When Caprianna told people she was a surgeon, their first reaction was an inevitable gasp, followed by "You, A woman, you around sticking sharp instruments into people's inside?
Okay, maybe the actual words varied a little, but the feeling was totally the same. And especially from the elders. Some youngsters think her cool for stomaching opening people up and stitching them. But the older ones were always judgmental and unsupportive.
Not that I need their support or anything but it pinches me sometimes when I get introduced to a patient as the surgeon in charge of their surgery and their first reaction is a skeptical look and hesitation before requesting another surgeon, a male one to be exact. I get that a lot and sometimes it doesn't even matter that I am the best surgeon or that I have a great success rate. Usually after assurance from other doctors and recovering patients about my skills, they come around. But in stubborn cases especially with older men who think a woman's place is at home in the kitchen, they rudely refused.
Despite it being between the 21st century, people are still as close-minded as they were in the 19th century. Maybe even worse.
I recently had a patient who came in for an Appendectomy. Being a VIP and all, he was personally attended to by the Head of General Surgery, Byron James.
The patient was pleasant to me as an ordinary staff member, on to the moment I was introduced as the surgeon going to perform his surgery.
He took a 180 turn from nice to downright insulting. Even after reassurance from Bryon James, the head of general surgery, that I was the best yesterday which is totally true, he still refused. I was later asked by James in private to leave the operation for a Junior male staff. It was later I found out that the Patient was one of the key sponsors of our hospital and had threatened to withdraw his sponsorship if I wasn't changed to a male surgeon. I was not surprised, Being a Private hospital that catered to the rich and famous the hospital management definitely accepted.
Days like that make me feel lethargic at work and make me think twice about my choice of profession. But there are good days also, good days that make me feel assured and alive at my choice of profession. And days like this are more common than the bad days, thankfully. Good days like when the mother of a patient I performed a cholecystectomy on, thanked me by Introducing me to a wonderful book club. The surgery was to remove the gallbladder in her son's stomach as it was troublesome and causing pains to the little boy. And it stood the chance of becoming cancerous. I still attend the book club meetings and still see the woman and her son, once in a while at said meeting.
Other good days like the day I met my one and only friend, Gloria. She was a patient who was in a fire accident, where she lost her house, clothes and a few precious documents. We mix when I was introduced as the doctor to perform a surgery on her skin. It was a debridement of the burns on her skin. It is a process of removing the dead tissue so as to allow the growth of healthy tissues for more effective healing.
The first thing she said to me, after looking at me from head to toe was, "You'll do. So how soon can we have this surgery, I have an appointment with my plants this week and I really need to look better than this so I don't scare them dead." She made no comment about my looks or gender, which was like a breath of fresh a because that day had been a really bad day for me. Ever since that day we have been fast and true friends, though we are not close enough to be called best friends, we might not see each other every day, not call each other every day, might not meet up every week but whenever we do meet up we always catch up with each other's life and always find it difficult to separate.
"Paging Doctor Caprianna." A hand wave in my face.
I move back startled and shoot the hand's owner a glare. Carolina, a nurse and also the hospital's resident Queen bee. She's actually nice but loves poking her nose in other people's business.
"Hello, Nurse Carolina, How can I help you?" I acknowledged with a calm voice, not giving away my irritation.
She giggles, "Oh Dr Caprianna, we were just wondering if you are going to attend the hospital's end of the year party."
At her words, I look at the previously empty seats around the hospital's cafeteria and find them occupied by her groupies.
Ugh, so much for peace and quiet. I just wanted a long time to do it today's hand. Today is not going well. I came here after overhearing some nurses commenting about my appearance. Nothing new. I was just hoping to get something into my stomach as I had only coffee and a doughnut for breakfast and it is way past lunch time.
"Yes, I am." I grunted, hoping they'd take the hint and leave.
"That is so cool. It's my first end of year's party with the hospital, I heard it has different themes every year. Last year it was a supernatural theme party, I wonder what this year's theme will be." admitted Sophia, a fairly new staff at the hospital.
The three ladies seated around me are not good at taking hints, if they were, they would have noticed that I have made no reply to any of their questions in the last ten minutes. They are obviously satisfied by asking and answering the questions themselves.
I use the time to study their appearance.
Carolina is obviously their head as she commands and speaks most of the time. She is tall with blonde hair and a feminine body stature with a little curves at the hips and a little size of boobs. She has blue eyes, a cute button nose and bow-shaped pink lips. Overall she looks like a cute angel. The nurse's uniform in baby pink up and down fits perfectly with her pale skin tone.
Next is, Nurse Jane, she is a very quiet person, rarely speaks when not spoken to and always walks with Carolina and Sofia. She is listening to the other two speak and quietly eating her food. She is the embodiment of the saying "Black and beautiful" which are dark skin, slim waist and tall in height with curves in all the right places. She has brown eyes surrounded by short full eyelashes, a slightly pointed nose and a little plump lips. She's currently smiling and replied to something Carolina said, crossing Ebony black hair to move. It is always in braids of different kinds and amazing styles.
The third of the trio is Sophia, who is listening captivated by what Carolina is saying. Proudly from Texas and always announcing it. She is looking serene and gorgeous with captivating blonde hair. She is 5'4, has beautiful brown eyes, tanned skin and freckles on her face. A pointed nose, pink bow-shaped lips in a confident smile.
They are beautiful in different ways. Not surprising, it is a well known fact in the hospital that the management always considers looks when employing. So all the employees in the hospital are always good looking. Myself included.
I have red hair, Well my hair is more like a dark reddish brown. Auburn. Straight and long to my waist. I have green eyes framed by long lashes, a slightly pointed nose, pink lips, slightly defined jawline, soft cheeks and little freckles on my cheek and nose. All combined give me a face worth more than that of a model's. With my height at 5'7 being well over average. My green eyes are a particularly unique shade of green, I'd only ever seen it on one person and that was my mom.
And I haven't seen it in years now.
Shaking off distressing thought I swallowed the lump in my throat, I announced my goodbye to the trio and swiftly escaped without waiting for their replies.