I Saved a Life and Got Punished? After a Month Off, the Whole Hospital Panicked

After receiving the punishment notice, I kicked open the door to the administrative office. The door slammed into the wall, startling every nurse and doctor passing through the hallway into stopping in their tracks. I strode into the office and slammed the reprimand and fine notice onto the desk. “Richard Cole, explain this to me!” “I’ve just performed emergency surgery on three consecutive patients with Type A aortic dissections!” “I had barely dragged the last patient back from the brink of death, and I didn’t even have time to drink a sip of water!” “What gives you the right to reprimand me? And why are you fining me ten thousand dollars?” I glared at the administrative director sitting in front of me, Richard Cole. My eyes were webbed with red veins, and my hands were still trembling involuntarily after gripping a surgical scalpel for so long. Richard sat in his oversized leather executive chair without even lifting his eyelids. He picked up the ceramic teapot on his desk, leisurely blew across the steam, and took a sip of tea. Only then did he look at me with the expression of someone watching a monkey perform. “Dr. Morgan, what are you getting so worked up about?” “This is the hospital’s administrative wing, not some neighborhood market.” “Watch your conduct.” I slammed my palm onto the desk, making the pen holder jump. “You’re lecturing me about conduct now?” “I’ve worked myself to the bone at this hospital for eight full years!” “I’ve answered emergency calls at two in the morning!” “I’ve spent seventy-two straight hours without stepping away from the operating table!” “Whenever the department needed me, when have I ever failed to show up?” I pointed at the fine notice, my voice trembling. “I’d just managed to save enough for my daughter’s piano examination fee next month!” “Your little piece of paper just wiped out my entire bonus!” “Was I wrong for saving a patient’s life?” Richard set down the ceramic teapot. He leaned back in his chair and comfortably crossed his legs. “Dr. Morgan, your skills are indeed excellent.” “Everyone in the city knows the name of Alex Morgan, the cardiac surgeon they call the Scalpel.” “But remember one thing.” “No matter how good your skills are, you’re still just a scalpel in my hand.” “If a scalpel refuses to obey, I can replace it.” My heart sank. An indescribable fury shot from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head. Richard opened a drawer and took out a medication release form. He pushed it directly in front of me and struck the desk hard with his finger. “Did you already forget what you did at three in the morning last Tuesday?” “You smashed open the emergency medication cabinet in the ER without authorization!” “You took two doses of epinephrine without going through a single approval process!” “The pharmacy supervisor sent this report straight to me yesterday.” “At best, you seriously violated the hospital’s internal regulations and deserve an internal reprimand.” “At worst, you stole medical supplies!” “If I report this to the health authorities, take a guess. Do you think you’ll still have a medical license?” I stared at the medication release form, my fists clenched tight. I remembered. A young man with severe injuries from a car crash had been brought into the ER that morning. He suddenly went into ventricular fibrillation, and his ECG had already become a flat line. The overnight pharmacy employee had locked up and gone to the bathroom without permission. The nurse on duty had been crying hysterically in the hallway. If we had waited for that person to return with the key, the patient would have been long dead! I was the one who rushed over and smashed the emergency cabinet’s glass with a fire extinguisher. I was the one who took those two lifesaving doses of epinephrine and injected them into the patient’s vein myself. I was the one who forcibly dragged that twenty-two-year-old man back from the gates of death. On the day he was discharged from the ICU, his elderly parents knelt outside the intensive care unit and bowed to me. They cried and called me a living saint. But now? In Richard Cole’s eyes, I had become an uncooperative tool and a thief! Richard looked at my furious face, the corner of his mouth curling smugly upward. “Dr. Morgan, I’m protecting you.” “Taking ten thousand dollars from you is also meant to teach you a lesson.” I drew in a deep breath and felt an icy chill spread through my entire body. This was the hospital where I had sold eight years of my life. This was the place I had protected with everything I had. All because of two doses of epinephrine that cost less than twenty dollars in total. They wanted to erase every achievement I had made and were even using my career to threaten me. I looked at Richard’s greasy face and suddenly didn’t want to argue anymore. There was no reasoning with an animal who recognized power but not human lives. I forced down my anger. I pulled a smile onto my face. “Director Cole, you’re right.” “It was my mistake. I shouldn’t have violated hospital policy.” “I really have been too exhausted lately, and my mental state hasn’t been good.” “I’d like to take a month of leave and go home to reflect on my actions.” Richard froze for a moment. He clearly hadn’t expected me to give in so quickly. But soon, a satisfied smile spread across his face. He thought he had me completely under his control. He picked up a leave form from the desk and quickly signed his name. Then he tore it off and tossed it onto the desk. “That’s more like it. You need to have some self-awareness.” “Go home and get some proper rest. While you’re at it, copy the hospital regulations a hundred times.” “Once you’ve figured things out next month, come back to work.” I picked up the leave form. Without sparing him another glance, I turned and walked out of the office.I returned to the doctors’ office in cardiothoracic surgery. I took off my bloodstained white coat. Then I pulled a cardboard box from the cabinet and began packing up the personal belongings on my desk. My trainee, Jamie, had just returned from making his rounds. The moment he saw what I was doing, he panicked. “Doctor, what are you doing?” “Did I hear that bastard Richard Cole fined you?” “What right does he have?” “If you hadn’t smashed open that cabinet that night, the young man from the car crash would be dead!” “I’m going to the administrative office to demand an explanation!” Jamie’s face flushed red with anger, and he turned to charge outside. “Stop.” I called him back. I placed my water cup inside the box. “I’m taking a month of leave.” “During that time, keep a close eye on the critical patients in the department.” “If anything comes up that you can’t handle, report it to the higher-ups immediately.” Jamie stomped his foot in frustration. He grabbed the cardboard box. “Doctor, you absolutely can’t leave!” “If you leave, won’t that be exactly what Richard Cole wants?” I stopped what I was doing and looked up at him. “What do you mean?” Jamie gritted his teeth and walked to the door to glance outside. Then he closed the door and leaned close to my ear. “Doctor, you spend every day in the operating room. You have no idea what’s happening outside.” “Richard’s nephew, Ethan Cole, just returned from studying abroad last week.” “Richard has always wanted to force him into our cardiothoracic surgery department as deputy director.” “But all the positions in our department have been filled for ages.” “And you’re the backbone of the department, so there’s no place for him.” “He deliberately used the epinephrine incident to target you!” “He’s forcing you out so he can make room for his nephew!” I stood there, stunned. So that was it. No wonder he had blown up the issue over two doses of epinephrine worth less than twenty dollars. No wonder he had completely ignored the fact that I had just performed three major surgeries in a row. In his eyes, what did human life matter? What did the hospital’s medical standards matter? Only the power in his hands and his nephew’s future mattered. I looked at Jamie’s furious face and shook my head with a mocking smile. “Jamie, this whole mess is filthy.” “I’m tired. I don’t want to fight anymore.” “If Richard Cole really thinks this hospital can keep running without anyone, then let’s see how well he runs it.” I picked up the cardboard box and walked straight out of the office. In the hallway, several patients’ family members saw me and greeted me one after another. “Dr. Morgan, are you heading home?” “Dr. Morgan, thank you! My dad was able to sit up and drink soup today!” I forced down my heartache and gave them a smile. “Take good care of yourselves. I’ll be on leave for a few days.” I hurried to the hospital’s first-floor lobby. I was about to leave when I saw Richard Cole standing in the middle of the lobby. Beside him stood a young doctor wearing a brand-new white coat. The young man looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven. His hair was slicked back, and he wore gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose. The moment Richard saw me carrying the box, he called out loudly. “Oh, everyone, look! Our great Dr. Morgan is packing up and leaving!” There were plenty of people in the lobby. After he shouted, many of them turned to look at us. I didn’t want to deal with him, so I quickened my pace. Richard took a step sideways and blocked my path. “Don’t rush off, Dr. Morgan.” “Come on, let me make a grand introduction.” He pointed at the young doctor beside him and raised his voice so everyone could hear. “This is Dr. Ethan Cole, a brilliant graduate who just returned from one of the world’s top medical schools!” “Starting today, he’ll be the acting director of cardiothoracic surgery.” “Dr. Morgan seriously violated hospital regulations, so he’s taking a month off to reflect at home.” “During this time, Dr. Ethan Cole will take full charge of all departmental operations.” The nurses and patients’ family members around us began whispering. Everyone pointed and murmured among themselves. Ethan lifted his chin proudly. He extended one hand in a condescending gesture, as if granting me a favor. “Dr. Morgan, I’ve heard so much about you.” “I heard you were suspended for stealing medication?” “Don’t worry. Go enjoy your leave.” “I’ll manage cardiothoracic surgery even better.” “At least I know the most basic hospital regulations, unlike you.” I stared at his hand hanging in midair. Then I looked at Richard’s smug, self-satisfied face. Suddenly, the whole scene seemed ridiculous. I didn’t take Ethan’s hand. Holding the box, I looked directly into his eyes. “The operating table in cardiothoracic surgery isn’t there to give people like you a chance to polish their résumés.” “The people lying on it are living human beings.” “I hope the scalpel in your hand is worthy of the white coat you’re wearing.” With that, I shoved his shoulder aside and strode out through the hospital doors. Behind me came Richard’s disdainful snort. “What are you so proud of?” “The earth will keep turning without you!”When I got home, my wife was cooking in the kitchen. Our daughter was practicing piano in the living room. Hearing the door open, she ran over excitedly and wrapped her arms around my leg. “Dad! Why did you get home so early today?” “My exam is next month, and my teacher said the registration fee is three thousand dollars.” “You promised me when you got paid last month!” I looked into my daughter’s hopeful eyes. Thinking about the fine and bonus Richard Cole had taken from me, my throat felt tightly blocked by something. I couldn’t say a word. My wife came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of food. She immediately saw that something was wrong with my expression. She quickly coaxed our daughter back to her room to practice piano. Then she walked over and took the cardboard box from my hands. “Alex, what happened?” “Why is the box full of things from your office?” “Did something happen at the hospital?” I collapsed onto the couch and covered my face with both hands. I told her everything that had happened at the hospital that day, exactly as it had occurred. Her eyes immediately reddened when she finished listening. But she didn’t complain about me even once. She came over and hugged me tightly by the shoulders. “If you don’t want to work there, then don’t!” “You’ve worked at that hospital for eight years and all you’ve gotten in return is a body full of problems.” “You have severe cervical spine issues and chronic stomach ulcers. When was the last time you got a good night’s sleep?” “To hell with that hospital and those rotten administrators. We don’t need them!” “Don’t worry about our daughter’s exam fee. We still have some savings.” Hearing my wife’s words, I was a forty-year-old man, but my eyes still burned with tears. This was my family. What did enduring a little mistreatment outside matter when I was doing it for them? I gritted my teeth and made a silent vow. For this month, I would stay home and spend time with my wife and daughter. Whoever wanted to clean up the hospital’s mess could do it! For the next three days, I completely turned off notifications from the hospital’s work chat. Every morning, I got up early to buy fresh vegetables at the market. At noon, I cooked lunch for my wife. In the evenings, I practiced piano with my daughter. It felt as if I had never been this relaxed during the past eight years. There were no sudden, life-or-death calls in the middle of the night. There were no more endless, high-intensity surgeries. But a heavy stone remained lodged in my heart. There were simply too many critically ill patients in cardiothoracic surgery. Those complicated conditions could change at any moment. Could Ethan Cole, who barely had any experience as a lead surgeon, really hold the department together?By the afternoon of the fourth day, I was chopping vegetables in the kitchen. The phone on the coffee table suddenly began vibrating wildly. Its ringtone was so urgent that it made my heart race. I dried my hands and went over to look. Jamie’s name was flashing across the screen. I hesitated for a full five seconds. In the end, I still pressed the answer button. “Doctor! Please, you have to save us!” The moment the call connected, Jamie’s roar came through, thick with tears. The background was filled with the sharp alarms of medical equipment and the terrified shouts of nurses. I gripped the phone tightly. “What happened? Don’t panic. Tell me slowly!” “It’s the old man in Bed Five!” “He suddenly suffered a ruptured aortic dissection!” “Ethan insisted on showing off and operating as the lead surgeon himself!” “Then his very first cut went straight through the major blood vessel!” “He’s bleeding out!” “The patient’s entire chest cavity is filling with blood!” “We can’t suction it out fast enough!” “His blood pressure has dropped to thirty!” “Ethan can’t find the source of the bleeding!” “He’s standing beside the operating table, shaking so badly he can’t even speak!” My mind exploded with a deafening buzz. A ruptured aorta with massive hemorrhaging! Even an experienced chief surgeon would have less than a thirty percent chance of saving a patient in an emergency this terrifying. Ethan was a fresh graduate who couldn’t even control the bleeding. He wasn’t performing surgery. He was murdering someone! “Where’s Richard Cole? Where are the people from the medical affairs department?” I roared into the phone. “Richard is in the observation room on the second floor!” “His face is whiter than paper!” “Doctor, please come quickly!” “If you’re ten minutes late, the patient will really be dead!” I instinctively turned and rushed toward the door. A doctor’s instincts made it impossible for me to stand by and watch a life slip away. But just as I reached the entrance and gripped the doorknob, I suddenly stopped. Richard’s smug face from that day flashed clearly through my mind. “You’re nothing more than a scalpel in my hand.” “If a scalpel won’t obey, I can replace it.” “This hospital can keep running without anyone.” I gripped the doorknob tightly. The veins on the back of my hand bulged one by one. If I ran over there right now, I would just be cleaning up Richard’s mess! I would be cleaning up after Ethan, who treated human life like garbage! Even if I saved the patient, Richard could still sit above me afterward. He could still find some excuse about a policy violation and stomp me into the dirt again. I drew in a deep breath. Suppressing the panic in my chest, I said coldly into the phone, “Jamie, get this straight.” “I’ve been suspended and ordered to reflect according to hospital policy.” “I no longer have any authority to perform emergency treatment at that hospital.” “Go find the hospital director.” With that, I hung up without hesitation. I knew how cruel it sounded. But I had to force the hospital’s upper management to take a stand! I couldn’t keep being a dog everyone was free to butcher! However, less than five minutes later, my phone began ringing wildly again. This time, the name on the screen was Director Bennett. I took a deep breath to calm myself. Then I pressed the answer button. “Alex!” The moment the call connected, Director Bennett’s voice came through, frantic and breaking. “Alex, where are you?” “Hurry! Get to the hospital now!” “Go straight to Intensive Operating Room Three on the top floor!” His voice was filled with barely concealed panic. I held the phone and spoke calmly. “Director Bennett, you’ve got the wrong person.” “I’m at home reflecting properly.” “What reflection? To hell with reflecting!” Director Bennett was so anxious that he cursed directly into the phone. “That idiot Ethan has caused a catastrophic disaster!” “The patient on the operating table is the CEO of one of the city’s most important companies!” “If he dies on our operating table today, our hospital’s accreditation evaluation for this year is finished!” “I won’t even be able to keep my position!”