MR. BUSY

 "Excuse me Dr"... A voice called from the hallway. "I'm  very busy and can't attend to anyone now" He replied. "Sir, please it's an emergency and there are no Doctors available but you. Please sir your attention is needed." The nurse on duty persisted as she dashed into a ward and reappearing with a stretcher. 

The patient to be attended to laid still in the ambulance. His mother sat in despair crying profusely. At the sight of the nurse, she sprang to her feet.

The boy who was about 18years was placed on the stretcher and was rolled immediately to the accident and emergency unit. The nurses on duty battled to save his life without the assistance of a medical practitioner.

Nothing they seemed to do was working. They administered various doses of epinephrine but it all fell through. After futile efforts to revive him, one of the nurses dashed out the room to go and get the attention of any available doctor.

She met a senior doctor in his office.

"Excuse me, Doctor Good afternoon Sir. Please sir, the young guy is". "I  thought I told you earlier that I am busy, can't you understand that?" The doctor interrupted. 

"Sir  please, we are talking about a life here. His life is at stake. We need your help sir." The nurse said as she walked out of his office almost crying.

The busy doctor decided to show some empathy, he took his stethoscope and left for the emergency unit. 

"Thank God you are here Sir."  The senior nurse spoke. "What's the actual problem? The busy doctor asked as he approached the boy who was still unconscious. 

He hastily gave out instructions to the nurses but not too long after, the boy was confirmed dead. "Take record of the time of death. We did all what we could to save his life." The Doctor took off his protective wears, leaving the nurses behind. The death of that boy would have been avoided if only the doctor showed up on time. One of the nurses thought. The body was then covered and taken to the morgue.

Months and months went by but Doctor Busy persisted with their nonchalantness. Always coming up with excuses when it came to saving lives. While the other doctors worked around the clock to prevent the complexity of a medical condition or a loss of another life.

Dr Busy was on duty one cold morning alongside a renowned female surgeon. The surgeon couldn't make it to the hospital that morning on time. While most of the other doctors had pressing matters to attend to. It was on a Friday morning.

A pregnant lady was rushed into the hospital that morning. She was gasping for breath.  She was immediately moved to the accident and emergency unit. She slipped off while walking down the stairs at home with a cup of hot tea in her hands. Due to the fall she bruised her head against a wall, she fell rolling on her heavy tummy. She bled profusely.

The busy doctor was called upon but as usual, he treated the case with levity. He got to the ward thirty minutes after. By this time, the nurses had already stopped the bleeding. One of the nurses suggested her tummy be scanned incase of any complications but the busy doctor waved the thought off. "Look!!! You guys have succeeded in stopping the bleeding, I feel there's no need for that", the busy doctor said. He sounded so unprofessional.

"As a matter of fact, I'm busy with some files in my office", the doctor said as he dismissed the nurses. 

Little did they know that she already had complications. The baby was now laying side ways. Some minutes after, the pregnant lady began to jerk and scream..."My tummy! my tummy!!", She yelled as she cried for help. The nurses rushed in at the sound of her screaming, but their medical expertise couldn't save her. It was like attempting to keep a fire burning that had already been put off by water. The nurses were behind time. Moreso, the busy doctor was far off, she gave up the ghost. 

Days, weeks, months, years had passed, the busy doctor hadn't modified his ways. He always affirmed that he was preoccupied especially when it comes to saving lives. On this fateful day, something tragic happened that brought about instant and positive change in his life.

Excuse me Dr. Good afternoon ma, a woman cried out, running after a female medical practitioner. "What can I do for you ma ?" the female doctor replied. "Please, it's about my son, he fell from a height while playing in school. He's bleeding profusely and I'm scared. Please ma, help me".The woman said amidst tears. "Alright  ma, calm down...I will get some nurses to attend to you"  the female doctor replied. 

She dashed into a section of the hospital and reappeared with two nurses. "This is an emergency situation, he should be taken to the accident and emergency unit immediately". Turning to the woman..." your boy will be fine, he just needs urgent treatment". The boy's mother nodded her head as the female doctor left. 

The nurses placed the boy on the trolley, and headed directly to the accident and emergency unit. He was taken to an empty ward where some nurses began attending to him. An x ray examination was conducted on his head, a fracture to the skull was clearly visible on the x- ray. The fall had a great impact on the skull and by extension the brain which resulted to an internal bleeding too. 

The busy doctor's attention was alerted about the emergency, but as usual he treated the case with levity. The nurses decided to put their medical expertise to test but they couldn't do much. The boy was already writhing in pains; he was weak, he began having irregular heartbeat, his body was gradually turning pale though his pupil still dilated light. They were at the edge of losing him. 

Due to the severity of the case, a nurse ran back to the doctor's office pleading for mercy as the boy was at the verge of losing it. "I have told you I am busy, I'm participating in an online seminar for goodness sake, don't you understand that?" the busy doctor said. "Please  sir, show some empathy", the nurse said as she left for the emergency unit.

The boy's mother was pacing around the room as she wasn't certain about the fate of her son. Fifteen minutes after, the busy doctor arrived the emergency ward, he headed directly to the theatre room where the boy was. Before he could put on his surgical apron, the boy breathe his last. "We just lost him, we lost another one", the head nurse cried out to the doctor who was still getting dressed up. 

"Oh! It's such a pity you guys can't do without me when it comes to some emergency cases". The busy doctor then moved to examine the body. He wore a bit confused look on his face. "Wait, don't cover the body yet" he  said. He examined the feet, he noticed the dark spot on the right foot. He immediately went for the right arm, he noticed the birth mark. Still confused, he looked closely on the chest, he saw a small scar on the left breast.

 With shock in his eyes, he looked at the face again, very closely this time around. It then dawned on him that he had done something terrible to himself. "Why didn't you guys call me"? he cried out. "Nurse why?" he yelled. "But Sir, I did", one of the nurses said. The nurses were confused, they couldn't understand what was going on. The busy doctor knelt beside the bed stand in the theatre room. "It shouldn't be you", he cried. Why? Why?? Why??? he cried out loud. Tears ran down his cheeks freely. "No ooooooo..." he vibrated admist tears. 

" My Son! My Son!! My Son!!! I had always wished the best for you and not this kind of death" he sobbed. "How  do you want your mother to survive? Death why!!!" The busy doctor cried as he rolled on the floor of the theatre. He thrusted himself against the wall, hitting himself against hard surfaces in the room. The nurses decided to intervene as they didn't wanna record any death almost immediately. 

"I never knew it could be this painful to lose a loved one, let alone my only son" the  busy doctor said. "Why didn't you guys mention the name of the patient to me? "Perhaps I would have arrived here on time". My only son!!! The busy doctor cried like a baby as he watched his only son been taken to the morgue. 

On that fateful day, the busy doctor didn't lose only his son but his marriage and sanity.