Chapter 56 Close call
Andreas wasted no time in rushing to the hospital, Slightly antsy on the kind of news he'd get from the doctors.
His mind raced with several possibilities as he wondered why the vehicle had suddenly tumbled down the slope.
After all, that wasn't the first time they would go through the same route to get to the office.
Should I call Uncle Luigi?, Andreas wondered as he thought about the severity of the situation.
Maybe not, I'll call him after I know the situation!, Andreas thought as he got even closer to the hospital.
Parking his car at a reserved spot, Andreas entered the hospital, getting directions to Luciano's ward.
Andreas was rather surprised to see that there was no one in the room the nurses had described.
Did they give me the wrong room number?!, Andreas asked himself as he confirmed there was no one in the room.
Turning, his mind was at ease to see Luciano unconscious on the bed that was being rolled into the ward.
“Doctor!”, Andreas called out to the usual doctor who tended to Luciano's wounds.
“Welcome Mr Andreas!”, One of Luciano's attending doctors said as he approached Andreas.
Wasting no time, Andreas pulled the doctor to the side, ready to ask for details.
“Can you cut to the chase Doc. How's the Don doing?!”, Andreas asked, watching the doctor's facial expression go from bleak to even more bleak.
“We have to go to my office!”, Doctor Luca said as he looked towards the report in his hand.
“What are we waiting for?! Please lead the way!”, Andreas said, moving a bit away from Doctor Luca.
Closing the door behind him, Andreas took a seat, antsy and unsure of the situation.
“So what's going on Doctor Luca, how's The Don!?”, Andreas asked, getting straight to the point.
I haven't even called Madam Paula back, Andreas thought to himself as Doctor Luca's movement seemed rather slow.
“The Don is still in a very fatal position for now!”, He finally said, shattering Andreas' hopes of The Don waking up soon.
“What? What does that mean?!”, Andreas asked.
“He sustained a very severe head injury, alongside two broken ribs. He was quite lucky, but that doesn't mean he should try such a thing again!”, Doctor Luca answered.
Sensing the hopeful tone which Doctor Luca used, Andreas caught on to the positive parts of what he had just said, “So The Don's okay?!”
“I won't be able to say until a few hours time…!”, Doctor Luca said, removing his glasses.
His heart literally sinking, Andreas wondered what sort of bad news Doctor Luca was going to provide him with.
“... If the Don isn't up in at most five hours from now, it's quite possible he might have gone into a comatose state!”
Andreas raised his head, his hand on his temple as he stood up. The gravity of the situation finally settled on him.
He couldn't believe The Don could go into a comatose state.
He had seen the slope in itself, thus, he expected a far worse report. However, hearing the Don might be in a comatose state was far worse than he expected.
“How about his vitals and everything?! Is he okay though?!”, Andreas asked.
“Definitely! We have provided an on-call doctor and two nurses who check in on him every thirty minutes to one hour!”, Doctor Luca said, somehow easing Andreas' mind.
“Okay thank you!”, Andreas said, his hands dropping to his sides.
“I'm quite sorry I can't stay and talk about the procedures, but, I have an operation in about twenty minutes!”, Doctor Luca said, grabbing another file.
“Oh alright then! Good work Doctor Luca!”, Andreas cheered.
“Thank you! The Don is in safe hands! I'll get to work now!”, Doctor Luca said as Andreas left his office.
Andreas went back to Luciano's ward, taking a seat on one of the long chairs opposite the ward.
Processing the piece of information he had just gotten, Andreas was rather glad the Don was out of harm's way.
I don't like to be here!, Andreas thought as the smell of ‘hospital’ finally settled on him.
He breathed a sigh of relief, smelling the pristinely clean hospital air. He looked towards the light in the spacious hallway, not surprised to see another patient being wheeled to their wards on a wheelchair.
A cold shiver ran down his spine as he made a mental note of how one’s health disregarded reputation or personal status.
He looked towards the glass on the door of Luciano's ward, confirming his thoughts as he saw several tubes attached to Luciano's body.
Taking a very deep breath, Andreas thought; I should call Madam Paula.
Andreas familiarized himself with the doctor and nurses that went into the room every thirty minutes like Doctor Luca had said.
It had been about an hour since he sat there, wondering if The Don was going to be okay.
Quite confused by the sudden siren-like sound he soon heard, Andreas lifted his head to see more Nurses rushing into Luciano's room with equipment.
Standing up, he quickly rushed towards the room, however, he was immediately stopped by one of the nurses who were rushing in and out of the room.
“What? What are you doing?!”, Andreas questioned.
“Sir, you need to leave the doctors to their job sir. You can't be in the room!”
“What do you mean? What does any of that mean? Is he doing okay?!”
“Family members aren't allowed for now! Please wait outside!”, the nurse urged as Andreas went back to his seat.
“Charge!”, Andreas suddenly heard from the doctor on duty.
His entire being started shaking as he understood what that statement meant, Did The Don…?
He quickly shook his head, unable to process such a thought.
Wanting to confirm his suspicion, Andreas approached the room again.
This time, he was stopped by another nurse, “sir, you have to sit outside!”
“Give me 250!”
“Charge!”
“Clear!”
“Patient’s not responding…!”, The voices in the ward said as Andreas suddenly heard the bed violently shaking.
“We're losing him!”
“Give me 300!”
“Charge!”
“Clear!”
“Doctor, look…!”
“Abort the charge! We have a heartbeat!”
Then, sudden silence fell on the ward as the doctor and nurses waited for a couple more heartbeats to make sure Luciano was fine.
“Good job team! Roll out!”, the doctor’s voice said as the nurses began jubilating.
Luciano's heartbeat had stopped, and it was looking like they couldn't get any response.
However, just before they could lose hope, the charges were enough to shock his heart back to life.
Andreas who had been listening intently breathed out a sigh of relief as he heard the news.