“Hurry, contact the blood bank and have them send blood over.”
Franklin hadn’t stopped the young nurse to ask what was happening when he heard her shouting. He immediately strode over with his long legs. “Does the patient urgently need a blood transfusion?”
The young nurse glanced at him, secretly amazed at how handsome he was. But now was not the time for infatuation. She quickly replied, “Yes, the patient in the emergency room has type A blood. He has lost a lot of blood and needs a significant amount.”
“The blood bank has 3000cc in stock,” the blood bank had already informed the nurse station. “It’s on its way to the emergency room.”
The young nurse said anxiously, “Contact other hospitals as well. If necessary, find out who has type A blood and ask colleagues in the hospital to donate.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get the blood quickly. Type A blood isn’t that rare; it should be available soon.”
The young nurse nodded immediately, “Okay, I’ll wait for your news.”
She started waiting by the elevator for her colleagues from the blood bank.
Geoff overheard everything and walked over nervously. “I’m type A. Take my blood first for emergency use.”
“Honey…” Mrs. Howlett looked at him, moved. “You really care about Jasper.”
“Are you a family member? If a direct relative donates blood, it needs to be irradiated to inactivate the immune-active lymphocytes before it can be used,” the young nurse explained to him, her round eyes looking at Geoff. “Sir, do you understand?”
“I understand. It’s no problem; please proceed with the irradiation,” Geoff said as he rolled up his sleeve.
“Alright, please follow me.” The situation was urgent, and the young nurse couldn’t afford to waste time.
The 3000cc stock wouldn’t last long; more blood was needed.
Fortunately, type A blood wasn’t hard to find. Geoff’s blood was quickly drawn and sent for irradiation for future use.
Meanwhile, in the emergency room, Sylvia’s forehead was covered in sweat.
Jasper’s knees were almost completely shattered, and she had to stitch them back together bit by bit.
This was one of the most challenging knee surgeries she had ever performed, even more difficult than when Clark had shattered old Wilson’s knee for her to repair.
Fortunately, Jasper’s chest and internal organs weren’t severely damaged.
However, his arm was broken, and one side of his collarbone was fractured.
“Dr. Sylvia… give up. This can’t be fixed,” one of the doctors in the emergency room couldn’t help but say. “He’ll need a wheelchair for the rest of his life; maybe after a few years, he can walk with a limp…”
“We really can’t save him,” another doctor also wanted to give up; they were exhausted.
They had been standing there for three hours already, and they estimated they could only last another two hours at most.
A nurse reached out to wipe the sweat from Sylvia’s forehead.
Sylvia’s eyes were fixed on Jasper’s bloody knees, her voice hoarse with fatigue. “I won’t give up. As long as there’s a glimmer of hope, I won’t let him become a cripple!”
“If you’re tired, you can all leave!”
“Alright, let’s hold on a bit longer.”
“Saving lives is our duty.”
“I’m afraid the patient can’t hold on much longer; he’s losing too much blood, and his blood pressure is dropping…”
“I must save him. I want him to stand proudly in the sunlight,” Sylvia took a deep breath. They didn’t understand; none of them did.
To them, Jasper was just an ordinary patient.
But… he was Franklin’s good brother and her good friend Evie’s husband.
She couldn’t imagine how devastated everyone would be if Jasper became crippled or worse.
She didn’t want Franklin to be sad, nor did she want everyone else to suffer. She didn’t want Jasper to become disabled.
The sweat on her forehead was wiped away again and again by the nurse as she worked faster and faster to piece together Jasper’s knee…
Outside the emergency room, the sky gradually darkened. The light rain outside had been falling all day, creating a depressing and uncomfortable atmosphere.
Morning had turned into afternoon, and it was almost four o’clock.
The surgery had been going on for about seven hours.
Mrs. Howlett grew more impatient as time passed, becoming increasingly restless.
“It’s been so long… Jasper might not make it back alive.”
“Don’t say that, Mom. He will be fine. You have to believe in Sylvia; she’s very skilled at surgery.” Evie said as tears fell again. She hugged Jaime tightly and sniffled.
Geoff sat beside Mrs. Howlett, holding her hand tightly and comforting her softly. “Don’t worry; everything will be alright.”
Mrs. Howlett cried uncontrollably. “I regret hiding the truth from him for so many years. I haven’t had a chance to tell him what really happened… Honey… you’ve done so much for him, sacrificed so much…”
“Now is not the time for this; his life is more important,” Geoff’s eyes reddened as he listened to her. “As long as he’s okay, nothing else matters.”
Evie was confused by what she heard. “Mom, is there something you’ve been hiding from Jasper?”
Mrs. Howlett wiped her tears.
“Evie, did you know? Geoff is actually Jasper’s biological father. You know Geoff was my ex-husband’s brother. Geoff and I were first loves, but my ex-husband raped me while drunk and blackmailed me with compromising photos into marrying him.”
“If I didn’t marry him, he threatened to spread those photos to Geoff and my family… I was young and scared.”
Mrs. Howlett spoke intermittently through sobs. “I had no choice but to agree to marry him. Jasper always thought I fell out of love with Geoff and that Geoff left for Aettosa because of it.”
Evie looked at Mrs. Howlett in shock. “What are you saying? Dad is Jasper’s biological father? You…”
“Yes, when my ex-husband raped me, I was already pregnant with Jasper, I just didn’t know it. So not long after we got married, I gave birth to the child. My ex-husband thought the child was his, and Jasper also thought his father was my ex-husband. It wasn’t…”
Mrs. Howlett’s tears kept falling.
“Later, my ex-husband finally passed away. He had been extremely loving towards Jasper. Geoff pursued me again after knowing I was single, and we got together. But Jasper didn’t understand me or Geoff. He was young at the time, and I was afraid the truth would be too much for him, so we kept it from him.”
“My ex-husband had a very high image in Jasper’s heart. If he knew that the father he loved the most had raped me… had destroyed my relationship with Geoff… Jasper wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
Mrs. Howlett closed her eyes in pain. “But now, I regret so much that I didn’t tell him the truth. Geoff has been misunderstood and distanced by him. Our family has been in disharmony for many years. If something happens to Jasper and he never knows who his real father is, it would be so unfair to both Geoff and Jasper.”
“Mom, you don’t need to blame yourself too much. Jasper’s attitude towards Dad has improved a lot in the past two years. You can tell him when he gets better.” Evie was shocked, as if hearing a fairy tale. She never expected Jasper’s background to be so… astonishing.
Jasper, who had always resented his uncle, was actually his biological father, while the father he loved was a rapist.
It was a fact that most people would find hard to accept.
Evie couldn’t help but feel sad for Jasper.
She looked down at Jaime, who was curled up in her arms, still sleeping soundly.
Fortunately, he was asleep and didn’t hear this shocking story.
She silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Franklin, standing nearby, was also surprised. He had always known that Jasper had a bad relationship with his family because his mother had married his uncle, and Jasper felt that his mother and uncle had wronged his father.
Little did he know that the deceased father was the real culprit.
Geoff sighed deeply. “If it weren’t for my brother’s interference back then, our family with Jasper would have been so happy. We wouldn’t have wasted so many years, living in pain.”
“Back then, I hated him so much that I swore I wouldn’t take a penny from the Howlett family. I wanted to make something of myself. But when I built my company into a Fortune 500, my brother passed away from illness.” Geoff gave a bitter smile. “Fortunately, Jasper has lived with integrity, worthy of being my son.”
“Dad, Mom, no matter what, the past is past. Now, being together as a family and being happy is what matters most.” Evie quietly comforted the two elders.
As soon as she finished speaking, the light in the emergency room suddenly went out!
With a bang, the door was pushed open from inside.
A group of medical staff surrounded Sylvia as she walked out, her forehead soaked with sweat. Her legs felt like they were walking on clouds, so weak from exhaustion!
She had been standing for nearly eight hours during the surgery.
Her hands trembled, her legs felt weak, and she could hardly muster any strength.
If it weren’t for the nurse supporting her, she might have fallen.
Seeing this, Franklin immediately rushed over and picked her up in his arms. “Honey, are you okay? Are you very tired?”
Sylvia nodded, then looked at Mrs. Howlett and the others who were eagerly watching her. “Jasper’s surgery was successful. There’s no problem with his brain. I managed to piece back his shattered knees, his left arm is fractured, his left collarbone is fractured, and three ribs are broken. He’s lucky to be alive.”
She took a breath to rest before continuing, “Now he’s being sent to the ICU for observation for forty-eight hours. You don’t need to worry.”
Mrs. Howlett was overjoyed and tearful. “Miss Andrews, thank you, thank you…”
Evie’s eyes were filled with tears. “Sylvia, thank you.”
Geoff asked worriedly, “Will he have any after-effects? Will he… become…”