Counterattack (9)

***

Surgery isn't over just because you've closed what you opened.

You can't say the surgery was a success until the patient wakes from anesthesia and you confirm there's no unusual pain or other abnormal reaction in the wound.

If the wound hurts, or if the patient doesn't wake up from anesthesia, that's a sign you may have botched the surgery.

Of course, trauma-surgery patients often can't get up anyway, so there are plenty of cases where you don't even need to check.

Still, my old mentor from my general-surgery days drilled that lesson into me, so even though I'm not in anesthesiology, I have the habit of checking on patients after surgery.

The moment the operation ended, I even put off going home and came to Eri's room because of that habit.

“Nnnghehheh....”

“Eri. Wake up.”

“Five more minutes, Teacher...”...