Chapter 103 The Bad News »
Janet put a call through to the hospital as soon as she got home. She didn’t have all the money yet for Hannah’s medical bills, but it was good news that the hospital had found the perfect match liver. Money was hard to come by these days.
Janet had barely had time to work for it. From her calculations, the money she had wouldn’t be enough, but she still wanted to communicate with the hospital. She wanted to inquire if the operation could be carried out and she would pay the balance later.
“Hello, I’m the relative of the patient that needs a liver transplant. Her name is Hannah Stone. I want to make an inquiry. A perfect match liver has been found for her, right? How soon can she get the transplant?” Holding her phone pressed to her ear with one hand, Janet put all the food she had bought into the fridge with the other.
“Did you say Hannah Stone? Please wait for a moment. I need to check our database. Oh, I’m so sorry, ma’am. We were just about to call you. A few minutes ago, we received a call from our superior. The liver can’t be used for her anymore. The patient who wanted to be euthanized and donate the liver has decided to continue treatment instead. Since there’s no matching donor, you would have to wait.”
The vegetable Janet was holding fell to the floor as soon as she heard this news. It was a bolt out of the blue for her. She suddenly froze like a statue.
“Why did the patient have a change of heart? How come? Why? No, no… I didn’t mean… But…” The shock was too much that Janet could barely think straight, let alone speak coherently. Although she badly wanted the liver to be donated to Hannah, she couldn’t decide the potential donor’s life and death.
“Are there any other matching livers?” she asked anxiously.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. We understand how you feel. However, there’s nothing we can do to help you now. Your relative isn’t the only patient waiting in line for a liver transplant. You will be contacted when another perfect donor comes forward. Have a great day,” the nurse said and then hung up the phone.
Janet’s legs suddenly felt wobbly. The next second, she slumped to the floor. A painful lump went up to her throat. She wanted to break down in tears, but something plagued her mind.
A voice in her head told her that there was more to the incident than the hospital was telling her. Something smelled fishy. She rushed out and went straight to the hospital.
“Doctor, please can I meet the patient who previously wanted to donate a liver to Hannah Stone?” Janet asked the doctor nervously.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry. It’s illegal to reveal any information of our patients or a potential donor who had a change of heart. The patient has every right to decide to continue receiving treatment. We have no right to interfere. I can’t be of help to you. Please you need to leave now. I’ve other people to attend to.” The doctor stared at Janet with a serious expression on his face.
When she didn’t move an inch, he called on a nurse to escort her out of his office. Even after she was escorted out, she was still unwilling to give up. She held the nurse’s hand in the corridor.
“Please is there really no other way? My relative has been waiting for a liver transplant for a long time. Her health is deteriorating by the second. She can’t wait any longer. Please save her life.” Janet pleaded in a quavering voice. The nurse wriggled her arm from Janet’s firm grip.
Instead of answering her question, she simply told her to go home and continue waiting. She then went about her work. A heavy weight suddenly fell on Janet. She was anxious, confused, and helpless all at this time. She leaned against the wall and stared blankly for a long time.
Several patients passed by. A patient, who had overheard her conversation with the nurse moved close to her and shook his head sympathetically.
“Young lady, you should go back home. There’s no point wasting time here. I have seen a lot of cases like yours. Believe me when I say that they are just lying to you by saying that the donor decided to continue treatment instead. They must have given the perfect match liver to someone else with money or connections.”
The tears Janet had been trying to hold back streamed down her cheeks immediately she heard this. She became even more distressed.
“What do you think I should do now?” she murmured, sobbing helplessly.
“From my experience, such a negative turn of events frequently happens when the patient or family members have enemies with power. Do you have an enemy? Or have you offended anyone recently, young lady?” With an infusion bottle in his hand, the patient sighed and added, “Well, I think you might offend someone.”
Something suddenly dawned on Janet as she stared at the man’s back. She had offended someone today. It was Fiona. Not only was her adopted mother her sworn enemy, but she was also the person she had quarreled with recently.
However, she didn’t expect her to act so quickly. She had only gone to ask them for money a few hours ago. It was pretty obvious that Fiona had secretly pulled the strings to prevent the transplant because she didn’t want to give her money. Janet’s blood boiled at this moment. She gritted her teeth and really wanted to fight her adopted mother to the death.
‘Hannah’s health is rapidly declining. There’s no guarantee that she would still be alive by the time another donor comes forward. Fiona has crossed the line. Since that family has refused to keep their end of the bargain, I won’t keep their secret about this marriage anymore!’ she thought, clenching her fists in fury.