Chapter 24 - An Unexpected Match
Dr. Harrow caught Dr. Voss just outside Operating Room Three.
"Elias."
Voss turned immediately.
"What happened?"
Harrow handed him Lucia's latest laboratory report.
"These antibody markers weren't present twelve hours ago."
Voss scanned the page rapidly before looking back toward Lucia's room.
"They repeated the test?"
"Twice."
"The results match?"
"Exactly."
Voss became unusually quiet.
Adrian noticed the sudden change.
"What is it?"
The surgeon folded the report.
"It may explain why her condition deteriorated so quickly."
Elena stepped closer.
"Please don't hide anything."
"We're not hiding it."
Voss pointed toward the imaging displayed on a nearby monitor.
"The inflammation around Lucia's heart isn't behaving like a simple congenital defect anymore."
"What does that mean?"
"It means there could be another underlying condition."
Elena felt her stomach tighten.
"Another illness?"
"Possibly."
The corridor fell silent.
Just then another physician hurried over carrying a digital tablet.
"Dr. Voss, I reviewed Lucia's previous records from her hometown."
"Anything useful?"
"Actually..."
He enlarged several scans taken almost six months earlier.
"There's something nobody mentioned."
Everyone leaned closer.
The physician highlighted a tiny abnormal blood vessel.
"It was visible back then."
Harrow frowned.
"Why wasn't it investigated?"
"There was no specialist available."
Voss slowly nodded.
"So everyone treated the symptom..."
"...without seeing the cause," Harrow finished.
Elena stared at the screen.
"Can you fix it?"
Voss looked directly at her.
"If what we're seeing is correct..."
He paused.
"...then Lucia's operation may actually become safer than we feared."
May you like
Hope returned to the hallway for the first time that morning.
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