Li Chuntao had started her residency at the hospital where she was working. Being the top of her cla.s.s and this year"s top 1 on the professional medical board in the country. She wasn"t only popular with her colleagues but with their professors and fellow doctors as well, who were impressed with her professionalism. Adding the fact that she was quite beautiful and her look was refres.h.i.+ng to one"s eyes in this foreign land. Although she was just starting her residency at North Star Medical Center in its emergency department, she was receiving a lot of attention from the patients and her co-workers. Some patients thought she was an angel disguised as a doctor and have joked about it.
Her face was a perfect replica of her twin, and while Ying"s eyes were expressive, Li Chuntao"s had a hint of mystery and coldness on it. Her long wavy waist-length hair that flowed on her back was tied on a low ponytail with a few strands framing her small face.
That day, she was wearing her customary white blouse paired with a high waisted pencil skirt and low flat shoes.
"Dr. Iris Li?" An elderly woman came to her and called her name. The woman had a bright smile on her face and was holding both of her hands in front of her.
"Yes?" Li Chuntao answered back instinctively without looking back to see who had called her. Her foreign name became more familiar to her as years pa.s.sed by.
She was standing and talking with the nurse stationed at the reception area of the ER when the old woman approached her.
"I just wanna say thank you for saving my son"s life. I-I…" The old woman stuttered and her eyes welled up with tears.
When she brought her middle-aged son to the ER, the man was burning with high fever and had lost his consciousness and the other resident doctors refused to check on him because coincidentally, a ma.s.sive fire had just happened at the central business complex and the ER was swamped with the injured patients.
The old woman had been desperately begging for everyone to check on her son as they"ve been waiting for hours for treatment.
All the doctors in the ER had their hands full and were having a hard time seeing each of the patients that needed medical attention. It was only Li Chuntao, with the help of a female nurse, who decided to step up and check on the old woman"s son"s condition. She thought that her fellow doctors and interns would be enough to see the burns of the other patients that crowded their department.
After conducting some physical exam, reviewing the patient"s medical history and chest x-ray, Li Chuntao had then requested several tests to be done as she concluded that the man"s condition wasn"t a simple case of high fever. The labored and rapid breathing as well as discoloration on his fingernails indicate that there was an underlying illness that she had yet to confirm. Li Chuntao relied on an electrocardiogram and echocardiogram to rule out a heart condition.
Later on, it was confirmed that the vessels on the patient"s lungs were damaged and the fluid was starting to fill its air sacs. This resulted in an oxygen deficiency in his body. Oxygen treatment and fluid management were done at once to prevent worsening his condition. Li Chuntao"s quick and decisive approach had saved the patient"s life this time.
"It"s my pleasure to help you," Li Chuntao said curtly.
Her tone was spoken out of duty rather than politeness. She didn"t choose to become a doctor because she wanted to save lives but because being a doctor presented her more challenges that demanded precision and accuracy. A single mistake could lead to a person"s death and that was the one she was trying to overcome.
Li Chuntao knew that she could never treat and save every patient that comes her way but it didn"t mean she would give up on it. After pa.s.sing the board, she wanted to specialize in cardiac and thoracic surgery, which was considered one of the most compet.i.tive programs.
"Your son is recovering well. Rest a.s.sured that his condition is getting stable. It was lucky for him that you"ve brought him just in time to save his life." She added.
"Still, please accept my thanks and grat.i.tude, Dr. Li," The old woman insisted.
After a few more minutes of conversing with her, the old woman finally leaves her alone which amuses the nurses in the reception area.
"Dr. Li, you are getting more popular these days," One of them teased her.
Li Chuntao shrugged and gave back the patient chart she was reading earlier.
"I have no idea what you mean. I"m just doing my job as a doctor." She said nonchalantly.
"Dr. Li, are you going to start your general surgery residency program soon? I think you"re ready," Another one followed up with a question.
"We"ll see. I trust our supervising doctor"s decision. He should know if I"m ready or not." Li Chuntao replied before a sudden pain on her chest hit her.
Her eyes slightly widened and her body leaned on the counter for support as she was caught off guard. The pain was short but she couldn"t deny that it didn"t happen.
Just what had happened?
"Dr. Li, are you alright?"
It seemed that she wasn"t the only one who noticed it.
"Y-yes.." Li Chuntao sounded like she wasn"t sure herself. After a.s.suring the nurses that she was fine, she excused herself to take her break to call her twin sister but Ying never picked up her calls.
"Ying, what happened to you?"