41. Rohit
“ M om, I’m getting ready for work,” I complain to my mother, who is rambling on speaker phone as I clean up my beard. My shift starts in forty-five minutes, and this is not how I want to start my day.
“Beta, I’m just asking you to come shopping for clothes to wear at Reena’s engagement,” my mother huffs.
“In India. You are asking me to go shopping in India. In two weeks. I can’t do that. I have work.” I shake my head as I wipe any stray hairs from the sink.
“ Bakavaas." Bullshit . "I know you could rearrange your shifts if you wanted. Bas hamaare saath aao ." Just come with us. "You can meet a nice girl,” my mother presses.
“A girl? In India? Mom, don’t be ridiculous. I’m not moving to India and I don't want any girl moving here for me.” I hold the phone in my hand as I move to my bedroom. What I don’t say is that I already met a nice girl. I think I met the girl. The only girl I’ll ever want to be with ever again.
I don’t know why I can’t just tell her. Years of being conditioned to hide my relationships, years of knowing exactly what kind of daughter-in-law she’d want—it’s so hard to overcome that barrier and be honest with her. And forget about my dad. He’s worse. I’m already such a disappointment to them for not pursuing an MD degree that I can’t stand to be more of a fuck-up in their eyes.
“Rohit, I just can’t with you,” my mother grits out. I can tell she’s getting more agitated as I pull my scrubs on and stay silent on my end.
“Mom, I love you. I have to go to work. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I promise as I end the call. I took the day off from both of my jobs just to be able to spend as much time with my family tomorrow for Diwali. It’s one of my favorite holidays where we celebrate the victory of good over evil, light over dark, and ring in a prosperous new year. With lots of food and fireworks. What could be better? It’ll also be nice to see Reena and her fiancé.
I always spend the day with family, even if it’s a weekday, and adding Arjun to the mix feels right, but leaving Miley out does not. Especially because I’m going to her sister’s wedding literally the day after Diwali. I try not to dwell on it though because I need to get to work on time.
I rush to the hospital and just as I enter the unit, I see Rhonda being wheeled into bed eight.
“Rohit, perfect timing. Your only patient has just arrived to the floor,” the night nurse says as she points at Rhonda.
“Why is she back?” I ask, worried, as I look over at her. She appears clammy and sweat drips from her forehead, which is never a good sign.
“Fever, tachycardia, signs of acute abdomen. No beds in the surgical ICU, so they brought her here. Just had a scan and they are worried about an anastomotic leak. Surgery should be coming by to talk to her about going back to the OR,” the nurse explains as she hands me the rapid response pager. “She’s going to be your only patient so you can also go to RRTs,” she says as she gets ready to leave.
“Thanks, get home safe.” I nod to her as I enter Rhonda’s room.
I take a dry paper towel and wipe Rhonda’s forehead. She gives me a feeble smile. “We have to stop meeting like this,” she says weakly.
“Absolutely we do. You have way better things to do than hang out with me,” I reply with a smile. Just then, the door to her room slides open, and both Miley and Hannah walk in.
“Ms. Smith, I can imagine you don’t feel very well,” Hannah states matter-of-factly. “Your imaging makes us suspect that one of the areas where we connected two adjoining sections of your intestines is leaking.”
“What do you mean?” Rhonda interrupts in a soft voice.
“Think of your intestines like a pipe. We cut out a problem from the middle and connected the two ends that were left. That closure is leaking,” Hannah explains patiently. “You now have an infection which is causing the pain, and we need to take you back to surgery to fix the problem.”
Hannah goes over the risks and benefits of the procedure, and then Rhonda signs the consent form with a weak scribble.
“Doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice,” she says with a sigh, handing the clipboard back.
Miley then steps forward and explains the anesthesia process and obtains Rhonda’s consent for that as well.
Forms in hand, they step out of the room and my eyes trail behind Miley involuntarily. Rhonda clears her throat.
“Here I am, on death’s door, and you only have eyes for the pretty doctor.” She rolls her eyes, but a playful smirk tugs at her lips.
“One, you are not on death’s door, and two, you are my priority right now, but…” My voice trails off.
“But you and Dr. Chen are an item,” Rhonda finishes for me. “It’s obvious, you know.” Rhonda smiles as she pats my hand affectionately.
I shake my head as I get ready to draw Rhonda’s pre-operative labs.
“It’s just a shame that you won’t be my son-in-law,” Rhonda deadpans, and I can’t help snorting out a laugh.
“It’s good to see you feeling well enough to joke,” I say honestly.
“It’s laugh or cry, so I choose laughter.” Rhonda shrugs.
Just as I finish drawing her labs, her monitor starts beeping. I look up and notice the EKG tracing is changing. Shit. I have a feeling I know what’s happening, and it’s going to complicate things.
“Rohit, I feel like my heart is racing,” Rhonda pants.
“Hang on, Rhonda, you’re going to be okay. I’ll be right back,” I say as I head out the door. I find Winston right away and explain the situation.
“Good catch, I’ll call cardiology,” he remarks as he picks up the phone. “Hey, I need a consult, pre-op patient with anastomotic leak after Whipple for pancreatic cancer now in rapid a-fib. We need to stabilize her for surgery,” Winston explains concisely.
I head back to Rhonda’s room with a twelve-lead EKG. Cardiology is going to want a full reading, not just what they see on the monitor. Within minutes, I see Quinn power-walking into the room.
“Rohit, nice to see you,” he nods professionally, considering the gravity of the situation. I nod back and hand him the printout from the EKG machine. “Thanks, man,” he says as he accepts the paper and examines it swiftly.
Rhonda looks at Quinn’s name tag and then looks back at me. “Rohit, why is a cardiologist here to see me?” she asks with concern in her eyes.
“This is Dr. Parker, he’s one of the best our cardiology department has to offer, and he’s here because your heart rate is a little fast and irregular. We need his input to make sure you are safe for surgery.” Now it’s my turn to pat Rhonda’s hand reassuringly.
“Wow, what an introduction,” Quinn jokes before turning serious. “Ms. Smith, I’m going to order some medications to help stabilize your heart. The abnormalities we are noticing are likely because the leak is causing an infection which is prompting the abnormal heart rate and rhythm. But we can manage the situation with medications now, and the anesthesiologist will continue to manage you during the surgery. This does slightly increase the risk of the procedure, but in the end, you need the surgery regardless. We will do everything we can to make the entire process as safe as possible.” Quinn smiles at Rhonda and waits for her to nod her agreement before exiting the room.
I follow him and make note of his orders so I can administer the right medications. Before he leaves, he squeezes my shoulder and we make assurances we will catch up after Diwali.
Soon enough, with Quinn’s recommendations, Rhonda’s heart rate stabilizes, and she is called to the OR for her surgery.