Dr. Quincy didn't afford her an ounce of politeness. "Family members need to step aside! Do not interfere with the medical staff!"
Lydia was clearly offended, but she didn't want to be blamed for delaying life-saving treatment.
She stepped back, still muttering under her breath about how Claire was too young to be trusted.
Her doubts weren't entirely unfounded.
But Arthur immediately shut her down. "Lydia, stop causing a scene. Did you forget she's the one who went into the ER and saved him last time?"
Arthur may have made mistakes, but they were minor in the grand scheme of
things.
Within the Darwin family, the eldest son still commanded authority.
Sure enough, the moment he spoke, the rest of the family fell silent.
Noah kept his eyes fixed on the doors to the resuscitation room, completely ignoring his relatives.
Arthur wanted to say something to his grandson, but with his wife and children hovering nearby, he knew showing Noah any attention would only spark a massive fight.
He was finally tasting the bitter consequences of the mistakes he'd made in his youth.
Arthur didn't view himself as a villain, but the things he had done were undeniably cruel.
He wanted to build a bridge with Noah, just like Harrison had, hoping the boy might eventually support their side of the family.
Unfortunately, Noah wasn't buying it.
While the Darwin family loitered in the hallway nursing their various hidden agendas, Claire walked into the resuscitation room.
One look at the gray, ashen color of Harrison's face, and she knew it was over.
She pulled out the Golden Needles, preparing to stimulate his acupoints, but a frail, trembling hand grabbed her wrist.
Harrison weakly shook his head. "No... more..."
His voice was barely a rasp, the words incredibly difficult to form.
But Claire saw the desperate plea in his eyes and understood exactly what he meant.
She looked up at Dr. Quincy, her expression heavy. "He's lost the will to fight. Let him pass peacefully."
A whirlwind of emotions crossed Dr. Quincy's face before settling into a deep, resigned sigh. "I know that's the right call, but the family out there..."
The Darwins were incredibly difficult to deal with.
As doctors, they fought tooth and nail for every patient.
But when a patient like Harrison was experiencing nothing but agonizing torture by simply being kept alive, abandoning treatment was often the most humane choice.
Every attempt at resuscitation was just inflicting more pain.
"Harrison, I'm going to use the needles just to ease your pain. Nothing else, I promise."
She knew the limits of her techniques. The needles used to stimulate life force couldn't be used indefinitely.
His body was past the point of return; there was nothing left to stimulate.
"Thank... you..."
It was incredibly painful for him to speak. Claire quickly shushed him, telling him to save his strength.
If he had any last words, he needed to save them for his family.
Claire's hands were as steady as ever.
Even as she watched the old man's life slip away, her expression remained calm and composed.
A true healer needed immense compassion, but also the emotional detachment to accept fate.
Once you understood the fragile
boundary of life and death,
you
stopped feeling quilty for the
patients you couldn't save. Conter
It wasn't a matter of her lacking the
skill to save him; Harrison's life.
simply reached its natural
verget
conclusion content belongs to
FindNovel.net
He was like a candle. You could try to slow the melting wax, but eventually, the wick would burn down.
Once the flame went out, nothing could bring it back.
Claire didn't want to waste precious time or prolong his suffering.
Dr. Quincy had wanted to try one last time, but he ultimately respected Harrison's wishes.
They all knew that attempting to resuscitate him now was just performing for the sake of medical protocol.
In reality, Harrison was too far gone to be brought back.
Even if they somehow managed to restart his heart, they would only be extending the duration of his suffering.