She didn't want to appear like a woman who wasn't capable and always relied on her husband.
Well, she was capable on her own, so why would she stress her husband if she could handle certain matters herself?
While feeling unhappy, Chen Lihua suddenly remembered something, her glasses.
A few days ago, Liu Longwei had asked her to get new ones in case the only one she had got damaged.
Thinking of it now, her glasses should have been ready by now.
Just then, Chen Lihua heard a knock from her door, and she gave the person permission to come in.
It was a nurse. She came in with some items in a tray.
She greeted Chen Lihua respectfully before putting the tray on her desk.
As Chen Lihua stared at the items on the tray in brilliant surprise, she wasn't able to catch everything the nurse said to her. But the little she heard brought joy, and it caused her heart to be full with gladness.
"Dr. Chen, your glasses are ready. So Dr ....asked me to bring them to you.... He wants to know if they are to your taste," the nurse said politely as she watched the astounding look on her face.
Chen Lihua quickly picked one of the eyeglass casings and opened them. She examined the classy looking glasses laying in there before putting it over her eyes.
"I love them already. I will come personally to thank him," Chen Lihua said to the nurse, and the nurse understood that she would come personally to express her gratitude to the doctor that made her glasses because she liked them.
But what the nurse didn't understand was why Chen Lihua was so happy.
'Maybe she is satisfied with the designs,' the nurse concluded.
But if only the nurse knew Chen Lihua's reasons....
As the nurse left, Chen Lihua got up from her seat immediately, as she made a dash for the door with the new glasses in her hands.
She didn't forget to lock her office door before running towards the direction of the OR.
'I love you so much, Longwei, thank you,' Chen Lihua said gratefully in her heart.
Just when the Chief was about to make an incision with the scalpel, Chen Lihua burst into the room, already dressed and prepared for the surgery with the new medicated glasses over her eyes.
"Chief, I am here, let me take over," Chen Lihua said in a hurried voice.
The Chief was surprised to see her because he wasn't expecting her. He already felt sorry for her because he thought she would be sad and angry for not being able to partake in today's surgery. So he had been thinking of a plan to make it up to her. But here she was.
The Chief could only give up his spot for her without a lot of question marks on his forehead as he handed the scalpel over to her.
"Chief, I will explain everything later to you. For now, let the surgery begin," Chen Lihua assured the Chief with the first half of her sentence while in the second half, she was referring to everyone in the room.
Chen Lihua gave an instruction on the kind of song she wanted throughout the surgery.
She optioned for Opera. Right now, she needed something that would put her mind at ease and also soothe her soul.
The Chief gave Chen Lihua full permission to perform the surgery.
She was supposed to assist him, but now, it was the other way round. So the Chief took her initial place and assisted her while passing a few instructions and guidelines from time to time.
Before the minister was wheeled to the OR, the anaesthesiologist spoke to him and reminded him of what to expect during the surgery.
After that, the anesthesiologist began his work. He put the patient (the minister) to sleep with general anesthesia, so he could sleep throughout the heart transplant process.
Before being anesthetized, the minister spoke to the Chief to consent for the heart transplant to occur.
That is, he signed some papers to give approval for the surgery.
After being anesthetized, the patient was connected to a heart-lung bypass machine to keep the oxygen-rich blood flowing through his body.
The next step was to make an incision on his chest, which Chen Lihua just did.
After making an incision, Chen Lihua separated his chest bone before going further to open his rib cage so that the heart could be operated on.
After working for quite some time with the other surgeons, Chen Lihua finally removed the diseased heart and inserted the donor's heart into place.
The next step was to attach the major blood vessels to the donor's heart.
This wasn't as simple as it sounds like.
The new heart starts beating when blood flow is restored. Sometimes, an electric shock is needed to make the donor's heartbeat properly.
And in this particular surgery, the Chief used a defibrillator to give the patient an electric shock before the blood flow was restored.
The surgery was considered a success on their part because blood flow was restored, and the new heart began to beat.
Also, the heart rhythm on the heart monitor was normal, so it was time to stitch up the chest.
The Chief knew that Chen Lihua would be exhausted by now, so he optioned to stitch the patient up, but Chen Lihua rejected his help and insisted on doing it their own.
The Chief could only smile helplessly as he watched her have her way.
He has noticed that Chen Lihua liked to complete any surgery she was in charge of on her own. It was as if she was afraid that something would go wrong.
He didn't know her reason, but he liked that she was being careful and dedicated to her work.
So, the Chief stayed back and helped her out.
Now that the surgery was completed and successful, Chen Lihua could finally sigh in relief and smile.
She was happy that she got to perform today's surgery, despite what happened earlier.
This surgery took around 5 - 7 hours.
If the patient's case was complicated, that is, if he had VAD, which the surgeons would have to remove, it would take 6 - 8 hours.
And the patient may be in the OR longer than the actual process because the transplant team would have to work with the donor team.