บท 10: Treatment

Irene finally arrived at their rented home in St. Vincent.

Her mother, Adoora, and her two younger siblings were super delighted by the abundance of groceries, clothes, and chocolates that she bought for them.

The 8 years old Irish, and 7 years old Jacob were busy munching on the chocolates while putting the groceries in the cupboard.

Meanwhile, Irene and her mother were having a serious talk in the bedroom.

Adoora looked her daughter in the eyes. "Where did you get all this money, daughter?" she asked suspiciously. "Don't tell me you won the lottery?" she warned her in advance against making up lies.

Irene sighed deeply. Initially, she wanted to use that alibi of winning a lottery jackpot but decided against it. But she knows for certain that she can't reveal the existence of the other golden nuggets to her mother because she might have a slip of tongue, accidentally revealing to others the existence of the said treasures. "Mother, I have something to tell you. It's very important for our bright future. Please don't tell anyone about my secret," she said.

Adoora looked at her daughter, her eyes widening anxiously. "Tell me, what is it?" she asked.

"I found a pouch containing golden nuggets at the back of the ancestral house while I'm cleaning the area. That is where the money comes from. The reason why I was able to buy groceries and clothes for you and my siblings was because of my valuable find in the backyard. It is also the same reason why I have a huge balance in my bank account as of this moment," Irene whispered.

Adoora was stunned by her daughter's revelation. "W-where are the golden nuggets? I wanna see them!" she said excitedly.

"Wait a second..." Irene said and fished out the pouch from the inside pocket of her shoulder bag. She removed the pouch and emptied the contents into the bed.

"Oh, my God! So many gold nuggets!" Adoora exclaimed in shock as she picked up the yellow stones and inspected them one by one, then she counted them all. "OMG! A total of 198 golden nuggets! This is insane!"

"Yes. I already sold the two gold nuggets because I want to bring you to the hospital for check up and treatment. Is your stomach still hurting, Mother?" Irene asked worriedly.

Adoora nodded her head. "Yes, always," she answered teary-eyed.

"We will go to the hospital this afternoon, Mother. It's about time that we will know why your stomach is hurting. Now that we already have money, we can finally afford the hospital bills," Irene said.

Adoora placed the gold nuggets back in the pouch and handed them to her daughter. "Take care of it, daughter," she said, feeling happy that they can finally visit the hospital to have a diagnosis of her condition.

"I will take care of the gold nuggets with my life, Mother. These treasures are our ticket in getting out of poverty," Irene said optimistically.

"What is your plan?" Adoora asked.

Irene looked at her mother, her eyes were glowing with happiness. "I have decided not to sell the ancestral house anymore. We will have it repaired so that we can relocate there. That's my plan, Mother," she replied.

"I agree with your plan, daughter," Adoora said.

"Then we will hire people to plant crops on the 5-hectare property and sell the products after the harvest. Now that we already have the money, we can finally afford to cultivate the property turning it into a profitable farm land. We will engage in a poultry business or any other profitable ventures that can produce money every quarter. This way, our income will multiply!" Irene stated exuberantly.

Adoora smiled brightly upon seeing the animated face of her daughter while talking about different types of business. "Alright, I'll support you whatever your plan, daughter. I trust you with all my heart," she said happily.

Irene and her mother hugged each other in elation.

"I'm so happy, Mother! The gold nuggets are truly a blessing from the heavens above for us! God finally took pity on us and heard our prayers. We can finally live in abundance starting today!" Irene gushes.

"Amen!" Adoora murmured.

Irene stood up and said, "I'm going to cook our meal, Mother. Then we will visit the hospital after we finish eating lunch."

"I'll help you, daughter," Adoora spoke.

The two women left the bedroom and went to the kitchen to prepare their meal for lunch.

One hour later.

Irene and Adoora finished eating, they leave the dishes for the kids to wash while they prepare for their trip to the hospital. They will leave the kids to their closest neighbor's care for a while.

A few minutes later.

Irene and her mother can be seen boarding a taxi going to the nearest hospital.

They arrived at the Dominico General Hospital and immediately found a doctor to consult about Adoora's stomach problem.

Inside the physician's room.

Doctor Helena looked at her patient. "What is your illness?"

"Doc, I've been experiencing recurring pain in my stomach for the last two years. I'm afraid that I'm suffering from a serious illness," Adoora replied.

"Have you been diagnosed before? Do you already have the results about your condition?" Doctor Helena asked.

Adoora shook her head. "No, doc. Um... this is the first time we visited a hospital seeking treatment. We don't have money so we are afraid to visit the hospital," she explained shyly.

"Ah, I see. I understand," the doctor said, checking the patient's vital stats such as her BP and her weight.

Silence fell upon them.

The doctor looked at her patient. "We will put you under an X-ray machine today to find out what is causing the recurring pain in your stomach, then we will proceed with the medication and treatment after we see the result. Are you okay with that?" she said.

Adoora nodded her head. "Yes, Doc!"

Doctor Helena scribbled on the piece of paper and handed it to Adoora. "Bring this recommendation to the laboratory and settle the fees in the cashier section, then wait for the schedule of your X-ray. If you can get the x-ray result today, come back here to my office so that I can discuss with you the result and the corresponding treatment."

"Okay, Doc," Adoora said.

Irene and her mother left the doctor's office and proceeded to the laboratory, they were given a schedule one hour later. They went to the cashier and paid the X-ray fees.

The two women stayed in the chapel of the hospital and prayed for God's mercy, hoping the result is not life-threatening.

One hour later, they returned to the lab and Adoora underwent the X-ray procedure while Irene waited outside the room anxiously.

Minutes went by.

After the X-ray procedure was done, Adoora left the X-ray room and joined her daughter on the bench as they waited another half an hour for the result.

Half an hour later.

Irene and Adoora already got the X-ray result and they proceed to the doctor's office right away. They were lucky because there were no other patients during that time. The doctor's secretary ushered them inside the office.

Irene and Adoora settled on the chair facing the doctor.

"Doc, we already have the X-ray result," Adoora said and placed the brown envelope on the desk.

"Good!" Doctor Helena said. She removed the X-ray result from the brown envelope and read the details of the report from the lab.

Silence fell in the room.

After the doctor read the result, she looked at Adoora. "Dear, the cause of your abdominal pain is due to kidney stones," she said calmly.

Irene and Adoora looked at each other for a few seconds, their hearts were beating faster in their rib cage.

Adoora cleared her throat and looked at the doctor. "It is treatable, doc?" she asked worriedly.

Doctor Helena smiled. "Yes, of course! Last year, my sister just had a Ureteroscopy Surgery to treat the kidney stones in her stomach and so far she's recovering well. She no longer experience the recurring pain in her stomach after the successful surgery. Health wise, she's doing great," she said reassuringly.

Adoora felt relieved. "That's good to hear, doc!" she said.

Doctor Helena looked at her patience. "I recommend that you undergo the surgery as well," she suggested.

"How many days will we stay in the hospital, doc?" Adoora asked.

"You can go home after the surgery. But I recommend that you stay in the hospital for at least two days just in case there is a complication. This way, the physician who performs the surgery can attend to your case right away. It's up to you, the decision is yours to make," the doctor said.

The mother and daughter duo were silent for a moment.

Doctor Helena scribbled something on the paper and handed it to her patient. "Here is my recommendation. Bring this to Dr. Rael's office because he will be the one who will perform the surgery. You can ask him all your questions," she said.

Adoora accepted the piece of paper. "Thank you, doc!" she said.

Doctor Helena smiled. "Don't mention it."

Irene and Adoora left the doctor's office and went to Dr. Rael's office.

When they arrived at the doctor's office they were fifth on the list waiting for their turn to see the doctor.

Half an hour later.

The secretary ushered them inside the doctor's office.

Doctor Rael smiled warmly at the women.

"Good afternoon, doc," Adoora said.

"Good afternoon, ladies! May I have your medical report, please?" the doctor asked.

Adoora handed the doctor all her medical reports.

Doctor Rael read all the reports in silence.

A few minutes later, Doctor Rael addressed his patient. "I can perform your surgery tomorrow afternoon if you're up for it. The surgery will last for 3 to 4 hours and the patient will be under general anesthesia. Most of my patients recovered fully after 6 to 7 days, they can function normally afterward. You will have some blood in your urine for 2 to 3 days and that is normal, not a cause of panic. Ureteroscopy Surgery usually costs $2,645 in this hospital excluding other bills..." he elaborated further.

Adoora and Irene looked at each other.

"We will agree to the schedule of the surgery tomorrow afternoon, doc," Irene finally stated.

"Good!" Doctor Rael said. "After you leave my office. Proceed to my secretary, she will provide you with the other details of the surgery and what to do. Do you have any questions? Let's discuss it while you are still here..."

Adoora and Irene asked the doctor about the details of the surgery and its effectiveness.

Doctor Rael assured them that the surgery is generally safe by informing them that his previous patients' conditions, health wise, improved significantly, and the abdominal pain was gone for good.

Satisfied with the doctor's answer and assurance, the mother and daughter duo left the hospital, looking forward to the surgery the next day.