Chapter 2

    Mysteries After Nightfall

    The doctor finished his shift at eight o'clock in the morning…

    However, one shouldn’t misunderstand that he could go back to sleep comfortably in the medical student dormitory. On the contrary, he rushed back to take a shower and stuffed food in his mouth. Yes, he was stuffing everything in his stomach, just to be full. There was no time to choose what to eat. The young doctor randomly pointed at what he saw at the restaurant. After polishing the plate, he then realized that he had eaten rice topped with eggs, stewed pork and Chinese sausage.

    The doctor bustled to the OB/GYN building that was full of pregnant women. Even though he had never met them, they all greeted him in a row. Passing them, Doctor Aun raised his hands as a wai (Thai greeting) to greet the patients. As many medical professors said before, it was the power of the white coat (1) that whoever wore it would be considered a walking saint.

    “Hello, Doctor Aun.” Nurse Ae rose from the counter, raising her hands as a wai to greet the young man. Doctor Aun nodded and saw that the nurse must have been busy queuing up patients to prepare for Professor Kawee to come to the ward in the morning. On the other side, there was a small table where Nurse Pia called a list of pregnant women. The weight and blood pressure were required to be filled in the patient's profile before seeing the doctor. Judging from the look on their faces, they must be completely bored with this task, which doctors like to call Routine work (2).

    “Hmm... you can send some cases for me to check, the simple cases that don’t need Professor Kawee's hands.”

    “Oh, I have already separated cases for you, Doctor Aun. Do you want to check it out now?”

    “Yes, I do.” replied the doctor, although he sincerely wanted to say. “I don’t want to… Let me rest for three hours then call me for the check-up.” Who said being a doctor is fun!?

    The examination room was divided into three to four small rooms and each room’s door had a doctor’s name pasted on it. As the last room for which the doctor was not named, Doctor Aun knew right away that he had to walk into the room, the extern's room.

    Doctor Aun entered the room. A small work desk was set against the wall on the left and an examination bed on the right. There was a curtain for inspections that required privacy. Yesterday, the doctor was busy with a cervical cancer screening case on the second floor. So, he hadn't entered the examination room area. Today was the first day that he would proceed with some other tests.

    Most of the patients that Nurse Ae arranged for him were new patients who did not have a regular doctor. Some came to consult about abortion pills which the doctor did not recommend because it was illegal. Some came to discuss pregnancy and antenatal care. Doctor Aun accepted these cases as he saw fit.

    Someone knocked on the examination room door while the doctor was finishing examining the last patient. Gasping for air, Nurse Pia rushed in and blurted.

    "Doctor Aun! There is an urgent case. Professor Kawee called for you to study the case together."

    "Okay, what's the case?"

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    It was considered a tough case for Doctor Aun in an obstetrics and gynecology ward...

    The patient arrived with an incomplete abortion. This incomplete abortion was that some part of the placental tissue had already come out of the cervix but hadn't completely peeled off. Moreover, blood was still gushing out like a broken pipe. From Professor Kawee's initial diagnosis, she needed to be rushed to the operating room to have the fetus, and the placenta removed as soon as possible. Otherwise, the patient may have bled to death.

    Doctor Aun slipped into his gown and walked to Kawee to watch him preparing Curette (3) to scrape the uterus. A few nurses had helped wipe off the blood for quite a while for the professor to see the womb. Professor Kawee prepared to scrape the uterus that had slipped out but been stuck in the cervix. Professor Kawee was startled when a lot of blood gushed out of the patient’s vagina and splashed on his mask and face. He jumped up from his chair while Curette, in his hand, fell to the ground with a loud clank. Aun and the nurses, who were at the scene, stood in shock.

    "What the hell!" shouted Professor Kawee, whose face turned pale and sweated profusely. He wiped his face with a rubber-gloved hand, but there was no blood... not a single drop of blood to be found!

    "What's the matter, Professor?" asked Nurse Ae, and Professor Kawee immediately denied. He took off his rubber gloves and turned to speak to Doctor Aun with an unusual, hastily tone.

    "Doctor Aun, take it from here. Scrape the uterus and take all the fetus out," spoke Professor Kawee. He suddenly walked out of the operating room amid everyone's confusion. Doctor Aun took Professor Kawee's place and told the nurse.

    “I need a new curettage, please.”

    "Yes, doctor…here." She handed a curette to Doctor Aun. The doctor swiftly worked it to remove the remaining uterus in a race against time. Because if it took too long, the patient might have bled to death, which was not what the doctor wanted to happen in the case that he was responsible for.

    After the doctor had scraped the uterus for a moment, clear liquid and the placenta tissues fell out along with a blood clot. The doctor used tongs to examine it and saw a figure of a fetus with a body length of about three centimeters. When everything was done, the doctor proceeded to stop the bleeding and moved the patient to the recovery room.

    While he was walking back to the examination room, he passed Kawee, who frantically rushed out with the briefcase. Doctor Aun couldn't stop him in time to report the case. He looked at Professor Kawee with a suspicious expression and wondered why Kawee had been acting strangely since the operating room...

    There must have been something behind it.

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    After the tough case, it was already late. Doctor Aun took this opportunity to visit the High Risk (4) ward to feed babies. Many infants were in a rather miserable state to be called cute. Some were premature babies, so their bodies were tiny. These newborns had to stay in an incubator. Some with multiple disabilities were just abandoned by their mothers.

    Some newborns' skin was highly yellow. Neonatal Jaundice in newborns was the result of an accumulation of unconjugated bilirubin (5). If it spread into the brain, it could cause deafness, low IQ, and seizures. The treatment for this was commonly called "toasting" among doctors. In medical terminology, it was to put infants on photo (6) in the radiant warmer (7), which was to place newborns in an incubator.

    Doctor Aun played with the babies until a ward nurse called for bedtime. He walked down from the building to find something to eat at a cooked-to-order restaurant in front of the hospital. He saw a friend from the internal medicine ward who was eating in the shop. So, he went to join...at least he didn't have to eat alone.

    "What's up, Extern Aun! Looking as good as a zombie hah," greeted Prempiti, a medical student, or Doctor Pop, who has a trendy Chino look. Doctor Pop was a senior medical student whom many juniors were fangirling to the point that friends were jealous of him. He preferred to be an internal medicine doctor because he was good at treating patients with general illnesses. He especially liked treating diseases related to the renal system.

    "Of course… working in the obstetric ward for twenty-four hours and having a few minutes nap. I plan to rest after I finish eating. I can't take it anymore. I have to go to the ward again at 8 o'clock tomorrow," said Doctor Aun, who sat down and ordered pork omelet rice, a simple and quick menu for a rush hour... Rush hour meant time to sleep!

    "Same to me. There are tons of patients in the internal medicine ward. My hands didn't have a second to rest. My meal that you see is a lunch-slash-dinner at 8 p.m. The obstetric ward is the most relaxed one. If it was not necessary, I wouldn't change the ward at all," said Pop, who laughed in his throat and scooped the minced pork basil rice into his mouth. He had a medical book in his hand, which was filled with images of human internal organs. While he was chewing food in his mouth, he scanned the page and tried to remember the human body's systems. This was a usual habit for medical students.

    “So, how's Golf? I haven’t seen him at all.”

    “I haven't seen him either. Working in an ER is hell. He was called every hour to the point that he hardly gets to sleep. He is probably found dead in the ER now. It would be nice to pay him a visit someday. But I'm afraid if I visit him, I can't stop myself from helping him with the patient. Stitching is my favorite." Doctor Aun laughed in delight as the vendor brought omelet rice to serve. Doctor Pop laughed after him, then scooped rice into his mouth. Both ate in silence and quickly finished the food before them.

    After finishing the food, the two Externs talked on the way back to the dormitory for medical students. Doctor Pop's room was on the second floor, and his was on the third floor, so he climbed up the stairs from the second floor to the third floor by himself.

    Even though he had been here for a long time, Doctor Aun would feel a shiver down his spine every time he had to use the stairs alone, as if mysterious eyes were staring at him in the darkness. The young man whisked to the third floor and headed to his room. When he arrived, he grabbed the key in his pants pocket to open the door and hurriedly entered the room.

    He didn’t know if there was something following him... He only knew that he felt safe as soon as he was in the room.

    After his hand had reached out to turn on the light to brighten the room, he immediately flinched as he saw his friend's figure lying on the bed with his back facing Doctor Aun.

    “Hey, Golf. When did you come back?"

    “For a while. I was freaking sleepy. Can you turn off the light? It hurts my eyes. I can't sleep with that.” The other raised his head slightly and said in a daze. Doctor Aun nodded and moved to turn on the light on his desk instead before turning off the big light in the middle of the room.

    “Alright, I'm going to take a shower and go to bed soon too,” said Doctor Aun, then he grabbed a towel and flew to the bathroom to cleanse his body. After that, he came out in cute pajamas, which didn't match the doctor's personality at all.

    The young man went to sit at the desk and set the alarm at 7 a.m. on his cellphone for the 8 a.m. ward. But then he had to frown, seeing the phone screen showing two missed numbers. The doctor clicked to see the numbers and found two missed calls from Golf at 9:10 p.m. Doctor Aun quickly raised his head to look at the clock on the table in front of him. It was now three o'clock twenty which meant he got the calls while he was in a shower. And at that time, Golf was already lying on his bed.

    “Why did he call?”

    The phone suddenly vibrated, making the doctor flinch. He almost dropped the phone but luckily grabbed it in time. Otherwise, he definitely would need to buy a new mobile phone. The young man looked at the screen and saw Golf calling. He immediately turned to his friend, who was lying on the bed.

    “What are you playing at, Golf?”

    Silence...no reply from his friend.

    “Golf...why did you call? It’s not funny anymore... I want to sleep," said the young doctor who hung up the call. But in an instant, the phone rang again. This time, Doctor Aun felt something was fishy. He stared at the figure beneath the duvet cover on Golf's bed. Somehow there was a hospital smell wafting in, kicking his nose.

    Silence... The figure under the duvet was lying still.

    Doctor Aun decided to answer the call. Before he could say anything, Doctor Golf's voice rang out from the other end of the line.

    "Where have you been, Aun? I have been trying to call you like crazy."

    “Uh… I was in a shower. Where are you, Golf?" The young doctor asked in a trembling voice. His eyes continued to stare paranoidly at his friend's bed.

    “Of course, I’m in the ER. There is another freaking urgent case. I'll be back in a bit. Don't lock the door, so I don’t need to wake you up. By the way, do you want to eat anything?”

    "What are you talking about... Are you in the ER, Golf?!" Doctor Aun asked with a quivered voice similar to his shaking body. He walked backwards as far away from the bed as he could. He was praying for his best friend to tell him that he was joking, and he was, in fact, secretly calling from under the covers to fool him...but it wasn’t the case!

    "Of course, I’m at the ER. That's all for now, Aun. The nurse called.” Before ending the call… Doctor Aun heard the nurse call, “Doctor Golf… Patient BP Drop (8) already.” That was… really the nurse's voice.

    If Golf was at the ER...Then who was lying on the bed?

    As though the person heard the question in his mind. So, she let out a whistling cry while groaning in a quiet voice, “Help…help me.”

    The doctor was stunned and slowly walked back to the door to open it. Softly escaping the room with manners, it was, in fact, a gesture of one’s inability to walk when encountered 'mysteries after nightfall’.

    After he had left the room, he bolted from the third floor to the second and knocked on the door of Doctor Pop's room in no second. His friend, who was still in a daze after closing his eyes for less than twenty minutes, opened the door for him. The doctor stood trembling while his eyes were still frightenedly glancing at the silent corridor.

    “What is it… Aun?”

    “Let me sleep in your room, please," said the young man and busted to Doctor Pop's bed without waiting for an invitation from the owner of the room.

    Closing the door, Doctor Pop scratched his head in puzzlement but didn't ask anything due to his sleepiness. Contrary to his friend who laid down beside him and fell asleep quickly, Doctor Aun lay with his eyes open until morning...

    Early in the morning, there was a knock on Doctor Aun's door. A young man, in the same condition as a walking zombie, stood fearfully before the door. Praying for Golf to come back, he wasn't ready to face the 'thing' he reencountered last night. Either it was real...or it was his illusion due to his sleep deprivation.

    In just a moment...the door swung open with the figure of Golf whose brain was numb and eyes were heavy till they were almost closed. Seeing Doctor Aun frozen on the spot, he frowned and asked.

    “Hey...why are you standing there, Doctor Aun? Come in! Where did you go last night? I thought you said you were going to sleep here?” said Doctor Golf as he yawned and went to sit on his bed. Doctor Aun stared at his friend in disbelief. Nevertheless, he decided to walk into the room cautiously anyway.

    "What's wrong with you, Aun?... Why are you acting like you’ve seen a ghost?"

    "Well, that's right..."

    "What!! What did you say, Aun?” Doctor Golf turned to look at his friend. Realizing what he had just said, he put on his poker face and denied it in a high-pitched voice.

    “Well…uh…I mean, seeing your face is like seeing a ghost, shabby like a corpse."

    “Yeah...well...that's right, you haven’t worked in an ER yet. Wait until the next rotation for an ER Pool (9), you'll know what the hell is like. So, are you going to the OB/GYN ward now?" asked Doctor Golf.

    Doctor Aun nodded in affirmation. If he didn't have to go to the ward... he would still be sleeping in Doctor Pop's room. He wouldn’t come back up to this room.

    "Then I'll go take a shower first. If I'm free, I will visit the ER. I'm bored of the OB/GYN ward."

    “That would be nice, help me stitch up the wound. I’m too lazy to do it. My legs were cramping like hell for one stitch case," said his friend, yawning before excusing himself to bed. Doctor Aun seized a towel and ran through the water. He quickly put on his Extern coat to leave the room.

    His heart was still shaking...was that the real Golf or the fake one?

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    The hustle and bustle in front of the cesarean room rang out as the doctor walked past. Before he could turn around to see what had happened, the glass door busted open with the figure of Professor Kawee in a bloody sterile outfit. Even with the mask covering half of his face, Professor Kawee's eyes clearly showed a thunderbolt. He took a long step past Doctor Aun without turning to look at his fellow ward physician. Doctor Aun was about to open his mouth to ask what happened; however, the professor had already disappeared in the elevator.

    The door to the delivery room swung open again. This time, Nurse Ae, dressed in sterile clothes with a startled expression, ran out and called out to Professor Kawee.

    “Professor… Professor!”

    But when Nurse Ae saw Doctor Aun standing awkwardly in the area, she suddenly dragged the doctor into the delivery room, where Professor Kawee left the case unfinished.

    “What happened, Nurse Ae?”

    “Please don't ask any questions for now, Doctor Aun. Hurry up and get the case in the delivery room done.”

    Doctor Aun, then, became an Obgyn by default...

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    After everything went smoothly as a new mother gave birth to a healthy baby, the doctor evaluated Apgar's score (10) and went out of the room to change his clothes. The shock of the sudden emergency still lingered in his mind. Why did Professor Kawee just leave the case? And what did those terrified eyes mean?

    Waiting till the right time, he called Nurse Ae to a corner in the OB/GYN ward to ask her about it out of his curiosity.

    “Why did Professor Kawee just leave the case like that? What happened in the delivery room before I came?”

    “I had no idea either, Doctor Aun. At first, Professor Kawee was normal, but when he started to perform the episiotomy (11), he suddenly shouted out ‘ghost... a ghost’, then ran out of the delivery room. We were shocked too. Fortunately, you came. Otherwise, it would be terrible for the patient. It wouldn’t be terrible just for the patient but..." Nurse Ae continued with excitement while Doctor Aun stopped listening. At this moment, he was only interested in the reasons why Professor Kawee said "ghost," or did Professor Kawee actually see a ghost? Nonsense... the professor has been here for ten years. Why was he afraid of ghosts now?

    It was still a mystery to be unhinged...if he could make it through another night from this brutal shift!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1) A white coat is a doctor's coat.

(2) Routine work refers to repetitive jobs.

(3) Curettage is a device to scrape the uterus.

(4) High Risk refers to a newborn who has abnormal symptoms.

(5) Bilirubin is a yellow substance that causes Jaundice in newborns and may affect their bodies. Usually, it should not exceed 12 in a one-day-born infant; otherwise, urgent treatment is required.

(6) On photo is a phototherapy for babies.

(7) Radiant warmer is a warming device providing heat to children.

(8) BP Drop means Blood Pressure drops

(9) ER Pool is an emergency room shift outside office hours allocated for all externs.

(10) Apgar score is a score used to measure a child's health at birth counted from the first minute and 5 minutes after delivery. Scores are given for each category and combined. It is to analyze from an average score of 10; if the baby’s scores are lower than 10, oxygen is required, or any measures to reach a score of 10.

(11) Episiotomy is surgery to enlarge the vagina in childbirth or perineal removal.