Dr. Khanna, please report to the operation theater immediately, Dr.

Khanna please report

to the operation theatre immediately, the voice on the intercom droned. I put down my box of
half eaten chocolates that I had bought a few minutes ago and turned off the tennis match.
Another surgery I thought that makes seven today, I thought I as threw on my lab coat, mask,
and gloves. Lets go lucky number seven, I thought as I scurried out my office door and into
the hospital hallway.
As I entered the operation area I noticed that my team was already there. I was good
friends with my colleagues and I had really great chemistry with my friend since 9th grade
Roshan. Unfortunately Roshan had failed to save many people during surgeries but often it was
just luck. I reached for the tools but put them aside. No I wasnt exactly a surgeon but I was a
Cardiologist. I didnt work directly on the bodies I merely explained what to do in the theatre to
the more minor surgeons. Often I would intervene and do the more complicated part of the
surgery. Roshan nodded at me and said, It is another Open Heart Aksh but this one is critical. I
examined the patient, It was a man about 60-70 years old with a pale lifeless face we needed to
work fast. But I saw something in that old man that I had seen in my grandfather when he
closed his eyes and didnt open them again. I had sat on his lap when he stated to choke and gag.
I fell off and he started clutching his chest. I started crying and then my parents heard. They ran
to my grandfather as he went limp and pale but was still breathing. It was then when I looked
into his eyes and saw that pale stare.
Aksh, Aksh, I opened my eyes and Roshan was staring at me confused, Are
you okay. Yes I am fine, I answered and shook the thought off. We began; our
anesthesiologist Norman gave the man anesthesia to make sure the surgery was pain free. Then
we made an 8 by ten inch cut in the chest of the man. We then cut through some of his
breastbone to reveal his heart. It is an amazing sight to see, the heart. Once the heart was
completely visible, we connected him to a heart-lung bypass machine. The machine moves blood
away from the heart so that we can operate. We quickly found the right vein to use instead of the
dead one. All of a sudden the mans pulse fell rapidly and we knew we only had a matter of
minutes. I wiped sweat of my brow and made the path to the heart and we quickly used our wires
to fix the breastbone. We then stitched our patients skin back on and I gave a big sigh of relief.
His pulse was getting stronger and his heart was beating at a better rate now. That is seven in a
row. I put a smile on my face and went to alert this mans family that he was okay.
As I casually strolled into the west wing of the hospital I saw may people stand
up and rush towards me. The family, an elderly woman, a younger woman and her husband, and
two kids in their teens approached. Doctor Sir is he okay, said the young woman with the
rivers of tears streaming down her face. Yes he is in safe condition and will be fine, I said. The
expression on the whole families face lit up as they thanked me for my work. I can tell you that
honestly when you see the joy of a family that you helped you feel amazing. The two kids in
their teens stepped towards me and said, Thank you for saving our Grandpa. I bent down and
said, No problem kids it is what I do and your Grandpa will be fine. I then turned my attention

to the adults and said with a serious face, Due to the operation he is very weak now and make
sure he doesnt have another attack because second attacks are always much more dangerous.
The man shook my hand and said, Thank you so much. I smiled and said, It was the least I
could have done. I then gave the kids a smile and walked back to my office with this ecstasy in
my heart. I had saved another persons life and kept the family away from grief.
As I was casually walking back and humming The Grand Old Duke of York a nurse came
and remarked, Doctor the patient you just operated on has regained his consciousness and wants
to meet with you. I was puzzled, very rarely does a patient want to talk to me but I did have time.
I went to the patients room and walked through to the door to see the old man I worked on
sitting up on the bed. I could tell that he and is whole family were Indian because of their last
name. The man said, Son, thank you for saving my life I will be forever in your dept. I smiled
and said, No uncle it was my duty to help you. He smiled back and told him that he need to
rest and he said okay in Hindi. I understood of course. I knew many languages such as French,
English, Hindi, Tamil, German, and Spanish. I could even write and read in all of them. I even
have a small French accent because my parents, my brother, and I lived in France for 2 years. As
I walked out my phone started ringing and I heard the annoying tune of my favorite Indian song.
It was my wife Sheila, I answered the phone immediately and I heard her sweet voice. It is
getting late Akshay are you done with work yet? Yes Sheila I should be there in half an hour,
I responded. Okay tonight I am making Chinese food, dont be late, she cooed. I hung up and
locked my office door. It was time to go home.
I am a pretty big fan of German cars so my electric blue Porsche was always awesome to
ride in my car. In my house we always and my parents, my wife, and my children so there was
plenty of life in the house and I loved all of them. As I was about to take a right turn I heard the
same annoying song but this one felt different as it had some sort of urgency. I picked up and I
heard the pained voice of my wife. Come quick papa has had a heart attack come home quick
Akshay. Upon hearing this I dropped my cell phone on the floor of the car and my heart came to
a standstill and shattered. Without thinking I speeded towards my house which was only minutes
away and prayed to god for my fathers health. I couldnt grasp it this wretched thing that took
both my grandparents now had my dad close to its grasps. I saw my house and saw the blinking
lights of the ambulance; I parked the car and ran out to console my family members and to see
the horrifying pale and closed face of my father. Without thinking me, my mother, my children,
and my wife jumped in as the ambulance workers put him on life support. He is really weak one
shouted and my heart sank. I sat there in my coat and felt helpless as the workers did their best to
keep him there and I realized we had to get him to the hospital I worked at and that too fast. So
we continued to Orlando City Hospital and I did my best to examine my grandfathers situation
and from his pulse I could tell that he would need an operation.
Our ambulance pulled into the hospital parking lot and pulled my father was pulled out
on a stretcher. They rushed him inside while keeping him on life preserve. I ran towards my
office to get my lab coat, gloves, and masks. Upon having them I rushed to the operation theatre

knowing that my father was already in there with his life dice in the hands of god. 1-3 he lived
and 3-6 he didnt. As I ran towards the door of the operation theatre two security guards stood
there with blank and monotone expressions. As I walked to enter the theatre they stepped
forward and put their hands out. They then said simultaneously, I am sorry Doctor Khanna but
according to U.S. Law Doctors are not allowed to operate on their family members or they will
lose their licensee, be fined, and if they try to do so they will be removed from the building. The
security guards stepped back and said, Another surgeon will need to do the operation but you
may view the operation inside if you would like. I stepped back, my fists curling into balls and a
wild fury of anger filled my body from head to toe and then I screamed, Are you telling me that
my father is in there dying and fighting for his life and I the best Cardiologist in this building
dont have the liberty to operate on him. I tried to force my way in but they pushed me back
and said, If you continue this behavior we will be forced to make you leave the building. I
yelled I frustration and thought of what I could do, since I wasnt allowed to perform the surgery
there had to be another surgeon I could depend on and then it hit me. Roshan! He had been my
best friend for a long time and sometimes I trusted him for than I trusted myself. I hurried and
ran towards his office next to mine and pounded on the front door. He answered and inquired,
Akshay, is there a problem shouldnt you be home. I quickly explained to him our grave
situation and he gave a quick nod and hurried to the operation theatre with me. Roshan was our
only hope.
We sprinted towards the theatre and upon seeing Roshans I.D. the guards let us in and
my dads closed eyes reminded me of my grandfather. They rushed him to the hospital and I
didnt see him. I stayed home and fell asleep. The next morning my grandfather wasnt there and
my parents did not know what to tell me. We then decided to commence with the operation.
Roshan directed the anesthesiologist to start the anesthesia flow and within a matter of minutes it
was done. Roshan than took the incision tools and made the proper cuts to the body. I couldnt
watch and turned around. Once that was done he made a cut through the bones to expose my
fathers heart. All of a sudden my fathers heart rate dropped tremendously and you could see
that on the pulse indicator. At most we had twenty minutes at most to save him. We looked for a
healthy artery but my fathers main coronal artery had become almost functionless. The healthy
artery we found would need perfect coordination and delicacy because it could be broken easily
and when ruptured it would kill. Roshan slowly moved the artery in the right direction while not
making any mistake and pulled it into the heart. All of a sudden the pulse indicator stopped and I
saw almost straight lines.
I buried my head in my hands and expected the worst but the beeping sound
didnt come. Aksh look, Roshan exclaimed. My dads pulse had speeded up rapidly and he
was out of harm. A sigh of relief overcame our teams face and I was filled with pure joy. Within
a matter of minutes we sealed our dads body and took him to his medical room. He was
perfectly healthy and I was going to take a week off from work to make sure he stayed that way.
I gave Roshan a hug and thanked him from the bottom of my heart. I ran out to tell my anxious

family that we were still together and completely safe. We started to celebrate and my children
Rohan, Som, and Devanshi were ok. The tear of joy spilled from my mothers and wifes face as
we waited for our dear family member to regain consciousness. Roshan stayed too through the
whole night with us as if he was our family member and that is when I realized that Roshan was
about to leave and if he had left there would have been no Cardiac Surgeon still in the building
and my father wouldnt be alive today. I learned the most important lesson of all, trust and the
true value of friendship and I do thank God that I have a friend like Roshan who will be on my
side as a brother forever.