The doors of the surgery room opened the moment Zoe was about dozing off but when she heard the door open, she hurriedly sprang up and rushed to the doctor who only looked at her with no expression on his face.
" How is my mother? Were you able to stabilize her? Is she safe already? Is she out of danger? Can I take her home now? Let me see her!" She yelled at the stressed doctor but the man sighed instead and looked at her. He could see the bags under her eyes and took note of how stressed she was. He looked at her in her flowing gown and wondered why she was seated here all alone without any family around her. With the way she was dressed, he knew that she was either about to wed or already wedded.
** It's none of my business anyway** he thought and sighed again.
" Listen, miss or Mrs. Your mother is in a critical condition even though we managed to stabilize her. The chance was also slim because we almost lost her for the second time. We discovered that she had brain clot when she hit her head during the accident and she will have to undergo an urgent surgery which will require a lot of money" he said calmly.
" What? Surgery? Money?" She asked in shock.
She was not expecting this again.
At that moment, she felt her world was already spinning. Why did this have to happen again? Why did bad luck have to follow her again? She had already gone through a lot and yet, it seemed as if it was not enough. What surgery is this again? She had thought that the moment her mother's health is stabilized, she would just get her out of the hospital and they would leave faraway where no one will find them but now that this was happening, could her life ever remain the same,? Will she have to remain in the same city her sister was and let memories continue to flow into her? Why couldn't a miracle just happen and she would not have to come here again? She thought in dispair.
" How much is the surgery?" She managed to ask.
" A hundred thousand dollars" he replied with no emotion on his face.
" What?" She asked in shock.
She had never seen that amount of money before neither had she saved it. Where did this man expect her to see such money when she was sure that after that night, she would start to go hungry due to lack of money. She had expected the man to say a lesser amount. Maybe her insurance would cover it all.
Is surgery that expensive also? She wondered.
" Yeah and you should deposit it within twenty four hours. After that hours, I can't guarantee her health if you don't pay any money." He said again while she looked at him in shock.
" Is there anything you can do about it? Please doctor, help me. I don't have such amount. Please do something about it" she asked as she held his hands tightly. The doctor exhaled loudly and looked at her as he gently took her hands off his.
This woman was already becoming another burden.
" Listen, ma'am. There is nothing I can do about this issue. Just gather up the money and let us let the treatment proceed. Her condition is very critical and if you don't do something about it, she will lose her life for real and there is nothing you will do about it" he said sternly.
" There's no way I can get such money under twenty four hours. Help me, please. I will do whatever thing you ask me to do. Even if it includes washing the hospital's toilet or any other menial jobs. As long as my mom's life is stable and not on the line. Just do anything to save her while I work for you please, there is no way I will get the money." She said in desperation.
" I have to go now" he said instead.
" Please, how about I deposit some amount and get the rest later? Will that also work out? A hundred thousand dollars is too much to get under twenty four hours! I'm not even working" she said.
" I don't care about that. Just do something about it or else, you won't see her again" he said and left while ZOE gently sat down on the chair and stared into space. This was too much for her.
Where did she want to get the money for surgery? A large amount at that? She thought and sighed.
She picked up her phone and checked out the list of contact to see those that could lend her some money but all to no avail. Now, her eyes was far from tears. She was tired of shedding tears. She desperately wanted to be strong but a lot of things was weighing her down. Where did she want to start from? How did she want to go through that process? She thought and stood up as she walked towards her mother's ward and sat down beside her. She watched how the ECU monitor was slowly beating.
It was a thing to save her mother and another thing to ensure that she got better. There was definitely no one that would lend her that amount of money and if eventually, they lend her, how on earth did she plan to return it?
Should she save her mother or just let her die in peace?