgery indeed isn’t recommended in her case. Why did you take it up?”
“I’ll take care of the heart.”
Nora took out a few needles and pierced the old lady’s heart with them quickly and accurately, thereby sealing and protecting her heart meridian.
Her cat-like eyes gleamed.
The top surgeon was just a title that others had given her. No one knew that she was actually more skilled at alternative medicine instead.
Five hours later.
An exhausted Nora removed her surgical gown and walked out of the operating room.
As she was drugged the night before, it had resulted in her being a little short on energy today. She leaned against the sofa in the sterile area and closed her eyes. In her daze, the familiar voice rang in her mind again: “Mommy, save Great-Grandma!”
Those eyes and that voice—they seemed so familiar to her!
Nora woke up with a start. She hesitantly went out and immediately spotted Justin who had been waiting outside the whole time.
The man was leaning against the wall. When he saw her walking toward him in a rare show of emotion, the corners of his lips curled up a little. Even the beauty mark at his eye seemed to be smiling.
And yet she denied having feelings for him.
That scorching look in her eyes at this moment was so passionate.
While his imagination was running wild, the woman rushed up to him and asked, “Where’s your son?”
Justin was bewildered.