Chapter 23: Sent to the Emergency Room
Ava performed surgery in the morning and saw several patients at noon. For the rest of the day until she got off work, she wasn't disturbed again, which put her in a pretty good mood.
Ava was on duty tonight, so she called Isabella to ask her to pick up the kids. As she walked past the deputy director's office, her attention was caught by the sound of arguing inside.
"Thora, you need to go apologize to Dr. Cole and Dr. Wilson yourself. Openly bullying colleagues in the hospital, you..."
"Bullying colleagues? Which eye of yours saw me bullying them? I think you just feel sorry for them. Dean Palmer, I'm your wife, and you're lecturing me over other women. What's that supposed to mean?"
The aggressive voice belonged to Thora, the chubby woman from earlier that day. Ava blinked and saw Thora burst out of the door, wiping away tears.
Ava blinked again. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop. Thora glanced at Ava hurriedly as she rushed past. Ava was about to say something when—
Suddenly, "Dr. Davis, the patient in room 866 is having chest pain. Please come quickly." A nurse was calling her urgently.
Without a moment's hesitation, Ava rushed into the patient's room, with Thora following right behind her.
"What's the situation?" Pushing past the patient's family members, Ava saw the patient clutching his chest, pale as a sheet, mouth wide open, struggling to breathe, trembling all over. Her heart sank. She patted the patient's cheek. "Can you hear me?"
She then checked the patient's pupils with a flashlight. "Patient is unconscious, pupils unfocused, cardiac arrest. Quick, get him to the emergency room."
"Also, call the attending physician."
"That's me," Thora said immediately.
"Dry your tears and prepare for surgery." Ava glanced at Thora and ordered in a serious tone, then helped the nurses push the patient toward the operating room.
Thora panicked and quickly caught up with Ava. "Dr. Davis, but I just started working here not long ago. I haven't officially performed surgery on a patient yet. I'm not ready."
Heart surgery was extremely complex and allowed no room for error. In such a critical situation, she had no confidence she could do it well.
Ava's smooth brow furrowed.
"As a doctor, when facing emergencies, no one gives you time to prepare. If you have the ability to work at this hospital, it means you already have the professional skills of a qualified doctor. If I weren't here today, would you back down from the surgery and let the patient die?"
The situation was urgent, so Ava's words were harsh, but every word made sense.
After hearing her words, Thora's eyelashes trembled. She lowered her eyes, looking troubled and upset.
Ava didn't give her any more time to hesitate. She shoved the surgical gown into Thora's arms, her voice low and speaking rapidly. "Prepare for surgery immediately."
Thora gripped the surgical gown tightly in her hands, watching Ava's back as she entered the operating room. Her gaze wavered, and her hands trembled slightly.
Having just cried, Thora's eyes were red and swollen, and she looked defeated.
Seeing Thora follow her in, Ava assumed she was ready. "You'll be the lead surgeon, I'll assist."
As soon as Ava finished speaking, Thora suddenly grabbed her hand. Ava looked down at the hand holding hers.
Thora's voice was choked with tears and trembling as she shook her head. "Dr. Davis, I... I can't."
Ava's eyes darkened, clearly displeased.
Bringing personal emotions into the operating room was extremely unprofessional and irresponsible to the patient.
Whether it was her current state or the emotions she was carrying, she was not fit to perform this surgery.
Ava looked at her deeply and said nothing more.
In the end, Ava was the lead surgeon with Thora assisting. After two hours of surgery, they saved a life.
The family thanked Ava repeatedly. After explaining the post-operative care to the patient's family, Ava calmly looked around but never saw Thora.
She only learned of Thora's whereabouts after asking a nurse.
Ava found Thora in a dimly lit stairwell. Thora was hugging herself tightly, curled up in a corner, with soft sobbing breaking the silence.
She looked like she'd been abandoned by the whole world.
This Thora was completely different from the confident, bold, and straightforward Thora that Ava had seen during the day.
Ava's eyes darkened as she quietly walked over and leaned lightly against the wall nearby.
Sensing movement, Thora looked up and met a pair of cool, indifferent eyes.
"Dr. Davis, it's you." Her voice was hoarse from crying, mixed with sobs.
"Yes." Ava responded coolly.
Thora lowered her head in defeat and said without confidence, "I'm sorry. I'm useless."
"Good that you know it." Ava answered mercilessly, her voice cold and emotionless.
As a professional doctor, backing down at a critical moment—what else could that be but useless? Thora was the most suitable person to lead this surgery. She was the attending physician and knew the patient's condition best, yet she backed down at the most critical moment, telling Ava she couldn't do it.
What if she had been on duty alone tonight? If the patient had an emergency and she couldn't handle it, should the patient just wait to die?
What was that if not useless? If this had been in Astoria, if Ava had discovered one of her doctors behaving this way, she would have scolded them until they questioned their existence.
With Thora, Ava was already being quite nice.
Thora looked up at Ava with tear-filled eyes. Just now in the operating room, Ava's abilities had truly amazed her—methodical, confident and determined, every step incredibly precise. There was light in her eyes, like a deity, carrying the unwavering belief to save the patient's life.
But this light that Ava possessed was something Thora could only dream of reaching.
Thora sniffled and looked at Ava now. She had returned to her usual indifference, her extremely beautiful face now full of coldness, her whole being radiating an aloof and proud aura.
Suddenly, she understood something—why Mia and Lyra, those two women, always gave her trouble. A woman like this, beautiful and confident, proud and excellent—how could they, as women themselves, not be jealous?