Novel Squares
Chapter 83
Chapter 83
Eve lay crumpled on the floor, her complexion ashen, clutching at her chest before consciousness slipped away from her.
Gwendolyn’s face set in a mask of determination as she rapidly hit the emergency call button beside the hospital bed.
“Mrs. Lopez!”
“Mrs. Lopez, wake up.”
With the urgency of the situation and the nursing staff thinly spread during the lunch. break, Gwendolyn carefully laid Eve flat on her back. Eve’s breaths were shallow, her heartbeat dangerously slow.
Placing the heel of one hand in the center of her chest, Gwendolyn positioned her other hand on top and began CPR.
“1001! 1002!” She counted out loud with tense focus until a nurse arrived to assist and call for the cardiology team.
“Get the oxygen mask on her and attach the electrode pads.”
“Right! Gwendolyn, keep it steady!” the nurse said, kneeling to prepare the equipment. In these moments, no one dared interrupt a trainee executing life–saving measures.
“No need for defibrillation! Keep up the compressions!”
The golden four minutes were within reach!
Biting her lip, beads of sweat dotting her forehead, Gwendolyn pressed down firmly and rapidly.
The nurse monitored the ECG, body taut with anticipation. Suddenly, the erratic lines. steadied. “Dr. Quigley! The heartbeat’s back!”
Gwendolyn released her hands, collapsing onto the floor, exhausted.
“Prepare for oxygen therapy. Run a check.”
The waiting medical team took over, and Gwendolyn slumped into a nearby chair, staring blankly at her trembling hands.
The Lopez matriarch was shifted back onto the bed and subjected to a series of tests, but no other symptoms presented.
It had been a simple fall that led to the cardiac arrest.
“I’m fine, really,” Eve murmured, regaining consciousness with embarrassment. “I thought I
felt my legs again and wanted to see if I could walk.
Recovery from hemiplegia was a possibility, and under the skilled care of Dr. Yates, Eve was a believer.
Once assured of her stability, the doctors and nurses left, entrusting Gwendolyn to keep an eye on her.
The room settled into the rhythm of the dripping IV.
“Gwendolyn, thank you. I was nearly knocking on heaven’s door.” Eve spoke weakly from the bed, “It would’ve been nice to see my husband again, though.” NôvelDrama.Org content rights.
With her ears reddened from the tight straps of her mask, Gwendolyn advised, “You should consider hiring a caregiver, Mrs. Lopez. Next time, luck might not be on your side.” She wasn’t a critical patient, and with her cantankerous nature, the medical staff couldn’t always afford her the attention needed. Who could have anticipated such an incident?
“I don’t want a caregiver. I only want to go home. Every corner of that house reminds me of my
husband.” Eve’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I miss him. I used to pray for him daily, and it felt right.”
So, the rumors of her deep love for her husband were true.
It was no wonder she had missed him so much.
“Dr. Quigley, please call me by my name,” Eve requested.
“Mrs. Lopez.”
“No, not that. My first name.”
“Eve,” Gwendolyn recalled from her medical chart.
“Ah, yep.” Her voice caught with emotion. “My husband chose it for me and said it was elegant and feminine. He was Adam, and I am Eve. We were a pair meant to be.”
Gwendolyn’s heart ached, and her throat was tight with empathetic sorrow.
From the doorway, interrupted sobs carried into the room.
Turning, Gwendolyn saw a stylishly dressed, sophisticated woman arm in arm with a well–to–do middle–aged man.
Tears staining her cheeks, Magnolia, that elegant woman, called out, “Mom! If you want to go home, let’s go home.”