A Doctor’s Oath

“Dr. Lane! The preoperative note for Mr. Nichols hasn’t been signed yet. Your assistant, Jonah, has been waiting for ten minutes!”

The head nurse’s shout jolted me awake.

When I opened my eyes, I realized I was sitting in a chair inside the cardiothoracic surgery office. The clock on the wall pointed to 11:00 a.m. The surgery for the wealthy businessman, Henrik Nichols, was scheduled for 2:00 p.m., which was only three hours away. In my hands was Henrik’s medical file. A coffee stain from this morning still marked the cover.

Cold sweat instantly soaked through the back of my white coat. My fingers trembled as I gripped the file. I had been reborn back to the very day of the surgery.

Before I could fully process it, the office door suddenly swung open. Shannon walked in holding a cup of tea. Her collar hung slightly crooked, and her cheeks were flushed.

Jonah followed right behind her. On his wrist, hidden under his sleeve, was a silver bracelet. It was the one Shannon had bought me last year as a birthday gift, which had disappeared one day, and she claimed she must have lost it while cleaning.

“Milo,” Shannon said as she placed the tea on my desk.

“For Henrik’s preoperative IV infusion, let Jonah do it. He’s about to qualify for independent prescribing rights, and he just needs one successful case. Think of it as helping him out.”

“No.” I opened the medical file, my tone leaving no room for negotiation as I said, “Neither of you will participate in this surgery. I’ll speak to the hospital director myself.”

Shannon’s expression darkened instantly.

She slammed the teacup down on the desk and snapped, “Milo! Don’t push your luck! All Jonah will be doing is dispensing the medication. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? And now you’re saying we can’t even be part of the surgery? Who do you think you are? And later during the operation, let him hold the scalpel too. He needs some hands-on practice.”

I was so angry that I could feel my temples throbbing.

“A patient’s life isn’t something you use for practice. If someone dies, who takes responsibility?”

“So what if someone dies? He’s just some old man. If he dies, he dies. At least it lightens the burden on society. Honestly, letting Jonah practice on him would be his honor!”

I stared at her, speechless. How had I ended up marrying someone so brainless?

Not wanting to waste another second arguing, I turned and headed for the door.

“Milo!” Shannon shouted after me. “If you stop Jonah from participating today, I’ll divorce you right now! The city hall is only two subway stops away. We can go and file the paperwork immediately!”

Jonah quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arm, pretending to calm her down.

“Shannon, don’t act on impulse. Milo is just thinking about the patient.”

However, the look he shot me was provocative. His eyes were clearly saying, “You wouldn’t dare refuse.”

I ignored him and looked straight at Shannon and told her, “If you want a divorce, fine. Once the surgery ends, we’ll go and file the papers immediately.”

Shannon froze. She clearly hadn’t expected me to agree. In the past, whenever she threatened divorce, I would always coax her and give in. However, this time was different.

Jonah quietly tugged at her sleeve and gave her a subtle look. With that, she bit her lip, glared at me, and stormed out of the office. Jonah followed behind her. Before leaving, he glanced back at me, his eyes full of resentment.

As soon as they were gone, I immediately got up to look for the hospital director. I told him to remove Shannon and Jonah from the surgical team. I had to save that wealthy man. At the very least, I couldn’t let him die for nothing.

At first, the hospital director said the lead surgeon had the authority to choose their assistants and that he would respect my decision. Yet, a few minutes later, he received a phone call.

When he returned, his attitude had changed. He said Henrik himself refused to allow any replacements. In fact, Henrik warned that if anyone tried to remove those two, he would withdraw his investments from the hospital and make sure the entire staff lost their jobs.

Seeing the hospital director’s hesitant expression, I understood everything. Most likely, my “wonderful wife” had some kind of relationship with Henrik as well. Otherwise, why would he insist so strongly on having the two of them involved?

It seemed I truly couldn’t save him after all. At 12:20 p.m., the preoperative preparation meeting began. I took a deep breath and picked up my pen. Then, on Henrik’s medication administration record, I wrote: penicillin.

“Dr. Lane, that’s wrong!” the head nurse immediately cried out. “Henrik is allergic to penicillin. How can you prescribe that?”

The hospital administrators frowned and tapped the table in irritation.

“Milo, what’s going on with you? We just emphasized the patient’s allergy history yesterday. How could you make a mistake like this?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Are you trying to kill the patient?”

Stunned, the hospital director said, “Milo, you’re suspended for three weeks pending investigation.”

I smiled faintly and replied, “I accept.”