The Engineer's Wife

Chapter 19 - The Team Building

Andrew Kennedy's POV

Few hours ago I was in a good mood after hearing my beloved fiancée's voice over the phone, but now I was displeased to be in the middle of a heated argument with the most difficult and annoying doctor in this hospital. My mood immediately shifted from joyful to fretful. Dr. Peter Hayes, the self important jerk as what other doctors call him, who kept sticking his nose in my cases and giving unsolicited medical opinion was currently debating whether to do a brain biopsy or not to my patient who was suspected to have a rapid progressing infection in his brain. Needless to say, he escalated it by going behind my back and reporting me to my own father, Dr. Daniel Kennedy, the former Head of Surgery and now our hospital administrator. Last week, my brother faced the medical board because of a mistake that he wasn't directly responsible for and I believed resulted in Dr. Hayes' negligence. We were pondering on the right course of action 20 minutes ago and here I was pointlessly explaining myself to the head of the hospital.

"You want to do a brain biopsy on someone who almost died on the operating table yesterday? " Dr. Peter Hayes yelled irritably at me. He waved his hand in air as a sign of disapproval. He didn't have the decency to tone down his voice and courageously scolded me in front of my own father and the one who signs his pay checks.

I nodded. "Yes." The smug look on my face didn't disappear. I handed the folder to my dad while trying to decipher the expression on his face.

"You can't just blindly stick a needle into his brain that would either make him suffer from multiple seizures or leave him brain damaged." He insisted confidently. He narrowed his eyebrow as he stared sharply at me.

"Why don't we ask his wife if she'd rather have her husband brain damaged or dead? I'm sure she'd prefer him on a wheelchair than in a coffin." I replied sarcastically as I tucked my arms on my chest. My dad held his pen playfully and seemed too amused with my boldness. I gave him a wicked grin.

"He doesn't need to undergo an invasive procedure given his current condition." Dr. Hayes wouldn't give up without a fight. I wouldn't either. I don't mind being told by other doctors what to do, but when I'm sure of my medical judgment, I fight for my right to treat even if it calls for a procedure that might endanger my patient's life.

He sat on the chair near my father's table and crossed his legs. "What happened to "do no harm"?"

"Don't you think I'm aware of that? I went to medical school too. Let's just say we're doing this to prevent my patient from being dead." I answered shrewdly. I could see the satisfaction in my father's eyes.

"Since you know that for a fact, why are you risking his life?"

"You're right. Since we can't do a brain biopsy, why don't we biopsy his toes instead? It's less invasive and isn't fatal at all. But I'm sure the test is inconclusive and a complete waste of time. In that way, we can stick to our ethical obligation to do no harm."

My father opened the folder and read the file. "How fast is the disease progressing?" I could sense from his tone that he needed proof that my patient actually had a brain infection.

"Probably faster than Dr. Hayes' ability to decide and accept that this is the right thing to do after we came up with a diagnosis."

"I want to know how advanced it is." Dr. Kennedy asked calmly.

It's already taking a masters degree." My dad scowled at me. I flashed a victorious smile which angered Dr. Hayes even more.

Dr. Kennedy caressed his nape warily as he walked majestically around the room. "Do a brain biopsy to confirm and start treatment right away." His tone was still yet authoritative. Dr. Hayes shook his head in resignation and immediately scooted as soon as I got my dad's consent to do the brain biopsy. I was about to walk out of his office when he cleared his throat to stop me.