"23 year old patient, Jake, shows no signs of high blood pressure, or risk of Type II Diabetes, His vitals are all intact. Just has a fracture on the left collarbone, and right ankle due to the sudden fall, while he played soccer. He can be released in 24 hours" My words sped out, like a poem, hoping they were right as I memorized the charts for the two-hundredth times. They had him monitored throughout the year incase if his pancreas stopped producing insulin. He's prone to Diabetes, the doctors were all anticipating for him reaching the first stage of diabetes two years ago but Subhanallah nothing has happened. He's been well fit.
"We will call the ortho and they will check on that, but for now you will not be seeing us in a while" Dr. Jacob said. Dr. Jacob looked at Aiyla, my eyes were always bowed down or fixated on the charts. 'Probably one of his favourite intern, but he knew the hospital didn't appreciate her presence specifically.
She was too smart for them and hoped that she can move on forward from here and find another job, Aiyla deserved it.' he thought. The other interns spoke, as I checked the time on and off. In about 30 minutes the girls and I had to leave to Petersbrooke healthcare hospital for an interview they finally got. I was literally on the run to the horizon when I heard about it, all of us girls stayed up talking late at night, making up scenarios of winning the Nobel Prize. It's a shock, Dr. Peters is picky, but he likes greedy interns, those who are after for the best. Excitement surged through me, something in my guts told me that there will be a huge event/twist point heading up in her life.
Trust me, there is... and the girls and I were clueless as the men who didn't know what insulins were.
Finishing off with Jake, the group headed off to the next room. Entering inside the room, the interns came face to face with a set of twins.
Twins had always fascinated me, inside - I knew I wanted twins but there was no chance for me, since no-one in my ancestor were twins. Especially the identical ones, are so fascinating. Its god creation of how everything looks so alike, but yet so different.
I watched as one of my peer Interns spoke out about the Twins chart. They had a rare disease, which really did not exist anymore in this world, lucky for them they were vaccinated. They had the smallpox, small pox was long gone, but the twins vividly showed pain and sadness. The occurrence of this disease was sudden, but thankfully we had the great Edward Jenner that discovered the vaccine for it in 1796. Another reason they were here, is that they needed the vaccine but also had to be tested for any heart problem. At the moment I was working with cardiac team, however I wished it was the neuro team but didn't mind.
The twins were also born conjoined and had about 5 surgeries to get through their lives. The surgery for conjoined twins is very hard, their nerves, and all those veins are connected together. That is why it is done in a time limit and with many surgeons around. The only thing that was left was to make sure there heart was pumping well. Surgery takes a lot of pressure on the heart and brain, but inshallah things would work out for them. As we finally finished up this round I head out and left the group. Time is so much slower when you keep looking at it, but if you look away from it for just a second it goes by so fast, how odd right.
"Hey Aiyla" Lexie, one of the Interns called out.
"Hi!"
"We are having a party at Lucas's tonight, since you are a pretty smart surgeon why don't you come" She offered. Oh these parties though, obviously I couldn't go. Almost all Muslims in the world have been invited to party late night, go out, or go to bar at least once in their life. I remembered back in high school how awkward it would be when people would have night parties and get drunk. My insecurity used to take a toll on me, making me feel like I did not belong. Worse than that, other Muslims also go out, unaware of what is allowed and what isn't in the religion that is why people around us are so confused. If only everyone just followed then it wouldn't be so diverse. It was upsetting but there is little you can do.
"Thanks for the offer, but I am a bit busy anyways" I laughed, Lexie shrugged her shoulder and hopped back her way to the Intern lounge. Believe it or not, the we never hung out there, it stank with strong alcohol. Anyways, I looked back at the time and to my surprise it was only about 10 minutes left for there interview. I looked around nervously, we had to get out of here. Rushing down to the Cafeteria, I was able to spot Zayna talking to her peers. "ZAYNA!" Going to the interview was so important to the us, especially me, there was something secretive my family kept from others that was attached to Peters Brooke Hospital.
Zayna heard my voice, and her eyes widened. "Let's go!" she said. We both made a run down to the front doors and quickly exited out. Both of our hearts raced uncontrollably. Time is key in a surgeons life, without that you are done for it. We met Hana and Maryam on the way and sat in the car, Zayna quickly drove us to the area. It wasn't so far but yes a good exact 10 minutes-drive. Those ten-minutes felt like forever though, my stomach was yearning for food, and it kind of always did whenever I got nervous. Interviews are freaky especially when the boss is staring at you solemnly and you are trying to bring in a brighter mood.
We managed to make it inside, upon us approached a young man, preferably a few years older than us. "Zayna, come this way" he said. The girls and I eyed Zayna in confusion, it finally rung a bell when she mouthed cousin. We all walked behind him, and went up the elevator.
My eyes couldn't stop scanning every inch of the hospital, it felt like a dream. As soon as I stepped into the hospital everything around me zoned out and it felt like I was in my paradise, it was something he cherished a lot, and did not want to bring him down. The walls were painted fresh light blue, and it was a cute hospital, kids were running around, elevators were made of glass, the tiles were spotless and shiny.
They came upon a room, and Bilal motioned Zayna to go first. Zayna's heart raced, she can feel her cheeks burning ever so endlessly, waving a goodbye she stepped inside and her heart dropped as she came face to face with Dr. Peters, the man all surgeon praised to be like. I noted her tense shoulders, as Zayna walked in, we all just sat there, waiting for their turn to come. Bilal was leaning beside the door, bored out of his mind, he kind of didn't want Zayna to come, but professionalism came first, he couldn't just say no. He knew that when she would work, Zayna was probably going to regret it.
A group of doctors walked towards us, "new interns?" My heard distinctly, trying not to eavesdrop but they were loud.
"Doubt they will make it" A doctor chuckled on the side. My eyes were for some reason glued to the floor, I furrowed my eyebrows, 'did he just say we won't make it?!'
"If they have a hand of a goddess, I'll be getting the best one" Another voice beamed, my voice scoffed at the comment, My eyes had caught something unusual, it was the name tag. Dr. Hamza, Neurologist. PhD, Md. My eyes were wide as I gazed at him walk away, I was baffled to see a Muslim top Neurologist. Okay, I am lying, I was baffled that I kinda saw him right before my eyes because I stalked his works, studying all his successes.
It wasn't too long, Zayna's turn was done and I was up. Zayna came out of the room looking well established, it pointed out that her interview went definitely well. Bilal motioned me to go next, my hands started to shiver and stomach growled in nervousness. This was probably the scariest moment, I started to feel very hot under my hijab. Walking up towards the door, "you'll be fine" Zayna whispered. A short smile occurred on my lips before I reached inside. There he stood, a man, actually a fine man, in his 50's with his hand out to greet me. This situations were the worst, they are such cringe moments. Looking down at his hands, and back up at his face, my stomach started to growl.
"Hi sir, with all due respect, religiously I do not sha –
"Oh, No need! Sorry Doctor Aiyla" He laughed. My cheeks flustered pink once he called out my name by the title doctor.
"Sit down" he motioned me across the table. In case if you are unaware, Islam does not allow the opposite gender to touch hands, and those who understand that, it's greatly appreciated.
"How are you doing?" Dr. Peter asked.
"I am fine thank you, how are you?"
"Doing just great, why medicine, what inspired you to go into medicine"
"Science is a unique subject matter to me, ever since we started the subject science I couldn't get out of how astonished I was by the creation of the tiniest atom, to the discovery of the DNA, Watson and Crick model. The superiority that one atoms has really captured me and I couldn't let go of any books, let alone of yours. For me, my thought of a great doctor is someone who is passionate, hardworking and that is willing to go through obstacles to help and save other peoples. My father passed away, Doctor, when I was 10 years old due to a brain tumor. Ever since then Neurology has been my goal, helping someone seems to be my duty, and I believe you deserve this kind of member in your hospital" My voice was clear and settle, Dr. Peter was impressed, I showed no signs of hesitant which was a double bonus for her. Dr. Peters hadn't seen such a strong, ambitious woman, I could tell through his face expression that played out to be surprised which let's hope is a good thing.
"Interesting, what is the key of handling worst scenarios, with patience or families"
"Calm, Calmness is always the key. If I were to overreacting in a scenario then everything would turn upside and that is the last thing we doctors want."
And with that I continued, the questions were kind of unnecessary at times but they were also very hard. Especially when an intern is told to diagnose, they aren't as good at it. After a few moment later, of waiting for Hana and Maryam to be done with theirs. The girls and I both left the hospital and headed back towards St. Mari Hospital where they originally worked at.
***
*Petersbrook HealthCare Hospital...*
Peters came out of the room watching the girls go bye, "I'm impressed" He looked at Bilal shaking his hands.
"Call the other attending, we will discuss this further in detail" and with that Peters left of leaving Bilal nervous for Zayna. Although they weren't close, he was sure Zayna would mind himself coming to warn her. So he shrugged it off, and headed back towards to his floor.
***
"I am so scared" Hana sighed, while she checked her phone and pager for any calls.
"Don't worry, Inshallah we all will get in" I mumbled, over thinking, the scenarios that you go through can lower your confidence, and that is what I was doing. I felt weaker, and loss of hope knowing that there is a great chance Dr. Peters just was not interested in hiring them.
My eyes did not leave the big wide screen that portrayed an x-ray of the heart with a massive tumor on the side. 'I want in on that' I thought mesmerized, but I had to prove it, plus getting on surgeries was very hard, especially as an intern. Enthralled by the size of the tumour, I made my way towards my attending.
"Wow, it's huge" Dr. Hill said, shocked. "You want in?"
My eyes widened at hearing her response. "Yes, please!" I squealed in excitement, but hid it as soon as I saw Dr. Hill raise an eyebrow, I didn't want to go all jumpy in front of her, after all rumours spread that she wasn't a fan of me.
It was out fourth year of internship, this meant we needed to participate more for our upcoming board exams. It wasn't long until, I texted all my friends that I was going to go into a tumor/cardiac surgery. My head wandered in typical scenarios of me helping out in the surgery, it was crazy to think Dr. Hills actually allowed to enter the surgery. Dr. Hills although, not liking my presence much, birdies told me she did really think I had a hand worth million dollars. Those had to be used, and I needed to learn.
As excitement built up inside of me, I decided to use the washroom since the chart said it was going to be an 18 hour long surgery! I had to clean my bladder out before anything, I re-fixed my hijab and then again whispers spurt out. They were talking about how unbelievable it is for me to attend on a surgery, as if it shouldn't happen. Rolling my eyes, I walked out of the washroom and decided to head out. A good fresh air is always calming.
Ignoring the looks, my legs made its way outside quickly. I had always a habit of looking down while walking, many told me that I shouldn't but I did it anyways. They were right, a loud puff of air escaped my mouth as my body clashed onto something very harshly. My body jerked back out of reflex, and my eyes come face to face to an unusual shocked face expression. His eyes were emerald green, with dark hair, and his skin was pale.
My eyes fell down immediately, cheeks were growing pink, "sorry" my soft voice rolled out, and I dashed by like the wind not giving him anytime to apologize as well.
'That was so awkward' But it certainly didn't stop me from noticing how beautiful his eyes were. 'Ugh, it's so hard to stop blushing in front of guys, thankfully I wasn't so pale so I was sure it didn't show or did it?' Girls, like our group rarely talk, hang out, and laugh with guys.
So, when girls see someone good looking it really is kind of hard to resist, I mean you can like them but we cannot do anything upon that. The wind was cool, but warm. I felt relieved as I stood outside leaning against the wall of the hospital. Air was such a relieving feeling, it just washed out every tensed feeling I had, and how dead my face looked all the time. My phone buzzed, and I immediately picked it up assuming it was the doctor but what I saw, was much more important than that.
PETERSBROOK HEALTHCARE HOSPITAL
Subject: Offer of Admission
Dear Dr. Aiyla,
We would like to...
My body froze, as I eyed the email notification. It arrived sooner than expected, honestly I thought it would take about 3 – 5 days for them to decide and chose if they got in or not. After few minutes of dilemma I finally decided to open up the email.
I gasped aloud almost catching people's attention.
PetersBrooke HealthCare Hospital
Subject: Offer of Admission
Dear Dr. Aiyla,
We would like to congratulate you on your admission to PetersBrooke HealthCare Hospital. We would like to give you a warm welcome on June 31st, please RSVEP if you are able to attend. Your specialty doctor that you have been assigned to will email you further details.
"OH MY GOD YAY" My voice echoed through the midst of air. My eyes scanned the area surrounding, awkward stares glanced my way, I literally wanted to go run inside and find the girls, squeal and jump but I kept it inside.
"Alhamdulilah" I sighed hugging my phone ever so tightly. I could feel happiness gush over my body, wanting to take over, this was the best mood to be in for the surgery.
It was about time for me to head inside and head to OR2. I entered the room and scrubbed myselfs in, preparing for surgery.
My eyes scanned the room, the bed was situated in the middle with the light shining on the patient, and tools were placed on the side of the bed where nurses were surrounded. Behind the body's head the anesthesiologist sat there waiting for all the surgeons to come in.
I glanced up at the gallery, more surprised, many doctors were watching us, and her friends sat on the front row. My heart leaped out of her chest and came back harshly, I could feel the adrenalin working up in my body. Taking slow strides I made my way in front of the patient's body. Although nervous, I was with many surgeons within my surrounding, knowing if there were to be a mistake, they all can help me out.
Though, I did not want to make a mistake, I couldn't. This was the most nerve racking moment for me, the anesthesiologist gave the patient anesthesia, watching him droop away it felt as if the whole world was watching me.
"You make the cut, Dr. Aiyla" she said, her voice was so loud, it bounced across the wall and rung in my ears alerting me to stop being scared. Taking in a breath, I quickly recited Bismillah. My eyes were fixed at the exposed chest.
"Scalpel" I placed my hands out and was given a metal thin blade knife – clenched my hands tightly to avoid any shaking. Shaking wasn't adequate, or that would ruin the incision, and this had to be flawless. God name repeated over and over in my head. My hand with the scalpel slowly went towards its chest. That is when I dug in pressing a good amount of pressure, and began to slice, I could almost hear the skin ripping, which I tried not to squirm too. 'I made a clean cut' my head spoke out, receiving applause by nurses. The blood made its way through and out of the cut, quickly grabbing a towel, I watched Dr. Hills spread his skin open. It was the most disgusting thing, I squirmed and bit my bottom lips in disgust. A tool separated the cut showing the exposed beating heart right before our eyes. It was beating, Subhanallah, such a miracle, watching a live heart beating but beside there was black substance. It was the tumour.
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A/N: Sooo! Sooo! How did you guys like it?!
This isn't that of a long chapter but quite long, let me know how long you guys prefer I think first chapter got a little bit out of hand. Hahah.
Is it just me or whenever reading books on surgeons, or watching greys anatomy all you want to do is also become one XD .