"I'll need to look at the chart first ". Paisley said to Rylee who nodded in response.
"It's with Liam, he's probably already outside waiting for us." Rylee said making Paisley not hesitate to move out while she followed behind. The door closed and they saw Liam leaning against the wall holding a piece of black and white paper. He looked at the two ladies who just came out in a full surgical attire.
"What took up you so long." he asked focusing on Rylee who was surprised to see him standing there.
"Met Mrs Stone in the changing room" Rylee said as she walked up to him. " She's the new surgeon handling the patient in ward sixty four." she whispered to him.
Liam made an 'Ohh' looking up at Paisley who was standing before him. Her eyes were fixed on him, his I.D to be exact. He traced her gaze and instinctively stretched out his hand for a handshake.
"I'm Liam, a surgeon, I'll be assisting you in the surgery for the patient". He said, his words being accompanied by a friendly but not so friendly expression.
"Ohh. No need being formal, we'll be working together in the future" Paisley said giving Liam a handshake which wasn't so firm but good enough to leave a cordial impression.
"Where's the Patient's health report?" Rylee asked looking at Liam.
"What's this in my hand". Liam asked back before handing the paper to Paisley while Rylee looked at him with a contempt.
Paisley held onto the paper, silently reading the report to herself with her mind racing with numerous medical thoughts rumbling through. Seemed like this patient had an Acute Neural Misalignment Syndrome with a high severity which somehow could have resulted in misplaced nerve structure leading to irregular motor responses, neurovascular compression causing unstable blood flow, muscle, muscle weakness and unpredictable spasms, and lastly the potential for an autonomic nervous failure.
"His condition seems very bad" she commented.
"Yeah" Liam responded before continuing. "Though his heart rate seems stable, is oxygen level is fluctuating, blood pressure unstable, temperature slightly fever and neural response critical. His life is hanging in there by a thread" he said looking worried for the guy in the ward.
"Well, move the patient to the theater first, we need a lateral approach, hopefully be prepared for anything " she said not looking nervous or tensed, just maintaining a professional and calm expression.
Liam scoffed in his mind, no one had being able to handle this patient's death sentencing case. Only the dean had plans of handling it himself, she's new and still quite confident about solving this problem.
Meanwhile unlike Liam, Rylee admired her confidence and couldn't help but give a thumbs up.
After that they left there, heading to the theater where the operation was to be done.
The door was pushed open and a cold chill embraced their spine as they walked in. The patient was lying down there on the operating bed, motionless and almost lifeless, only the oxygen connected to his mouth seeming to be his only source of life. They advanced towards him, with the nurses silently moving the tray to his bed.
Paisley stood beside the bed, with Rylee beside her and Liam opposite with the two nurses administering to them.
Few moments later, the over head surgical lights flickered to full brightness, bathing the operation table in stark white illumination. The air is sterile, thick with the scents of disinfectants all over as well as surgical steel. Paisley stands beside the operation table, her glove poised, her breath steady and controlled with her mask on completely holding her breath back.
Her gaze sharpens as she examines the surgical site, a deep wound, deceptively standard at first glance, but the muscle positioning slightly off, the layers beneath not aligning with typical anatomy, a somewhat rare variation. Any slight mistake ending the life within.
"We need a lateral approach, if we go straight in we risk severing the nerve bundle." she said decisively to the team .
Liam hesitates, but eventually nods following her lead.
The first incision is made, as the scalpel glides cleanly, revealing a tissue beneath, but she holds her care—too much pressure could disturb the misplaced nerves.
She gently retracts the layers, exposing the misaligned nerve bundles hidden beneath.
"We never saw that before" . Rylee said quietly in disbelief.
Paisley then adjusts the group, switching tools with the help of the nurse.
Instead of using standard forceps, she selects microsurgical tweezers, designed for delicate handling. Her movements completely précise, avoiding unnecessary tension on the fragile structure.
"We need to bypass this entirely. If we disrupt it, his body could trigger an autonomic crises " she said being focused and calm. " Suture thread, fine gauge" she said again signaling to the nurse.
She then moves swiftly with the thread, securing the area without compromising the nerve integrity. Liam and Rylee watches, recognizing her expertise for the first time.
In the process of internal repair and bleeding control, paisley uses cauterization, but only at micro-level point, ensuring minimal damage to surrounding tissue. The Patient's vitals suddenly fluctuate briefly causing tension, but she remains calm in the entire process.
"Adjust I.V flow, stabilize oxygen saturation." she said firmly instructing the nurse. One of the nurses rushes correcting the settings, within seconds the patients level even out, and the tension fades away instantly.
In some minutes, the surgical site is closed in layers. The last sutures are placed, securing the wound without tension on the fragile nerve system.
Paisley steps back as well as the others, removing their gloves and placing it in the tray. Liam exhales, visibly relieved, then he looks at Paisley quietly nodding;
"That was impressive". Paisley simply washes her hands with a faint smile before turning to the nurse.
"Once his situation is stable you can transfer him back to his original ward" she said and the nurse nodded before leaving.
Paisley and the other two left the ward heading downstairs. They had spent almost three hours in the operating room, and now the feeling hunger seemed to creep into them.
"Sis are you hungry?" Rylee asked looking at Paisley.
"Yeah you could say so, how about I order some takeout". Paisley said while Rylee eyes glittered up.
"That's nice, you're so generous sis " Rylee replied.
"Tell me what you want" Paisley said and Rylee nodded before listing some foods.
"What about you" Paisley said to Liam after Rylee was done with making a choice of what she wanted to order.
"Me?" Liam said raising his eyebrow as if surprised, meeting the gaze of Rylee who stared at him as well as Paisley who nodded to him. "Anything would do".
Paisley nodded before taking out her phone to order on the restaurant's website.
"Ok, that'll be a white rice with pepper steak for you, garlic butter steak and potato skillet for Rylee, and a simple garlic butter Brazilian Steak for me".
The two said Okay in sync. Before a few minutes of waiting, the rider arrived with their take out and Paisley took it in while Rylee led them to the restaurant downstairs.
Paisley sat down to eat as Rylee unboxed the package carefully distributing their food to them. She held her phone opening her message inbox, her eyes flickered normally without any hint of surprise as they fell on a text message which had the sender name bar filled with the word;
•NYX•