Sundowning diary - part 4 Page 3
Chapter 12
42%
Dr.Jamal was under huge pressure after unsuccessful outcome of his unconventional and yet not approved brain transplantation. Face to face with dilemma, he did all his best to treat the poor boy who couldn’t stand darkness of the night. Something went wrong and the patient – one and only son of Azerbaijan billionaire fell into deep coma without any slightest chance of waking up anytime soon.
After patient’s mother died, he was afraid to encounter his angry father, who could use his business and political connections to put an “X” sign to his medical career once and for all. But now hearing the shouting of male adult in front of his office, and his assistant wearing headscarf - Zuleykha trying to interfere by telling “doctor’s not in his office right now” which escalates his temper tantrum instead, he decided to tell the parent truth and nothing but a truth.
“I said his not here” she said in threatening tone.
Dr.Jamal calmed himself down and opened the door.
“Thank you Zuleykha I’ll take it from here” – he said showing Haydar Hasanov – the very oil magnate – inside the room. The latter didn’t say anything just stared at him with angry eyes for a moment then entered the room taking a seat by the desk.
“ I don’t consider myself religious man, doc. But what you’re doing is so mean and heartless”
“I understand your anger and frustration janab. It’s not like I’m avoiding you for no reason, we didn’t fail, everything went quite well at first, it was a major breakthrough in brain transplantation. However he fell into deep unconsciousness”
“And when you think he’ll wake up”
“Let me make myself clear. We invited research team from University of Copenhagen to define the true status of your son. They scanned his brain using PET technology, PET stands for positron emission tomography- ok never mind with that, it is used to detect emission of glucose in brain in order to determine whether it is normal or low brain activity.The better glucose metabolize the more chance he’ll get up soon ”
“when did they carry out those scanning you say”
“last Thursday”
“And you didn’t bother to tell me about it”
“please don’t interrupt. I’ll return to that. So, 42 percent. Its unique threshold – for level of cerebral energy turnover, any less than that and you can consider him brain dead with one in a million probability of gaining consciousness. I’m sorry to say your son’s brain operates beneath this threshold, we cannot heal him”
“You mean his brain’s dead”
He lowered his head ashamed ,gazing at a golden pen donated him by giant pharmaceutical company for promoting their ineffective and unconventional medicine among patients, and didn’t respond.
Everything happened very fast. It was so abrupt, that he couldn’t notice how this fat cat type businessman jumped on him over his desk and grabbed from his purple tie hidden beneath the jacket, complicating his respiration.
“You son of a bitch, you convinced me to opt for this unconventional pioneer shitsurgery of yours, let all those money I spent be your Halal, but you are responsible for his life. Even if any slightest thought about turning of his life support machine come across your mind, any slightest thought, I’ll find you and cut your balls myself, understood.
“Ok…but it’s useless spending so much money…His brain is dead, you must let him go.”
“F…k the money, he’ll stay in life support as long as it takes, do you get that” he shouted loudly shaking him and spraying out tiny spits from the edge of his lips, right onto his face.
“Yes….Sure”
He loosened the grip but didn’t let him go yet.
“I’ve written my directives and will about that, if something happens to me”
“Ok. I said ok. Why your shaking me again.
“I’m not shaking you. The whole building is shaking” he stared at a ceiling light swinging back and forth. “It’s an earthquake”
Both of them stood stumbled and shocked, spending last moments of their lives, gazing ceiling crack and huge concrete pile collapse and smash them into jelly.