Jaime blinked his round eyes. “Dad hasn’t come out of the ICU yet. I’m a little sad.”
Though young, he knew that the doctor in front of him had saved his father and was very skilled in surgery.
“Don’t be sad. He will be out of the ICU tonight. Once he’s in a regular ward, you can talk to him,” Sylvia smiled. “I’ll go check on him now.”
She went directly to her office in the hematology department. Just after changing into a white coat, she ran into Sabrina.
Sabrina paused when she saw her. “Oh, I wondered who it was. It’s Dr. Sylvia. You’re quite the rare guest. I’ve never seen a doctor who doesn’t need to be on duty.”
Seeing Sylvia, she couldn’t resist making a few snide remarks.
Sylvia ignored her and turned to leave.
Sabrina’s sarcastic voice followed, “Oh, the famous doctor doesn’t even bother to respond.”
“Yes, she doesn’t talk to us because we’re not as famous as she is,” another female doctor chimed in.
Sylvia still didn’t want to engage with them until a male doctor blocked her path.
“Dr. Sylvia, shouldn’t you explain why you get paid without being on duty? You’re taking money for nothing. We’ve kept quiet out of collegiality, but you should treat us all to dinner at Cloud Restaurant with your salary.”
“What did you say?” Sylvia gave him a lazy glance. “Me? Treat you to Cloud Restaurant?”
“Yes! You’ve been taking money for nothing for so long, shouldn’t you treat us?” The male doctor spoke with self-righteous indignation.
Sylvia was amused by his bizarre logic. She looked at him with a faint smile. “First of all, I don’t take money for nothing. I get paid per surgery. This is stipulated in my contract. I don’t take the fixed salary of a few tens of thousands; I take the surgery fee.”
The male colleague clearly didn’t believe her. “Are you kidding? Everyone else gets a salary. Why are you different?”
Sylvia opened her financial app on her phone. “I just did a surgery two days ago in the emergency room. The surgery fee was $200, 000. Do you want to see my bank records? The hospital’s financial department transferred the money to me.”
She showed her phone to the man. “Look at this transfer.”
The male colleague’s eyes widened in disbelief. He seemed shocked and even took two steps back.
He heard Sylvia’s cool voice again, tinged with sarcasm. “So, how am I taking money for nothing? We’re colleagues, and I reserve the right to pursue legal action. Otherwise, I would have already sent you a lawyer’s letter for defamation.”
She returned his earlier words verbatim.
The man’s face turned red and white with embarrassment.
Damn! The hospital actually gave her such high treatment, $200, 000 for one surgery.
This was an astronomical fee!
Thinking of this, he had a sinister idea.
Their office had surveillance cameras. He went to the monitoring room and captured a photo of Sylvia showing him the transfer record.
He circled the part showing the phone and then posted it online.
“Shocking! General Hospital Doctor Sylvia Charges Astronomical Surgery Fees!”
He detailed how difficult it was for an ordinary doctor to make money, how much effort and study it took to become a qualified doctor, and how low their salaries were-only two or three thousand dollars a month.
Yet some people could earn $200, 000 for one surgery!
He expressed a lot of dissatisfaction and bitterness.
The post aimed to highlight that Sylvia’s surgery fees were outrageously high, disrespecting the medical field, patients’ families, and life itself…
All sorts of accusations were hurled at Sylvia.
Sabrina saw the post and gave the male colleague an approving look.
“Didn’t know you had such writing skills.”
The male colleague grinned obsequiously. “It’s nothing. As long as Sylvia’s reputation is ruined, I’m happy.”
“I think you wrote well,” Sabrina said flirtatiously. “I’ll put in a good word with the director to see if he can get you a raise.”
“Thank you, Sabrina.” The male doctor was elated and grateful.
Sylvia had no idea she was being targeted again and exposed on a famous medical forum for her high surgery fees.
Not only that, but paid posters were hired to stir up trouble, and soon the post was screenshotted and spread on social media.
It caused an uproar.
Ordinary doctors’ salaries were considered middle income-better than some but not as high as others. Even top doctors’ incomes were very high.
For those earning only a few thousand dollars, doctors’ incomes seemed much higher.
And among these high earners, someone making $200, 000 for one surgery sparked professional anxiety and public attention.
It was like focusing on celebrities’ high salaries.
At that moment, Sylvia had just entered the ICU to check on Jasper’s recovery.
Though it had only been two days since the surgery, he was much better than the day of the accident.
“Young people recover quickly. His physical condition was good to begin with, so he heals faster than older patients,” Sylvia smiled at Jasper lying in bed. “He has some facial abrasions that will heal in a few days.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Jasper said sincerely, his voice still weak.
He never thought Sylvia’s medical skills would one day be used on him.
“Tomorrow I’m going with Franklin to the Fire Dance Festival. There will be doctors here responsible for your condition. If anything happens, call me,” Sylvia instructed before leaving the ICU.
She took off her mask and told the anxious Evie, “No problem; he’s recovering well.”
Evie finally breathed a sigh of relief and managed a smile. “That’s good.”
“He has no life-threatening injuries; what are you worried about?” Sylvia patted her shoulder. “Your anxiety affects your child too. The child will feel bad too.”
“It’s winter break now; my child can’t go to kindergarten and suffers with me,” Evie said sadly. “My parents are exhausted these days; I let them go home to rest.”
“There are three caregivers here; you don’t need to worry so much. His injuries can heal; they’re not internal injuries,” Sylvia understood Evie’s feelings. If it were Franklin, she wouldn’t be so calm either.
Evie was still sad but better than before and gradually accepted Jasper’s accident.
“It’s a pity Jasper can’t join us at the Fire Dance Festival this time.”
“There will be more opportunities,” Sylvia smiled. “If not for your child, I’d insist you come with us.”
She and Franklin stayed at the hospital with Evie for a while before leaving.
Meanwhile, online criticism was rampant.
“Why is her surgery so expensive?”
“I can’t make $200, 000 in a year.”
“That’s just a few hours’ work for her.”
“Oh my God, isn’t she that internet celebrity who looks like Princess Sharon?”
“Does she need money? People like her shouldn’t need money, right?”
“Who knows! People will do anything for money these days.”
“They say she looks like Princess Sharon! How does her money-grabbing behavior resemble Princess Sharon?”
But soon some medical experts came out in support of Sylvia.
“What do you know? I participated in that surgery with her! Sylvia was the lead surgeon who pieced together two shattered knees! Do you understand what that means?”
“This kind of surgery is worth $200, 000 or even $500, 000!”
“Do you know who she saved? Her husband’s assistant, the young master of the Howlett family! Does the Howlett family lack medical fees? The $200, 000 surgery fee was paid by the hospital!”
Soon more medical experts voiced their support.
“Do you know that famous medical resource-sharing forum? It has benefited countless medical students without charging a penny-purely sharing resources.”
“The founder and operator of that forum is Sylvia! Can you say your graduation thesis didn’t reference materials from that forum?”
“The person who posted this is clearly malicious. Can you swear your graduation thesis didn’t use resources from that forum?”
“The poster is obviously also a doctor. I suggest a thorough investigation to root out this industry’s bad apples.”
“Sylvia stands at the pinnacle of medicine and uses her influence and skills to benefit the entire medical field. What’s wrong with charging $200, 000 for surgery?”
The General Hospital’s official platform quickly issued a statement.
“We reserve the right to pursue legal action against those spreading rumors about Dr. Sylvia. Our cooperation with Dr. Sylvia has always been excellent; every surgery fee is traceable. We welcome relevant departments to supervise and investigate.”
They also attached the contract between the hospital and Sylvia detailing her surgery fees clearly-Sylvia charges based on patients’ total medical expenses.
The final clause emphasized that she does not need to be on duty or clock in daily at the hospital.