The Princess and the Pauper

Chapter 4

Before the doc could finish his sentence, Arabella chucked a small bottle at him, her gaze never

leaving the old woman.

“CircuStrength?” Caden managed to make out what he was holding, asking in shock, “Bella, where did

you get this stuff?”-

Isn’t this the mysterious drug that’s been causing a stir on the black market recently? Rumor has it that

it worked wonders on heart diseases, and just one pill could cost a whopping hundred grand…

But the hefty price tag wasn’t even the main concern. The main thing was, that this stuff was super

rare. Only one pill was auctioned off every month!

How did Bella get her hands on such a rare item?

“The Murphy family has treated you so crappy, I think you’ve done more than enough for them. There’s

really no need…”

Caden was cut off by Arabella’s warning look before he could finish his sentence.

“Am I wrong? Their own flesh and blood haven’t taken care of this old woman as much as you have…”

Half a year ago, Caden graduated from a top domestic medical university and came to Hope Hospital

for his internship. Being born into a medical family, he was initially arrogant and cocky. But then he met

Arabella and realized that there was always someone better…

Once, he was studying a complex case, staying up late for a few nights in a row and unable to sleep.

Arabella took one look at the case and gave him a great solution in just a few sentences. Another time,

Arabella casually glanced at a patient’s chest X-ray and CT scan and figured out that the patient had

lung cancer, while his diagnosis was severe pneumonia. There were plenty more instances like

these…

What he admired most was that Grace, a woman on the brink of death, had been brought back by

Arabella time and time again, even when he had determined that she couldn’t be saved through

treatment!

Arabella, this astonishing high school student, always brought an endless shock to him, shattering his

arrogance and forcing him to live humbly!

During his six-month internship, Caden also witnessed her being neglected by the Murphy family, and

later the two became acquainted and soon became friends. He knew that the best solution for Grace’s

condition was a heart transplant. But because of her old age and conditions like high blood pressure

and heart failure, she simply couldn’t undergo surgery. Arabella was now giving her CircuStrength in

hopes that her physical condition could improve a bit, so she wouldn’t be so frail that she could die at

any time.

But the Murphy family didn’t know any of this, they thought that as long as they paid the money and put

Grace in the most expensive ward, it would be enough to take care of her…

“If the Murphy family were to take care of this old lady, they definitely wouldn’t spend a hundred grand

to buy this stuff to save her.”

“Alright, keep a good eye on her for me.” Arabella looked at Grace, and said reluctantly, “I have to go.”

She couldn’t stay here too long. If the old woman woke up and saw her, she would get even more

upset. If her condition worsened then, it would be even more difficult to handle.

Caden glanced at her, saying softly, “I’ve got this, don’t worry.”

“Mm.”

Arabella’s gaze fell on Grannie Grace. Although she had a lot to say, she ended up not saying a word

and left room 301.

On the other side.

Some doctors were rushing around, looking very anxious.

“What’s going on? How did Phillip’s condition suddenly become so serious?”

“I heard he’s been refusing to take his meds to force his son to show up…”

“This is ridiculous!”

Not long after Arabella left room 301, her shoulder was suddenly bumped by one of the doctors. Seeing

them rushing towards room 306, Arabella happened to see the old man lying on the bed looking

unbelievably bad as she walked by.

“He actually stopped his medication willingly, isn’t he playing with his life?”

“What do we do now, should we notify his family?”

“His family is on their way here; we can only wait for them to arrive and decide whether to operate…”

Arabella stood at the door of room 306, reminding them quietly, “By the time his family gets here, he

might already be beyond saving.” © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

The doctors, who were at their wits’ end, all looked toward the source of the voice. There stood a

young girl at the door, who seemed to be only in her teens, but looked incredibly calm. Her eyes were

bright and clear, her gaze firm.

“Little girl, what do you know?” The male doctor next to her saw that she was just a child and didn’t

bother to argue with her, “This old man’s condition is very serious, if we were sure, we would have

saved him right away.”

The only reason they were waiting for the family was because they were out of options.

Arabella raised an eyebrow, asking casually, “Rheumatic heart disease, is it that serious?”

“You can tell what disease he has?” The doctor was somewhat surprised.

Another older female doctor was also taken aback, “Does this child know medicine?”

“Since you know this is rheumatic heart disease, then you must also know that for this kind of disease,

valve replacement surgery is needed, and for this old man, it would not be the first time he would

undergo valve replacement surgery!” The male doctor explained.

Arabella lifted her head, seemingly indifferent to his words. “Needing to undergo valve replacement

surgery again just means you guys didn’t use enough antibiotics to treat him, that’s why there’s

infection and perivalvular leakage.”

Hearing her words, all the doctors in the ward were stunned.

“Does this little girl really know medicine?”

“She even knows about ‘perivalvular leakage…”

The old man stopped his medication treatment on his own accord. That’s why there weren’t enough

antibiotics used, leading to the infection and perivalvular leakage.

“Why are you arguing with a little girl? How long till the patient’s family gets here?” The old man who

spoke was Greg, the hospital’s most senior heart specialist, already in his fifties. He spoke with

authority.

“Dr. Greg.” The moment he started speaking, everyone in the room straightened up. One person

replied, “Going by how fast the family was moving before, the quickest they’ll be here is in twenty

minutes.”

Twenty minutes was way too long.

Dr. Greg did some mental math. Phillip clearly couldn’t hold on for twenty more minutes. Previously, he

had undergone a mitral valve replacement surgery overseas. However, soon after, he had a valve leak

and had to go back overseas for another heart valve replacement.

Yet, shortly after the surgery, he developed an infection, and the valve started leaking again. There was

no time to travel abroad for another procedure, so he had to get emergency treatment right here at

home.

Hope Hospital’s cardiac surgery department was top-notch nationwide, and Dr. Greg’s surgical skills

were nothing short of stellar. That night, Dr. Greg managed to pull off a medical miracle, performing a

complex surgery under immense pressure.

However, shortly after the operation, Phillip developed another infection and had to have another

surgery.

Now, his condition had worsened. An upper respiratory infection had turned into pneumonia. Although

the pneumonia symptoms were under control after rigorous treatment, he was now showing signs of

heart failure.

During a recent examination, Dr. Greg discovered that Phillip had developed infective endocarditis and

another valve leakage. His condition was critical.

The chances of a successful surgery under these conditions were less than 10%. The only thing they

could do now was to wait for his family to arrive.