183 Happy day

The next morning Astila's patient wakes up he sees his wife's face. 

"Hey, darling, the people in the other car?" His voice is weak and he begins to cough. She tells him to rest and rushes out of the room. 

"my husband is awake ." She lets the nurse's station know. One nurse goes to the room the other to goes to wake up Astila. The Dr from the night before arrived just as she was going to wake him. He tells her. 

"Let him sleep, if I know him he was up till the sun rose . I check on the patient. " he goes to the room to check on him. 

"Good morning sir how are you feeling this morning. " checking his vitals and asks the nurse to do an EKG. The man is having difficulty speaking. 

"The difficulty you having is because of the medication. We will lower your medication gradually so you will become more alert. We took the tube out earlier when your vitals became stable so your throat may be a little sore. Do you remember what happened?" The man nods his head and tries to speak again. The Dr tells him not to worry they can talk after he gets some more rest. He takes his wife out and talks with her. 

"I let Astila sleep if I know that boy he stayed awake most of the night. When I get his EKG I will know more about how his heart is doing after the surgery. He will be ok the critical time has passed. " she nods and thanks to him. As he is about to leave he sees Johns's daughter come out of her daughter's room. 

"How is your child this morning." He asks. 

"She is stable they have her heavily sedated so she has woken up yet. " she looks at the woman and asks her. 

"How is your husband ?" She smiles weakly still feeling apprehensive. 

"He just woke up he is weak but will be ok. I hope your daughter will be ok." John's daughter takes her hand. 

"It's good that your husband has woken up. Thank you it's just a waiting game for now. I know God has his hands on her so I know she will be ok." The woman squeezes her hand and asks her. 

"Are you not angry at my husband for causing the accident?" 

"Why would I be angry? He was not drunk or drinking dangerously. He did not intentionally hurt my child. He had a heart attack and almost died himself. How is it his fault? No one knows if the boy driving could have avoided it or not. It was an accident it's in God's hands only God will decide her fate. I know it must have been hard for you to have my huge family in the waiting room last night. I hope we did not disturb you too much. We tend to take over wherever we go." Looking at the Dr beside the woman she asks him"Are you Astila's friend from Baltimore?" He answered 

"I am, I came as soon as he called. We have been colleagues since he first came out of basic training." She smiles at him and asks him another question. 

"So then you know the Commander my uncle?" He looks at her puzzled. 

"I had no idea that you were the Commander's family. Then the old chief he was related as well?" 

She shakes her head no and explains. 

"Uncle Audis is related to Aisling by blood. We became family with him when her father married my Dad's sister. Though we have thought of him as our family since then and out of respect for his love and care have always called him Uncle. Do you know him as well? He is in Chicago right now with his daughter. His wife passed just about a month ago. He used to be a big Dr in Baltimore years ago and at the university before that." The Dr nods and smiles turning to the woman. 

"The old Chief was a pioneer in heart surgery as a young man I met him during my internship. Well, it is truly a small world. I have got to meet the commander's family and my old mentors' family and didn't even know it." The woman smiles at the two and thanks to them. 

"Hearing about the family makes me feel better. My fears of him not taking care of my husband properly are eased. Thank you dear for your kindness you know most would be resentful and not so kind." Hearing the weakness in her voice John's daughter hugs the woman. 

"You know Aunt Norma used to tell us that it takes less energy to be kind than it takes to be resentful. To be resentful only hurts you and exhaust your energy. To be kind frees your spirit and lift your energy. I believe that no matter what is going on. If I look for a way to be kind then I will only have happiness." She excuses herself and goes back into her daughter's room. The woman smiles and goes to the chapel. The nurse comes and gives the Dr the EKG results. He grins the patient is recovering nicely. He goes to get some breakfast in the cafeteria. He notices that most of the tables are taken up by Aisling's family. He sees Astila has woken up and is having breakfast. Astila notices him and waves him over. 

"Good morning, thank you for checking on my patient this morning and letting me sleep. I was still up at sunrise. Was everything satisfactory at Audis's house last night?" He looks at his friend and is surprised when he hits him in the arm. 

"Hey, what's that for?" He asks rubbing his arm. 

"That's for not telling me that all these people are the commander's family. It is also for not telling me who the old chief was. Do you not understand how much I respect both of them. One saved my life and the other is the reason for being a heart surgeon. You are so lucky to have them as family." The man is gushing with admiration for the two older gentlemen. Astila looks at him and shakes his head. 

"I thought you knew that Aisling was his niece. Now for Audis, I did not know that if I had I would have told you. It's not my fault you were on your military weekend when I got married. You could have met him then. Here I will make it up to you." Astila FaceTimes Audis so he can give him an update on the kids and that way his friend can talk to him. Audis answers right away. 

"How are the kids? How are John and the family doing? Do I need to come home?" He spoke without taking a breath his concern is noticeable in his voice. Astila laughs and gives him a quick update he also lets him know he has someone who wishes to speak to him. Handing the phone to his friend. 

"Good morning sir. I was one of your students from the university. You are the reason I chose heart surgery as my specialty. I am grateful for the chance to speak to you." Audis chuckles tell him. 

"Thank you though I'm nothing special I am just someone who was teaching and practicing during the early years. I appreciate your kind words. Thank you for helping my family out though. I will come home if needed. I may be retired but it's still my hospital. " he hands the phone back to Astila after saying his goodbyes. Astila fills him in on everyone and tells him he will call later. Looking at his friend he tells him. 

" I do thank you for dropping everything to reassure my patient's family. Most would not have done that." His sincerity touched the man's heart. 

" You know why I like and respect Audis so much. It's because on my first day in his class he told us. If you do not have compassion for patients you cannot be a Doctor. More importantly, you have to have compassion and tolerance towards your peers. They are going through the same things you are. Most have the same insecurities you do. We are not God but we do hold life in our hands each time we pick up a scalpel. If you know a fellow Doctor is having difficulty then help them. Lift them to be better. Give them a helping hand and a kind word. We are not in competition with each other we are here to do one job and that is to unselfishly and without praise to save a life. That is what being a Doctor is. It has nothing to do with awards or money. Nothing to do with prestige or glory. If you are here for that then you have no place in my class. You can walk out the door. How you look at your fellow Doctors and your patient has more to do with being a Doctor than you know. The day you see your patients as a chance to have the prestige or to fatten your bank account is the day you stop being a Doctor. Be the best Doctor you can be and those things naturally follow. That is why I have such regard for him. That is why when a fellow Doctor calls me if I am able I drop everything to help them. He is an amazing man. You are very lucky to know him intimately." His friend looks at him and says see you later and leaves. Astila grins in awe as he thinks of Audis.