02

Aiden had managed to carry Hope out of the Campbell mansion and flag down a cab to take her to the hospital. She was rushed in by the emergency unit and taken to a ward for immediate diagnosis. Aiden was asked to wait while the doctors were performing a series of tests on her to know what had gone wrong.

Aiden was in the lobby waiting for the diagnosis tobe complete however, he couldn’t sit still. He was pacing to and fro about the room, he was worried and scared. What if something happens to Hope? How would he be able to cope without her?

About an hour later, a nurse entered into the lobby room and walked up to Aiden, “Mr. Aiden, the doctor would like to see you now.” She said and it immediately birthed a wave of anxiety surging within Aiden. This was the moment of truth; he knew deep down that what happened to Hope today was most likely a result of her lingering heart problem.

And he knew it was his fault, he didn’t have enough money to seek a permanent solution to it and could only afford cheap over–the–counter medications to help ease her pain a bit. But it seemed now that the case could no longer be managed anymore.

The nurse escorted Aiden to the doctor’s office. He placed a soft knock on the door, and the masculine voice from inside told him he could come in. With shaky hands, Aiden latched onto the door handle and opened the door.

“Good Afternoon Mr. Aiden, please sit down.” The doctor greeted, gesturing to him to sit down on the visitor’s chairs perched at the other side of the doctor’s table.

Aiden sat down, “Good Afternoon Doctor.”

“Well, we’ve finished running the test on Hope. We found out that the cause of her fainting and fever was because her heart situation is worsening and we see a possible failure around the corner.” The doctor explained and Aiden sighed, burying his face into his palms. He knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

“So what are we going to do, Doctor? A surgery to close up the hole?” Aiden asked, lifting his head up.

The doctor adjusted his spectacles against the bridge of his nose and picked up a file, flipping the pages. “No, it’s too late for that. The situation has lingered on for too long and her current heart has been weakened. She would need a new one.” The doctor answered after he had settled on a particular page on the file. He took out the page and handed it over to Aiden.

“This is the full report of her diagnosis. She needs a new heart urgently, luckily we have one on the ground but you would need to purchase it and also pay for the heart transplant surgery.” The doctor said as Aiden collected the report. Aiden heaved a much heavy sigh; he had expected this also. Money. There was going to be a need for money— huge amounts of it, to ensure his daughter’s life would be safe.

“So how much are we talking about?”

“Well about seventy–five thousand dollars would cover up the whole bill, post–surgery medications included.” The doctor stated and Aiden’s mouth fell wide open in shock. The amount was outrageous! He reasoned that even if all the money he had ever spent in his life was accumulated, it wouldn’t amount to such money.

“Seventy five thousand?” Aiden questioned. “Doctor, I don’t have such an amount. You have to help me please, I don’t want my daughter to die.” Aiden pleaded, tears fogging up his eyes. He loved Hope so much.

The doctor shook his head in sympathy, taking off his glasses. “I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do, Aiden. The best I can do is to accept a deposit and start the surgery, but I can’t go beyond seventy–five percent of the bill. That’s about fifty–five thousand dollars.” The doctor offered. “And it needs to be brought in quickly as your daughter won’t survive long. Her case has reached critical, she needs urgent attention.”

Aiden let out another sigh, “Okay doctor. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.” Aiden rose up from the chair.

“Looking forward.” The doctor answered and with that, Aiden turned to leave the office and then exited the hospital.

His mind was racing with thoughts. He needed at least fifty–five thousand dollars to ensure his daughter’s health and he didn’t even have a single dime at the moment. Where was he going to run to? Who was he going to meet? He couldn’t possibly let Hope die.

He pondered deeply, his mind racing up north, down south, eastward and westward yet, he couldn’t think of anywhere to get the money unless. .

The Campbells. His in–laws.

He had no other option besides, they owed him. When they were still struggling, he had raised money to treat Riley’s leukemia and now that their business was beginning to prosper, the least they could do was help him now that he was in dire need. Even though they weren’t the nicest to him and his daughter, they should at least have some human empathy.

Aiden remembered that they were most likely in the middle of the birthday celebration by now and he was also uninvited. So he decided to buy a huge gift box and place Hope’s diagnosis inside. When they see him with the huge gift box, they’ll definitely let him through because they’ll reason that he had bought a gift for the celebrant.

Just as Aiden had thought, the moment he came back home and showed up at the doorstep, the security men had wanted to escort him out but he told them he had gotten a gift for the celebrant. They allowed him in upon hearing that.