*******
With a file in her hand,
Lola wore a smile the moment she stood in front of Duke.
He smiled. “Dr. Lola, can I help you?”
He smiled. “Dr. Lola, can I help you?”
“I saw Dr. Yvonne and I
wanted to speak with her but she said I should meet you.”
“That’s right. You and Dr.
Melvin are back under my wings.”
A bright spark glimmered
around her eyes. She wanted to jump out of excitement but managed to compose
herself. She didn’t want him to know how she felt.
“I hope all is well with Dr.
Yvonne.”
“Yes. She is leaving us.”
“Leaving us?”
“Dr. Yvonne will no longer
work in this hospital as from next week. It was her decision. I am sure Dr.
Bello is already working on bringing her replacement.”
Lola thought it must be the
reason Yvonne came to Wole’s office.
“Anyways,” Duke said. “Why
are you here?”
She extended the file to
him. “There is a patient I looked into his case. I need your opinion and your
advice about it.”
He glimpsed through it and
gazed at her. “How long has he been here?”
“Three days. I noticed the patient
wasn’t getting any better. I think his condition requires surgery not the
medication prescribed to him.”
Duke stared at the name of
the doctor on the file. “Dr. Damien Fola is in charge. Have you talked to him?”
“I haven’t seen him.”
“I think both of you should
talk. I will go to my office and look into his file thoroughly and get back
with you.”
“You could look at it while
I wait for your feedback.”
Duke didn’t want to be
around her for long, especially not in his office.
“Instead of you to wait, use
that free time to find Dr. Fola and speak with him. If the patient really needs
surgery, it will be better if you let him know what you think.”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
He didn’t say anything
further, he started to walk towards his office.
******
“Dr. Zara… Dr. Zara….”
Melvin called Zara’s name
but she didn’t hear him. She was in deep thoughts in the lodge. She was sitting
alone.
Zara!”
Zara!”
His loud voice snapped her
out. She looked at him surprised.
“What happened? Why did you
shout my name like that?”
“I should be the one to ask
you what happened. What were you thinking?”
She gave him a cold stare
and hissed. “Please leave me alone.”
“I can’t leave you alone.
You need to attend to a patient. She’s a little girl and her mother is with
her.”
She glanced at her
wristwatch and back at Melvin. “Am I the only one here? Can’t you look for
someone else to attend to her?”
“Yes. You are the only one
available right now.” He said and began to approach the door.
“Melvin.” She called his
name and rose.
He turned to her. “Yes?”
“Do you know where Dr. Ahmed
is right now?”
“No. Anything?”
For the first time today,
Zara smiled. “No.”
“Okay.” Melvin walked out
and the smile on Zara’s lips disappeared.
******
Lola had searched for Dr.
Fola and couldn’t find him. She asked a female nurse if he had seen him and she
suggested she should check the dressing room. Lola went there, knocked, entered
and saw a female nurse with him. They quickly stopped kissing and the nurse speedily ran out of the room. Fola grinned at Lola. Lola shook her head.
“We need to talk.” She told
him.
“Here?”
“No. Let’s take a walk while
I explain.”
“If you say so.”
They came out and walked
side by side, as she explained in details why his patient should stop the
medication and have a surgery.
“Are you saying I don’t know
my job?” He asked her.
“I didn’t say that. I am
only suggesting the right way to go about it. That patient is in pain.”
“But the medications I recommended
to him ease his pain.”
“But for how long? The
surgery is the only solution to stop the pain.”
“Dr. Lola,” Fola said. “The
patient is not complaining. As long as he doesn’t feel that pain, he is okay.”
“But it is likely going to
cause more damage.”
He halted and turned to her.
She stopped walking and faced him. He appeared upset with the look on his face.
“And how do you know it will
cause more damage? I have been in charge of him for days.”
“And she will be in charge
of him as from today.” They heard the voice of Duke and he stood close to them.
They didn’t even hear him coming. He gave Lola the file and turned to Fola.
“Dr. Fola,” he added. “We
need to talk privately.”
“Privately? I want you to
talk to me in her presence.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” he said with anger in
his voice. “This is my patient and not hers. You don’t have the right to
allocate my patient to another surgeon.”
“But I have the right to
tell you, you have been giving the wrong treatment to this patient. If you had continued
with it, it would have damaged his lungs. If he knows, you know what that
means.”
Lola was surprised. Fola
appeared shocked. His mouth opened wide. Lola opened the file and noticed there
was a new lab result that wasn’t there before. She took a close look at it.
Duke spoke to him. “I went
through the file and noticed you are awaiting another test result from the lab.
I went to the lab to get it. Dr. Fola, how could you go on with this treatment
without waiting for all the test results?”
“I…I …” Fola stammered.
“You see why I told you I
needed to speak with you privately.”
“I’m so sorry Dr. Duke. Can
we talk privately?”
“No. I will advise you to
apologize to Dr. Lola and thank her too. She saved you from getting sued and
losing your job.”
He apologized and thanked
Lola. She felt special and loved the way Duke defended her.
“Are you going to mention
this to Dr. Wole?” He questioned Duke.
“No.”
Fola gave a relief sigh.
Duke continued. “You are
going to mention it yourself.”
“What! I thought you would
keep it as a secret.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t. Dr.
Lola will handle the case and let’s hope the surgery makes the patient better.”
“But I might lose my job or
even my license if I tell Dr. Wole Bello.”
“Take responsibility for
what you have done,” Duke said. “And you might get a second chance if you are
willing to change. I know it’s none of my business when it comes to your
private life, but I will no longer keep quiet. Stop this nonsense with some of
these nurses. Our patients should be our number one priority here.”
Duke walked away without
listening to whatever Fola wanted to say. Lola just turned and sauntered
towards the direction of the ward.
*******
Fola Damien didn’t have a
choice, he went straight to see Wole and told him the mistake he had done. Wole
appeared mad and told him the surgery must be carried out first before he can
make a decision.
Lola checked on the man that
had a kidney transplant. He was responding to treatment and he mentioned his
daughter always check on him after work. She was planning to bring her family
to see him during the weekend. This really made Lola very happy.
After Zara had administered
the right prescription to the mother of her patient, she planned to leave the
hospital and go home.
On her way to the dressing room, she met Ahmed on the way. He turned his face away and to his surprise, she spoke with him.
On her way to the dressing room, she met Ahmed on the way. He turned his face away and to his surprise, she spoke with him.
“Are you not going home?”
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Should I wait for you?”
He scratched his forehead. “No.
I will be staying at a motel tonight.”
Zara gazed at him surprised.
“You will be staying at the motel?”
“Yes and I think it’s the
best.”
She grabbed his arm and
whisked him towards an empty room. “What is the matter with you?”
“Nothing.” He looked at his
arm. “Can you let go of my arm?”
She released him. “If it’s
about what happened last night, forget about it. It won’t happen again.”
“I think it’s best I don’t stay
with you, please.”
Zara frowned and shoved him
by the shoulder as she bounced out of the place. She was very angry with him.
She changed her clothes and made way out of the hospital.
Duke and Wole spoke about
Fola before they went home. Melvin took Ahmed to a motel not far from the
hospital before he drove to his destination. Lola was still at the hospital,
attending to the male patient.
Jidenna chose to wait for
her. On their way home, they ate at an eatery and he dropped her in front of
the house. Even before she was able to sleep, she couldn’t stop thinking about
Duke.
*******
The next morning, Lola had
gone to get the test and lab results concerning the lady with a lump in her
breast. Lola sat opposite her.
“The lump found in your
breast is called fibroadenoma.” Lola said to the lady, “It is not cancerous but
we are going to do an excisional biopsy. After the surgery we are still going
to have an ultrasound to know if the fibroadenoma might be cancerous.”
“But I thought you said it’s
not cancerous.”
“Most of the time, it is
not.” Lola smiled at her. “Be happy. This doesn’t have to make you sad.”
“When can I have it removed?”
“When can I have it removed?”
“Today, if you are ready.”
“I am ready. I just want
this out of my body.”
“No problem.”
It was a busy day for everyone.
Most of them didn’t even have the time for lunch but waited until evening
before they ate. Duke liked it. It was an opportunity not to think of Lola or be
with her alone.
The lump was removed and the
surgery for the new patient was carried out. Fola was lucky the surgery was
successful. Wole Bello suspended Fola for a month and he would deduct the money
for the surgery from his salary.
Despite Lola’s busy schedule,
she still checked on Wole at his office. He appreciated it.
*******
The next day, a surgeon resumed
work after a long leave. Dr. Robertson was an older man, and with the way he
was welcomed by his colleagues, it appeared they liked him. Duke introduced
Lola, Zara, Ahmed and Melvin to him.
He seemed pleased to meet the four of them and he shook their hands. As they spoke to each other, nurses wheeled a woman into the emergency ward, a man with them, unhurt, gestured towards Dr. Jidenna when he approached them.
He seemed pleased to meet the four of them and he shook their hands. As they spoke to each other, nurses wheeled a woman into the emergency ward, a man with them, unhurt, gestured towards Dr. Jidenna when he approached them.
“Doctor, you need to save my
wife!”
“We will do everything we
can!”
Jidenna asked for the necessary
details about his wife. The woman had crashed her car into a building close to
the house. She lost control. She was lucky there was no one at the place if
not, it would have been worse than that. The man left to the waiting room, and
the doctor attended to her. She had to be operated. Two nurses took her to the
OR. Lola, Yvonne and Dr. Robertson were ready to operate on her.
*******
Lola came out of the
operating room looking tired but with a cheerful face. She went to meet the man
and when he saw her, he appeared anxious.
“How is my wife? How is she
doing?”
She wore a smile. “The
operation went well.”
He smiled brightly. “Thank
God!”
“You and your wife are very
lucky. We were able to save the pregnancy.”
“Pregnancy? She is pregnant?”
“Yes. You didn’t know?”
“No.”
“She is three months pregnant.
I am sure she wanted to surprise you.”
“That can’t be possible. She
can’t be pregnant.”
Lola looked at him confused.
They heard a male voice.
“Iyke!”
The man and Lola turned to
him.
“That’s my brother.” The man
said and hugged his brother.
“Iyke, how is your wife? How
is she now?”
“She is fine but I don’t understand
what the surgeon is saying. I think she is wrong.”
“Mr. Iyke,” Lola said. “I am
not wrong.”
He gazed at her. “I have not
been around for three years. I returned from Germany two weeks ago. She can’t be
three months pregnant. I left her in my brother’s care.”
Then, he looked at his
brother with his eyes broadened. “You bastard!”
Before Lola could say a
word, Iyke had lifted his hand and landed a blow on him. Duke sighted what was
happening and ran at their direction.
Lola and the onlookers watched in shock as a fight ensued. Lola screamed for security, Duke rushed to take Lola away from the brothers and two male nurses hurried to separate them.
Lola and the onlookers watched in shock as a fight ensued. Lola screamed for security, Duke rushed to take Lola away from the brothers and two male nurses hurried to separate them.
Iyke pointed at his sibling.
“I will kill you and Elaina!”
“She is in love with me! You
can’t do anything!”
“How could you? I travelled
and you started sleeping with my wife! How could you?”
“What was I supposed to do?
She was lonely. I was lonely! We fell in love!!”
Iyke freed himself from the
nurse holding him and raced towards him in rage. He pounced on him. Two securities
came and separated them. Lola was in total shock.
“Are you okay?” Duke asked
her. “I hope they didn’t hit you.”
“No. I have to go now. I have
to see the woman.”
“That’s fine. I will talk to
them.”
“Okay. Please stay safe.”
“I will.”
*******
Lola met the woman awake. “How
are you feeling now?”
“Better.” she said softly
and peered into her eyes. “Am I still pregnant?”
“Yes.”
She closed her eyes for a
moment and opened them with tears dripping down. “Does my husband know I am
pregnant?”
“Yes. I should have kept
quiet.”
She shook her head slowly. “I
was going to tell him. I was already thinking of how I was going to tell him
before I lost hold of the car. I knew it would hurt him but I really wanted to
tell him we can’t be together.”
“He said he returned two
weeks ago.”
“That’s true. I can’t be with a man I do not love. I can’t be with him even if he wants me and the baby. I can’t be with him. I want to be happy. His brother makes me happy.”
“That’s true. I can’t be with a man I do not love. I can’t be with him even if he wants me and the baby. I can’t be with him. I want to be happy. His brother makes me happy.”
The door opened and her
husband’s brother came in.
“Benson!” She called his
name and he hugged her on the bed. She stared at his bruised face. “What
happened to you? Did Iyke do this to you?”
“It doesn’t matter if he did
this to me. We have to tell the family about us. We can be together now without
getting scared of being caught.”
Lola couldn’t even say
anything. She looked at them astonished.
*******
“I know you are surprised to
see only me here.” The woman who was born without a womb said to Melvin.
“Have you and your husband made
a decision?”
She shook her head sadly.
“Then why are you here?”
“I don’t think my husband
love me enough to consider a surrogate,” she said. “Ever since he went to see
his family yesterday, he has refused to say a word to me. I think he wants to
leave me.”
Melvin cleared his throat
first. “It is not in my position to say anything about it. This is a family
matter.”
“But you can help me have a child. I really need a child.”
“But you can help me have a child. I really need a child.”
“How can I help?”
“My husband can leave me
anytime. I am terrified. I don’t want to be alone. I still want a surrogate and
I want you to be the sperm donor. I will
pay you one million naira for it.”
Melvin became speechless.
*******
Lola came out from the room
and took a deep breathe. The woman’s words ‘
I want to be happy’ echoed in her head.
With a sad expression on her face, she walked slowly and as she approached Jidenna, he saw her and smiled at her. She didn’t smile back. It got him worried and he moved to meet her.
With a sad expression on her face, she walked slowly and as she approached Jidenna, he saw her and smiled at her. She didn’t smile back. It got him worried and he moved to meet her.
“Are you okay?”
“I don’t think so.” Lola
replied. “Jidenna, we really need to talk. I need to tell you something.”
“I want to see a patient
briefly. Wait for me at the lodge.”
“It can’t wait. I need to
talk to you now. Please.”
“Dr. Jidenna!” A male nurse
called him. Jidenna and Lola looked at his direction and saw him with a woman
holding a one-year-old child. “Miss Sandy Fayemi is here to see you.”
“Oh my God. What the hell is
she doing here?” Jidenna asked himself and Lola heard him.
“Who is she?” She asked him.
Jidenna stared into Lola’s
eyes and she could tell he was very nervous.
*******
To be continued on Friday.
Tnx for d update Carina. Lola should just follow her heart. Looks like Miss Fayemi will make it easy for her though.
ReplyDeleteHello Chux!
DeleteThanks for this episode. One thing I like about you is that you are very consistent. And ur delivery is always on point.
ReplyDeleteLola must not mess up.
Follow your heart.
You see what makes practice different outside the country, Lola wouldnt have delivered the preg news except she her ok permission from the woman.
But sometimes, the method has its demerits.
Good job.
Omolola
God bless you Dr. Lola!
DeleteThanks for putting a smile on my face.