738 Head Injury
"What's going on?" she cried out.
No one really paid attention to her and soon she was pushed out of the room. She looked at Ah-Si who came back after making the call and held his arms asking, "Ah-Si, something is wrong. Something is wrong with Darren. What to do? They are not saying anything..."
Her voice was shaky and she was constantly talking without making much sense.
Suddenly, a doctor in a white coat came out and asked, "Were you with the patient when he fainted?" Nora nodded her head in a daze. "By any chance, did you notice something strange? For instance, was his eyes focused?"
Nora thought back to how Darren had actually held the bed to find his way around to Xiu's side and promptly replied, "He was having trouble with vision. I'm sure he could see it clearly because he took the help of the hospital bed to navigate around the room."
The doctor's face was grave now. Ah-Si asked, "Doctor, is everything alright?"
"When the patient originally came, he had an injury on his occipital lobe. It wasn't major but it wasn't minor either. Despite that injury, he continued to move around and that had aggravated his brain injury. Occipital love is responsible for our vision, either its color, light, or movements." He took a pause to observe Nora's and Ah-Si's faces that gone pale and slowly added, "We suspect there might be a blood clot that's why he had a seizure. We'll have to immediately perform a surgery."
"But he'll be alright? Right?" inquired Nora expectantly.
The doctor gave her a small smile, "We'll try our best."
Nora held the doctor back saying, "No, don't just say that. You have to make sure he is fine."
Ah-Si pulled her back while the doctor left to arrange for the surgery. Nora who had been holding herself back, now finally cried as she asked, "Ah-Si, what am I gonna tell Xiu? What if she wakes up and asks me where is her husband? What will I tell her? What can I say to her? That I couldn't even take care of her husband while she was unconscious? What to do?"
Ah-Si held her tightly and wanted to say something but actually had no words to say. He didn't know how to offer her support when he was himself on the verge of breaking down. His relationship with Xiu might be of blood but he got to know that recently. As for Darren, he knew him for years. Darren had always been there for him without any question.
So, knowing that Darren's condition wasn't good, he was really lost.
"Bro!" Ah-Si called out in a choked-up voice.
Xin Xiaoli looked at Nora's crying figure and asked again, this time a bit forcefully, "Tell me what is going on?!"
Ah-Si immediately related everything that the doctor said and Xin Xiaoli was stunned to his place. Darren was just as important to him as he was to his younger brother. They had been friends for years. And now he was also his sister's husband.
But instead of breaking down like the two people before him, he rationally took out his phone and dialed a number. As soon as the call connected, he said, "Dr. Ling, I'm sorry to trouble you but it seems you'll have to come to the hospital. Now!" After that, he went to a side and gave her the details about Darren's condition that he learned from his younger brother.
"Let me talk to the attending doctor there," came the voice from the other side.
Xin Xiaoli nodded that she couldn't see but he ran and the resounding impact of his soles against the tiles was clearly transmitted to the other side.
He found the doctor and passed his phone to him. He stood silently at the side and waited for them to finish. He heard the doctor before him saying, "Don't worry, Dr. Ling. I'll prepare everything. And it'll be my honor to assist you in this surgery. I'll be waiting."
He gave Xin Xiaoli's phone back and smiled softly at him, "Relax, Mr. Xin. Since you already have called Dr. Ling, she won't let anything happen to the patient. Have faith in us."
But it wasn't enough to calm Xiao Li. It was far beyond that. He had faith in the doctor he chose but he didn't have much faith in the fate that loved to play with him and everyone around him. How could he set his heart to rest? Whenever he thought everything would be fine, something would go wrong. Now, he wasn't even sure anymore about what could be defined as 'fine' at this point.
"Nora!"
Nora's whole body stiffened when she heard her mother's voice from behind. How were they here so soon? Didn't Ah-Si just call them? She slowly turned around with tears stained face but when she looked at Francesca who was also coming with her parents, she felt her knees go weak and her body actually limped and fell down.
Ah-Si looked at her and supported her up as he asked, "Is this really the time to lose your strength?"
Nora's voice was strained as she whispered, "Then you tell me. How am I supposed to look into Francesca Salvay's eyes and tell her that her son is fighting desperately for his life right now? I can't do that!"
"We just checked on Xiu, she seems to be fine," said Clara. "But how is Darren? Where is he?"
"Yeah. Where is he?" Francesca also chimed in.
Nora looked at their faces and couldn't bring herself to face their eyes. She really couldn't do it!
Feeling that her silence was stretching, Francesca felt apprehensive, "Nora, say something. Where is my son? How is he?"
"He..." Nora couldn't continue as tears began to gush out once again. And seeing this, Francesca felt her own breath hitching.
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