Chapter 2

2.

"Dr. Miller, please come out! I can't hold on much longer!"

Hannah texted me again in a panic, her arms completely exhausted from chest compressions.

In my past life, I kept pressing for thirty long minutes because I believed that every life placed in my hands deserved a fighting chance.

CPR isn't supposed to last that long under standard protocol, but my sheer stubbornness was what brought him back.

Hannah, on the other hand, saw no progress after the standard cycle.

Seeing that the patient showed zero signs of life, she was ready to call time of death.

I walked out of the restroom, but I intentionally avoided the trauma bay.

Instead, I called into the room from the doorway. "We never give up on a beating heart. If your arms are tired, swap out, and if no one can press, hook up the automated CPR machine."

The department had an automated mechanical chest compression device available, which Hannah knew full well.

Reluctantly, she ordered the team to set up the machine and prep the defibrillator. With continuous mechanical compressions and shocks, the patient's rhythm finally converted, and he was wheeled into the operating room for emergency surgery.

Once the heart starts beating again, the rest of the trauma protocol is straightforward.

Between broken ribs and losing one's life, any sane person would choose life.

Hearing that the patient survived, I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

To protect myself, I made sure my name was nowhere on the emergency chart.

To my surprise, when Hannah walked out of the trauma bay, she bumped right into Vice President Bradford in the corridor.

She burst into tears, complaining that I had abandoned my post and nearly cost a patient his life.

Hannah dragged Dr. Bradford straight into my office, barging through the door without even knocking.

Clearly, she wasn't even bothering to hide her hostility anymore.

When they stormed in, I was quietly organizing a stack of discharged patient charts.

Hannah wiped away her tears and pointed an accusing finger at me.

"Look at him, Dr. Bradford! The ER was in absolute chaos, and Dr. Miller was just sitting here relaxing without a care in the world!"

"If it weren't for his laziness, we would have had a fatal medical disaster on our hands!"

In the history of emergency medicine, many patients who flatline are pronounced dead after standard protocol.

Yet miracles do happen when doctors refuse to give up.

We cannot guarantee a miracle every time, but our duty is to exhaust every possible avenue.

My palms were slick with cold sweat, but I forced myself to stand up calmly and look them in the eye.

"There is no hospital rule prohibiting a physician from using the restroom during their shift," I said evenly.

"While I was away, there were other staff members available to assist. Why is the blame falling entirely on me?"

I was an ordinary human being, not an omnipotent machine.