Recipient 23 by Eitan Carmi

Author:Eitan Carmi [Carmi, Eitan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-30T16:00:00+00:00

-Come back, Dr. Ricardo is here for an inspection. He wants to update you on how the surgery went.

***

“Well, Dr. Ricardo, talk to me. I’m stressing out like crazy.” Gil exhaled, having come running while skipping three stairs at a time.

“Relax, Gilberto,” the surgeon said, placing his hand on Gil’s shoulder. “Everything went smoothly, the kidney looked great, it’s already in the patient’s body. I just checked out Rodrigo. He’s fine. The stitches look excellent, totally clean. All indicators are perfectly normal, I expect him to wake up in a few minutes. Dr. Marcus will be coming by later to add the required dose of morphine to the IV, to spare our patient the post-op pain. I’ll check in with him again in the evening. You can relax. He’s in good hands. Rosita here will be at his side too… everything’s fine.”

“Ooof.” Gil groaned. “What a load off my shoulders. I was so worried for him. You know, I’m his escort after all.”

“Don’t worry, buddy.” The surgeon put an arm around Gil’s shoulders. The latter seeming like a deflated balloon. “Your young man’s strong, he’ll be discharged in a matter of three or four days at most. Regardless, I’ve got an eye on him. And now, with your permission, I’d like to see how our patient is doing.”

***

-Dr. Ricardo’s pleased.

The message from Gil appeared on Carolina’s cellphone screen.

-Good, I’m glad. Really.

-How’s your dad?

-It’ll take some time before he wakes up, the anesthesiologist said he deliberately didn’t put stimulants into the IV, the fewer chemicals in the body at this stage, the better.

-So are you coming for a smoke?

-Five minutes? At the cafeteria?

-I’ll be waiting.

***

She arrived with a smile, leaning over to him and kissing his forehead.

“Hi…” he said with surprise. “We agreed to just chat, what was that about?”

“Is there an objection?”

“God forbid. You just surprised me a lot.”

“It’s my way of thanking you,” she said, sitting in the nearby chair and lighting a cigarette. “I mean, I didn’t doubt taking on the work of accompanying my father for a moment, I didn’t realize how heavy the mental burden would be, or that the tension level would be so high. The fact that I found someone to chat with, to share the experience and the process, helps me a lot. Especially when at the end of the day it’s someone who completes the donor-patient equation.”

“Yes, I didn’t imagine that the patient’s escort would be the best thing that happened to me either. The fact that I have someone to talk to besides the donor and the medical staff is so helpful to me, a real boon. I think that if it weren’t for our joint cigarettes I’d be climbing the walls – just out of boredom and stress.”

“So how’s he doing?”

“Waking up slowly. Dr. Ricardo checked him out, everything seems normal, the stitches are clean, he should be discharged in three or four days.”

“Great. Really. I’m so happy for him. Did you ask him about meeting my father?”

“Yes. He’d prefer to stay anonymous.

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