Startled, she bid Elektra farewell and headed for the hospital. Upon arriving, she headed straight to the director’s office. Pushing open the door, she saw Madilyn looking all sad. Madilyn looked up. Her eyes were red.
“What happened? Who did this? Tell me!” Roxanne’s heart twinged painfully when she saw her usually cheerful best friend in that state.
She went over, hugged her, and patted her shoulder. Madilyn gave Roxanne a squeeze as her tears rolled down her cheeks. “My mom might not make it, Roxanne.”
Roxanne froze for several seconds. Upon regaining her composure, she asked, “What happened? Tell me everything. Don’t be sad. She could still make it.”
Madilyn seemed even more dejected after seeing Roxanne panic. “I’m a doctor too, Roxanne. I can tell that she might not survive her heart attack.”
Throughout the years, Madilyn had rarely talked about her family. Having known her for years, Roxanne had never probed because she could tell that her friend did not wish to discuss it.
The only things Roxanne knew were that Madilyn’s family lived in the northwest and that she was in constant contact with her mother. Naturally, Roxanne became acquainted with Madilyn’s mother, Lorraine Xander, through numerous video calls. Madilyn took her mother’s last name.
“Where is Mdm. Xander now?” Roxanne asked. “Have you brought her in? I’ll take a look at her first, then I want all the reports you have on her condition. Now’s not the time to wallow in sadness. Lest you forget, I’m a miracle worker!”
Madilyn knew that Roxanne’s medical skills had solved many impossible cases and cured many patients the hospital deemed incurable. Besides, she was learned in ancient medicine.
This time, however, Madilyn did not dare hold on to any hope. Based on her own years of medical experience, she could tell her mother might not make it this time.
Her heart was gradually failing. Then, her other organs would break down until they were all beyond repair. Not only did she fear her disappointment worsening if she regained any hope, but she also did not want to put pressure on Roxanne. “She’s here, Roxanne, at our hospital. Let’s go.
I’ll take you to her.” After wiping her tears, Madilyn composed herself and led Roxanne toward the inpatient department. Roxanne was shocked upon entering the ward and seeing Lorraine, who was sound asleep. “How did she become so thin?”
Compared to the video call two months ago, her cheeks seemed to have shrunk, and her eyes had sunken. The skin on her exposed arms had sagged pitifully.
“After our last video call two months ago,” Madilyn choked out, “Mom didn’t want to turn on her camera anymore and insisted on sticking to voice call. I was so stupid not to have seen that she was hiding the increasing severity of her heart disease. I thought she was stable.”
Roxanne’s heart sank when she saw how emaciated Lorraine looked. I was going to greet her and ask her how she was feeling.
Given how deeply she is sleeping, she might be, borderline comatose. I may not have the chance to ask her. Roxanne did not say much else. Instead, she took the patient’s pulse. Lorraine’s skin felt frighteningly cold.
Grasping her stick-thin wrist, Roxanne felt her heart wrench with pain. Her pulse was so weak that it was almost disappearing. Roxanne’s heart lurched. Indeed, she’s almost gone.
However, she did not voice her fears. She turned to face Madilyn and said, “Don’t worry. There’s still hope. Let her get some rest. We’ll head back to the office to peruse her case files.” Madilyn nodded. She picked up her mother’s hand gently and tucked it back under the quilt.
The pair returned to the office and began examining all of the reports. Roxanne perused them with rapt attention while Madilyn. explained how her mother had been battling a wildly-fluctuating illness for years.
In order to minimize the stress on her mother’s heart, Madilyn only told her about things after they had been watered down. After examining the CT scan results for half an hour, Roxanne detected something strange in the patient’s heart. “Look at this, Madilyn. What’s this? Why is there a little spot here?”
Madilyn leaned over and, after examining it for a long time, could not detect anything awry. “This happens during the scanning process Perhaps there was a period when the flow of the blood accelerated, causing this change.”
Roxanne’s brow knitted together. It’s true that something like this may happen. However, she could not get rid of the feeling that the spot on Lorraine’s CT scan result was different, but she could not put her finger on what it was.
Roxanne studied it for a little longer. Just then, Lucian called her. She walked out of the office and filled him in on the situation.
“Mdm. Xander is in a critical state right now, so I might have to stay here tonight. I need to identify the problem as soon as possible and find a solution so I can save her,” said Roxanne seriously.
“Okay. Let me know right away if you need anything. Don’t worry about the kids. I’ll take good care of them. You should take care of yourself.”
No matter what, Lucian would always give Roxanne his firm support. His words filled Roxanne with a sense of warmth, and she entered the office again with newfound vigor.
Madilyn had stopped looking at the papers. She was staring at a picture of her and Lorraine in her phone, her expression blank. Before Roxanne could say anything, tears. began to fall again from Madilyn’s eyes..
“Roxanne, I’m so useless. I can’t find any way to save my mom. I’m terrible!” As Madilyn blamed herself woefully, tears continued to stream down her cheeks. Soon, she began sobbing. Unable to think of any better words of comfort, Roxanne hugged Madilyn tightly with misty eyes.
“Roxanne, my mom has suffered so much. That sc*mbag abandoned the two of us and neglected us for more than twenty years. Aside from giving us money, he never visited us. I don’t get why my mom is still foolishly waiting for him. There’s no way he’ll change his mind! He’s the most disgusting man in this world.”
In her sorrow, Madilyn began to talk about her family. Madilyn grew up in a single-parent family. When Lorraine was younger, she had fallen in love with the heir of an influential family, and that man had promised to marry her.
However, he was later put at a disadvantage in a fight with his brothers for inheritance, so he entered a marriage of convenience with the daughter of a prominent family to solidify his position.
“My mom was already pregnant with me at that time. She couldn’t bear to abort me, so she bore all the responsibilities and gave birth to me. All these years, she won’t even let me visit her for fear that that family would target me. In order to protect me, she always told me to stay away from her. That’s why I’m in Horington most of the time and rarely go home. Roxanne, my mom has gone through so much, so when I saw you finally getting together with Lucian, I was really emotional. Sadly, my mom isn’t as fortunate as you.”
When Roxanne heard her best friend reveal this long-time secret, mixed emotions flooded her, and her face crumpled. Madilyn’s weeping slowly came to a stop as she opened up to Roxanne. Picking up a tissue, Roxanne wiped away Madilyn’s tears.
She recomposed herself and put on a firm expression. “Madilyn, don’t forget who we are. Now is not the time to be sad. We still have chances. Trust me!”
Madilyn lifted her head at those words and nodded heavily. “Contact all the surgeons of the hospital right now and tell them to come in for overtime.. Also, I need another CT scan of Mdm. Xander, but make her lie on her stomach this time. I need to find out more about that mark on the back of her heart. This could be our chance!”
With those instructions from Roxanne, Madilyn got to work immediately. Roxanne also began her preparations. She called Lucian and asked him to find Cerulean Needle Technique from the study and have Cayden bring it to the hospital as soon as possible.
Late at night, a group of surgeons on full alert, stood outside the operating room in one line. Although none of them complained about having to work overtime, Roxanne felt ill at ease. Not only did she announce they would get three times the overtime pay for that night and additional bonuses, but she also ordered lots of takeout food for them.
Meanwhile, Madilyn carefully set Lorraine down on her stomach and began the CT scan. In no time, she submitted the CT images to Roxanne. Lucian arrived at that moment with Cerulean Needle Technique in his hand.
“Don’t worry. I’ve asked Mom and Dad to come to our house and watch the kids. I’ll stay with you tonight. You must be tired. Let me make some coffee for you.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.