LIFE IN ER: EPISODE 1 (THE PAST FUTURE) BY HAMZAT ODUNOLA MARIAM

                                                          EPISODE 1
(LIFE IN THE ER: THE PAST FUTURE)
STORY WRITER: Hamzat Odunola Mariam


Waking up dull and gloomy on a Monday, of course anyone would expect me to be bright and shiny when the roster said I had the weekend off but contrarily I have been on duty all through the weekend. Working in the Emergency Unit (ER) isn’t cut out to be some kind of easy job. Most of us who work in the ER always have adrenalin secreting which makes us hyperactive and able to cope with the job.

          According to the roster drawn, I was supposed to have the weekend off, having worked all week. But since my supposed friend and colleague Dammy, is on maternity leave that leaves me with the new doctor who was supposed to arrive on Friday but is nowhere to be found! I was supposed to show him the ropes then get the hell out but here I am with the four other ER doctors tired but happy.

          Morning round is a very important routine to check on patients and their welfare. So, flocked by the interns, we approached the bed of an accident victim who was brought in the day before. The man had lost so much blood that at the time he was brought in, he was pale and white. Who would have believed that the man had been on the verge of death yesterday when he was brought in? That’s the pride of a doctor and what makes us happy. We know that despite all the work and sleepless night, we are still able to save lives (even though not all).

          I can still vividly remember the first patient I had who died. He was a young undergraduate. He had been a victim of drunk driving. Coming from a party together with friends, they were all drunk and had lost control of the car. Dele has he was called had been the one who sustained the highest degree of injury and had later died despite all efforts.   
          That day I had felt like a failure as a doctor. I wept privately for I kept blaming myself. But later my conscience set me free for deep down I knew I did all I could possibly have done as a doctor. Although I don’t blame myself for it anymore, I still feel a pang of sorrow anytime I remember him.
          Next to the man, was a boy who had broken his arm on a bike. The little boy had attempted to ride his brother’s bicycle and had fallen down breaking his arm in the process.
          On and on the patients examination went till I felt the sudden urge to look behind me. The feeling was so imminent that I just couldn’t resist it.
“What could be making me feel this way?” I wondered.
 I looked up just in time with the Chief Medical Officer’s arrival with someone beside him. Without been told, I knew the person beside him was the new doctor. Is this a kind of joke or something?

          Walking right beside the doctor towards me was the last person I expect to see, at least not in this part of the country.
“Could my morning get any worse?” I thought to myself as I watch Azuka approach…


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