Chapter 51 A Flicker of Hope
Lena and Dave hurried over to pull me up and I immediately rushed over to the wide glass window of the ward.
I saw the doctors gathering around him as the nurse with the trash cart pushed it forward as fast as she could.
Theo lay on the bed, lifeless.
It felt like my whole world was crumbling right before me.
“Please… please Theo, don’t do this to me,” I muttered to myself, my breath shaky.
The machines beeped louder than before as one nurse pressed down on his chest.
“CPR… there’s no pulse!” a doctor shouted.
“Theo,” I mouthed, my hands banging against the glass.
“The defibrillator.”
“Charging to 200 joules,” the doctor said.
My heart almost dropped into my stomach as I watched my brother’s lifeless body.
A high-pitched whirring sound filled the room as the doctor grabbed the paddles.
“Clear!” he shouted.
Lena, who had already started crying again, and Dave also stood beside me.
As the paddles were placed on his chest, Theo’s body jerked violently as the shock hit him.
I covered my mouth and pulled back so hard that my back hit the wall behind me.
I heard an uneven sound coming from the monitor, followed by a flatline, which was a long, continuous beep.
“No… no… no,” I rushed back and banged my hands against the glass window.
“Theo please,” Lena winced.
The doctors didn’t stop.
“Resume CPR!”
The nurses immediately resumed compressions as they counted loudly.
“1,2,3,4.”
Another doctor injected something into Theo’s IV line.
“Epinephrine in,” he shouted.
I was shaking as my brother’s body moved with each compression.
“Charging again to 300 joules,” the doctor said and the defibrillator’s sound started once again.
“Clear,” he shouted.
His body rose up violently again.
I started crying aloud this time, and as if Lena had been waiting for that moment, she also burst into tears.
Dave looked at us, concern clear on his face. His eyes were already teary too. He dragged his hand down his face and glanced between us.
“Don’t worry. He will be fine,” he muttered.
The monitor beeped again and the doctor raised his hand to signal to others to pause.
“Wait… we’ve got rhythm!”
Hope came but it faded within a second when the line became flat again.
“NO! THEO! No!” I screamed.
“Charge again!” the doctor said.
His body lifted off the bed again.
“Sinus rhythm returning,” a nurse said.
“Pulse is back!”
The doctor placed two fingers on his neck and nodded.
“We’ve got him,” he muttered.
Those three words sent a flicker of hope through me.
I moved slowly to the wall and slid down the wall to the floor.
Lena still stayed at the window, watching them as they stabilized him.
“Theo is alive,” she said, sliding down beside me.
We were still on the floor while Dave watched us when the ward door opened.
The doctor stepped out, removing his gloves slowly.
I jumped up immediately even though my legs were weak.
“Doctor!” I called, my voice breaking as I rushed toward him.
Lena and Dave also rushed to my side.
“Is my brother okay?” I asked, my fingers shaking.
The doctor let out a soft sigh and smiled.
“You don’t need to panic,” he replied.
“What happened?” Dave asked.
The doctor gestured for us to move away from the ward. He took the lead and we followed him.
“It was an anaesthesia-related complication,” he explained calmly.
“I… I don’t understand,” I blinked, my voice and some parts of my body still shaking.
“After major operations, especially emergency abdominal operations like your brother’s, patients are closely monitored while the anaesthesia wears off,” he began.
“In some cases, the drug can temporarily affect breathing, heart rhythm, or blood pressure.”
“So… his heart stopped?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Briefly,” he replied.
“That’s why we keep post operative patients under strict monitoring,” he added.
“So…” Lena said, then paused for a while, letting out a brief shaky breath.
“Is he stable now?” she asked.
“Yes. His vitals are back to normal.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks again.
“Is he out of danger now?” Dave asked.
“I wouldn’t say he is completely yet. He just underwent a major surgery and a brief cardiac arrest episode, so it is very important for us to keep him in intensive monitoring for the next 24 or 48 hours,” he replied carefully.
“As long as he’s alive,” I muttered calmly as I wiped the tears off my face.
“Can we see him?” I asked as I snuffled.
“Not yet. He’s still sedated. You can only watch him through the glass for now.”
“Thank you, doctor. Thank you so much,” Dave said.
The doctor nodded once and walked off down the corridor.
When he was out of sight, Lena immediately held my hands.
“He’s fine now, right?” she whispered.
“Yes,” I said, my breath shaky.
Then we moved back to the glass window. I placed my forehead on the glass and pressed my hand slightly on it.
“You scared me,” I whispered.
Though I felt relieved a bit, I still feared that my brother hadn’t opened his eyes.
By the time I looked back, Dave was nowhere to be found. I asked Lena if she knew when he left, but she had no idea either.
“You can move to the reception now,” a nurse said.
A few minutes after we got to the reception, Dave arrived, holding three takeaway bags and bottled drinks.
“I thought you left,” I muttered tiredly.
“I can’t leave… not now,” he said.
“You both look exhausted and you need to eat,” he added, placing the takeaway bags on the chair beside us.
I didn’t even realize how exhausted Lena and I looked until he pointed it out.
“Thank you…” I said slowly.
He nodded and sat across from us.
For a moment, we didn’t say anything. The only sound between us was the rustling of food packs and the distant beeping of the hospital monitor.
I forced myself to eat a few spoons.
When I dropped my food pack, my gaze shifted to Dave.
He looked tired too, but composed.
I cleared my throat softly and leaned forward.
“Dave…”
“Yes,” he looked up as he answered.
Then I paused. I didn’t know how to begin thanking him. My heart was full of gratitude but I didn’t know how to express it.
“I don’t know how to repay you,” I muttered.
Lena also dropped her food pack, waiting for her turn to speak.
Dave looked at me for a while and leaned back into his chair.
“You don’t owe me anything, Joan. Seeing your brother well and alive is enough as repayment,” he replied.
“Thank you,” I said softly, too many emotions tangling up within me.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Wilton. We will forever be grateful to you,” Lena added.
“It’s my pleasure,” he smiled.
Moments after, I reached for my phone.
Lo and behold, I found thirty-five missed calls, all from Alex.
And a message from an unknown number.
I clicked on the message and was shocked at what I saw.
“Hi Joan. This is Cassandra…”