Dark as Daylight Ch. 25

Another 4 minutes would be needed for the anesthesiologist to come in, speak to the patients, check their blood pressures, and give them the 'Propofol', after the surgeons were in position, and the drug would knock them out.

There was one difference. In the Colonel's room, Paul would be dressed in greens, and stand beside the Colonel, and say good day to him, as the drug was administered, and until he went unconscious.

The anesthesiologist would sign a release stating that the Colonel would be intubated for the entire procedure, and would not be able to utter a single syllable, until he was in recovery 8 to 12 hours from then. Paul would leave the operating room, and everyone else in the OR would begin working at their assigned tasks in their spacesuits.

As the patients were brought in to their assigned operating rooms, the ballet began. Technicians, aides, and nurses began doing their jobs the way they had done them thousands of times before, but this time, it was under the glaring lights of more than 30 cameras, both in the viewing area above the surgical floors, and on the surgical floor itself. Sometimes the camera people got in the way, and they were summarily pushed aside. (They did not mind at all)

Doctor Celia, as she was called, because no one could pronounce her last name, the anesthesiologist intubated the Colonel immediately after Paul left the OR, and the area was sterile. She began giving him the medications that would put Lucius into a deeper sleep than the Propofol.

First, he received Diprivan IV, to put him into a deeper sleep. Then, Celia began giving him the gases that would keep him in a coma like state, while they put him on the heart-lung machine, remove his heart, and implant a less effective one as a replacement. Thankfully, he was a great deal smaller than Jemma Zabo, and in great physical condition. This might work, for as long as he had left to live!

She gave Lucius 100% Oxygen first, to enrich his blood. After 6 minutes of pure oxygen, she began introducing .0062mlhr. Sevoflurane and Nitrous Oxide to bring him down into a deeper sleep.

Lucius could now begin to dream. He really did not want to because of all the terror he had lived through during his younger years.

As Celia began giving Lucius the Enflurane, he never knew what hit him. He was so deep into a sleep cycle; he would never know where anything in the universe was. She checked his vital signs. The oxygen rate going to his brain was 98%. Then she said to the surgeon,

"Harvey, your patient is ready for you."

"Celia, what the hell are you doing in here?"

In an angry tone she said, "Ask that bitch next door what I am doing here. I was assigned to her, today, but she sent me over here to babysit you. She wanted me to take care of you, while this guy is under. I can't believe she doesn't think Steve is capable of handling a case like this."

"Celia don't feel bad. It has nothing to do with you. It has to do with all of us, today. Do you know what she has riding on this set of operations?"

"We are all under contract to the hospital. We all get our share from the insurance companies. What else is she getting?"

"Hold on to your panties, Celia. This one is going to blow your mind. Jemma's husband, William, offered Matti a one-year free, on a luxury ship that goes around the world, either west to east, or east to west. It's one of those relatively small luxury ships that only goes to exotic ports of call. They are small enough that the big ships can't get into these ports of call, because of their size. Her state room sleeps 8, if she wants to bring along friends."

Quietly and demurely Celia screamed, "I always loved that woman."

Harvey tried to calm her down. "Celia, I have first dibs."

"Be nice, Harvey, your patient's blood pressure is 90/55, pulse 48, respiration 40. All this is in line with his overall fitness."

"If it wasn't, I would stop this operation now."

"You haven't started yet, Harvey, only I have."

"I take it my patient is under?"

"You could hit him with a car, followed by a freight train and a jumbo jet, and he wouldn't know it."

"I would have to remove more than his heart if that was the case."

"Get to work Harvey, Matti is probably half done by now."

"Number 3 blade please."

"Number 3, Doctor."

"Start the clock."

"The clock is started."

"Here we go, people. No one screws up today, especially me."

"Especially you, Doctor," Celia said.

"No one loves a smartass, Celia."

*****************************************************

"Would someone check to see how far Harvey has gotten, before I open Jemma's chest, please?"

"I'll call over to see how far they are, Doctor."

"Hi Georgette, Doctor Williams wants to know how far you are into the operation on Colonel Canyon."

"Hello Gabriella, Doctor Reynolds, just finished regaling everyone about the luxurious boat trip he's taking with Dr. Williams, after the 2 operations are successful. Celia said she loves your doctor very much, to kiss her ass a little higher than normal. Our doctor just took a number 3 blade and made the first incision down the midline of our patients' chest. I see a trickle of blood coming out, but nothing impressive, yet."

"Thanks Georgie, I'll let her know, and get out of her way, when she starts throwing knives. She is very accurate with those things."

Gabby laughed. "It's a required course in 'Med' School', and every doctor gets an 'A'."

"Okay, I'll talk with you later, girl."

Georgette repeated what she had learned to Dr. Williams, and she was furious.

"Call over there and tell both of them that they are not invited, unless I have that heart in my hands in 2½ hours."

"Doctor, that's not possible."

"You know it. I know it. Let's see what they do about it. If Harvey takes one shortcut, I'll hand him his balls."

"Matti, you're mean."

"What did the Chief of Surgery say this morning?"

"He said that the entire world was going to be watching the surgeries, so we'd better not take 'One Move Away From Our Written Procedure, or Screw Up Either Procedure in Case of an Emergency."

"So, if Harvey takes a shortcut, and he screws up, doesn't he deserve to have his balls handed to him?"

"Yes, he does. It's going to hurt him for a very long time, after this surgery is over", Doctor Adams said.

"After he threatened to screw Joanna up her ass, last week, and the way she reacted to it, I would say it's going to hurt him for a very long time."

Doctor Adams replied, "Well, she just dismissed a great method of birth control."

Matti replied, "Yes, it is, but don't tell that to Joanna. She will fight you on it, tooth and nail."

"Ah, a puritanical doctor. I didn't think there were any left in this world. Did you know that the Marquis de Sade was a doctor? They're not quite sure, but they believed Jack the Ripper was also. There was Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Hannibal Lecter used many names. Dr. Harold Shipman, who killed, using his own name, while an English General Practioner. He killed 215 elderly patients, some say as many as 270+, because they were old, very sick, or had an incurable disease, and did not want them to suffer, as his mother had.

Some of the most famous multiple murderers in England were medical doctors. They learned their craft, while in medical school, continued learning on their patients, and then used their talents for nefarious reasons afterwards. For example, the famous, or infamous Doctor Frankenstein. The monster wasn't a doctor, his creator was. It goes on through medieval times, all the way up through the early 20^th century. When the newspapers began revealing the victims and how they were killed, the killers got wise and started going underground. It took the police a lot of years, 10, 15, and 20 years, in some cases, in some cases and a great deal of man, and computer power to find some of them. Some of them have never been found, and their cases remain open. Police departments have cases open that are over 60 years old. They won't close them until they reach the age of 80. At that time, they will retire those cases, because they believe the perpetrators are dead."

"Wonderful Steve, that's another way to scare Joanna into putting bars on the windows of her duplex. Soon she won't come out at night. If she does, it will only be in the company of a guard dog, and a weapon."

"How is my patient doing?"

"She's sleeping comfortably, Doctor. I can't wait to put her under. The Propofol has her snoozing like a baby. Whatever you had her on at home, must have been extremely gentle to her system. Her vitals are right on the line, her respiration is wonderful, and with numbers like these, and a heart like hers, you have to wonder why we're doing a transplant."

"We wondered also. We took all the tests that were necessary, plus others that were not called for, but we guessed, just to be certain, and her heart just isn't well enough to perform under stress of any kind. Running 2 and half steps could cause her to have a heart attack. Anything more than that could cause her to have a stroke. What do you do with patient like that, except give her a new heart, and a new lease on life?"

"I couldn't agree with you more, Doctor. The way she is getting this heart annoys me, but the man who is offering his heart to her is very special. He has a limited lifetime left in this world, and instead of living it to the fullest, he decides to give his heart to a woman that can use it for many more years to come. You must admit it is more than a gracious gift. It is something unheard of in the annals of medicine, and in human history."

"The transplant Board nearly came to fisticuffs over this decision, James. If it wasn't for the service to this hospital by William Zabo, I doubt it would have been approved. He gives this hospital $100 million a year. You just can't say no to a man's request to save his wife, and expect to receive a donation of that size ever again."

"I wouldn't say no for 10% of that money."

"Dolores, you are easy."

"I thought we were talking about money, not sex."

"If we were talking about sex, me too."

"Shame on you, Doctor. You should have higher standards than I do."

"A good man is a good man, and a good woman is a wonderful woman."

"I didn't hear you say that."

"Why, what did I say that was incorrect?"

"This is being videotaped, Doctor."

"I know. They are watching my hands, not my mouth."

"Can we talk about your mouth later?"

"I will be available in about 10 hours, Dolores. I like my coffee light, with no sugar."

Steve said, "God, she's talking about breakfast in bed, already."

Matti replied, "You're just jealous."

"No, just married, with 5 kids."

"Another good Jewish boy."

"I am just doing my part in repopulating my people and its' culture. Cynthia is expecting our 6^th child in 4 months. I will say marrying a good Catholic girl was the best thing I ever did."

"You sneaky bastard. You married a girl that will not use birth control, because of her religion, and you're raising your children Jewish."

"I'm doing no such thing. Our children are being raised to believe that Jesus was a good Jewish boy by birth, and religions changed as an offshoot of that birth. The Jewish religion dates back thousands of years prior to his birth, but it changed after the time of his birth, according to Biblical scholars.

The Christian religion starts after his birth. By following Peter's crucifixion and death, and the writings of the men who were at the Last Supper, who they now call saints, the Catholic religion was formed.

Mohammed learned he was the prophet of God, from the Angel Gabriel, when he was 40 years old, in the year 622 A.D. and began the Islamic Religion.

It's really not hard to bring children up knowledgeable about religions. It's the offshoots of the religions that is problematic.

A Jew is a Jew, whether he be orthodox, or conservative.

A Muslim is a Muslim but there are two offshoots, also; Shia and Sunni.

A Christian can be anything from a Catholic, to a Presbyterian, to a Episcopalian, to a Methodist and so on. Finding the difference between one Christian sect and another is a pain in the ass."

"They give a class at NYU that explains religions if you're interested, Steve."

"I'm not interested one little wit, Matti. I send my kids to a former priest, who's married, with two sons, to explain all that nonsense. He charges me $100 per kid, per week for that privilege."

"$500 a week, every week! That priest is going to be a millionaire on your money, Steve."

"You didn't know that Cynthia is part of the 'Secrest' family, did you?"

"What would that mean to me, Steve?"

"Cynthia and her sister, Roberta, own the 2^nd largest liquor distributorship, in the Northeast. If you buy a beer, she gets a nickel, and her sister gets a nickel. If you buy a bottle of booze, she gets $1.50 and her sister gets $1.50. If you buy a bottle of wine, she gets a dollar, and her sister gets a dollar. I had to sign a prenuptial agreement, when I married her, stating I would get no more than $20 million in a divorce settlement. I cried when I signed that agreement."

Matti said, "Don't make me laugh, Steve. I might drop 1 of my instruments, when I start this operation. Would somebody call next door and see how Harvey is doing over there?"

"I'll call as soon as I stop laughing, Doctor."

*********************************************

"Doctor Williams, Doctor Reynolds is in the process of connecting the pulmonary artery to the Heart Lung Machine."

"Thank you, Dolores, we can begin. Number 1 blade so I can excise the tape that's holding her rib cage to the chest wall."

"Number 1 blade."

After slicing through the 16 pieces of tape, she gently picked up the rib cage and handed it to her surgical nurse.

Matti said, "Would you put the rib cage into the freezer, please."

"Yes, Doctor.

"Damn, that made this easy, didn't it?"

"Did you look at the back of the chest plate, Matti?"

"No, I didn't. What did I miss?"

"The initial area you sawed through during your 1^st operation has healed. Your sutures are completely encased in collagen, and the line is as straight as an arrow, as usual."

"Thank you, Adam. It's always nice to know I have not lost my touch, yet. It's not unusual for collagen to grow, even when the bones are separated. It's dumb, just like most men, when you tell them to get lost."

Adam replied "That's not a nice thing to say, Doctor. Your patient is depending on 2 men. It would be a shame for her to leave this world, because of a few ill-tempered words."

"Ladies, did you hear a bad man talk down to great Doctor?"

Dolores asked, "How many females are going on the luxury trip with you next year, Doctor?"

Without a pause, she said, "All of you."

"In that case, we all heard those nasty men talking down to you, Doctor."

Matti laughed. "Gentlemen, do you want to check your balls at the door, now, or later?"

"Whomever said it was a man's world, never worked in an operating room."

"Okay, all you hard-working people, Harvey is ahead of us, let's put a move on it."

"I studied the pictures of her heart after your first operation, Matti. Truthfully, it looks much better now, than it did then."

Matti replied, "The back of her heart couldn't look much worse than it did the first time, Adam. I want to get my hands behind her heart again, to see what it feels like now. It will take a little time for me to get there, but, overall, it does look healthier now."

"Time, we have, because of the heart lung machine, but does she, Matti? She is still a very sick woman, and this is one very tricky procedure we are doing today. It is the first one of its type in history. The first canon had ripples inside, rendering it useless as a weapon. The first pencil had no lead in it, making it useless as a writing instrument. The first airplane crashed because it did not have enough lift. The first rocket exploded and crashed before it got off the ground. Doctor DeBakey's first heart transplant failed miserably.

Now we do transplants, we fly, we use pencils, and shoot off rockets as a matter of course. The first of everything never works properly. It takes time and patience to perfect every invention, and procedure, before it works perfectly. Unfortunately, we lose people, and prototypes in the process of learning. I am hoping we can pull this one off, perfectly, the first time."

Dolores said, "We are all with you on that one, Doctor. A lot less talking, and a lot more doing, and we can get the heart out of this patient quicker."

"Adam, do not annoy my nurses. They do not get angry, they get even."

"In my future, I can see hospitals, with no men, only women staffing them."

Matti said, "We are going to have to talk women into becoming radiologists. That is the only specialty that has more men than women coming out of medical schools. When I go to Northwestern next month, to speak at the commencement exercise, I will bring that up, thanks to you Adam."

"Sometimes I should keep my big mouth shut. You women have everything else dominated, what more do you want?"

"A woman president would be nice. Someone has to fix the bridges and roads in this country, and not give all our tax dollars back to the extremely rich and famous."

"Who did you have in mind?"

"Representative Regina Ingalls from New Mexico."

"Why the heck would you want her, of all people?"

"Do you want a list?"

"Do you have anything besides that she is a Black Hispanic?"

"I can think of a few things, if you want to hear them?"

"As long as it won't interrupt your work, go ahead."

"Here is a short list:

• 1. Graduated 3^rd in her class at Stanford

• 2. Served 6 years US Army intelligence Corps as a Captain

• 3. Served 4 years Pentagon liaison to the Army Chief of Staff

• 4. Continues to serve in the New Mexico Army Reserve as a Major

• 5. Ambassador to Germany

• 6 Special Envoy to NATO.

Is that Vita enough for you, Doctor?"

"How did you get so smart, Matti?"

"I read the Washington Post every Sunday, Adam. I have a bleeder in here; suction please."

"Where the hell is it bleeding from. I don't see it."

"It's not coming from the vessels to the heart or to the heart itself. It's has to be coming from a muscle. Increase the suction on the heart/lung machine."

"There it goes, it's gone. Put the machine back to normal. Now it's back. Cauterizer, please."

"Here it is, it's a capillary leak. It's just enough to drive you batty."

Nearly 3 hours later, the telephone in OR 9 rang. It was OR 11 asking for an update.

Dolores asked, "How much time should I tell them, Doctor?"

"No more than 5 minutes, plus packing time."

"8 minutes, Phyllis."

"Doctor Reynolds says he'll be ready in 12 minutes, Doctor."

"Tell him to stop bothering me, in that case."

"You heard her, tell him."

"He yelled 2 letters at you, Doctor. Do you wish to know what 2 they were?"

"No, I can guess that the first one was an F. If it was, I'll speak to Harvey later."

"You are correct Doctor, it was."

Adam called out for the transfer materials to be readied, and brought to the operating table. The plastic case with the gel in it was placed on a metal table waiting for Jemma's heart to be placed in it. The carrier with the dry ice was waiting less than 2 feet away. Everyone was waiting for the phone to ring once again.

Matti removed Jemma's heart and turned it over to look at the back of it. There was no sign of the disease. There was sign of increased muscle activity, even though it was minimal. However, this heart was growing properly, and that was a miracle in itself. She smiled as she placed it into the gel. It was immediately covered, sealed, initialed by the surgical nurse, and placed it in the carrier with the dry ice. It was closed, sealed and initialed again.