Towel
He Zifeng went straight for the ICU after arriving at the hospital. He donned the full gear with ease as he was already used to it, then went into Chen Kaori's room surrounded by glass walls.
The nurse was about to give the patient a sponge bath when he arrived.
"Let me do it." He Zifeng told the nurse, who recognized him instantly.
The nurse prepared the warm water in a basin and the towels and sponge for the bath. Then left the things at bedside.
He Zifeng started getting the sponge damp and ever so gently wiped Chen Kaori's skin, immediately drying with a towel as he did, careful not to make her cold. He meticulously wiped her body, then brushed her hair.
As he gently brushed off hair strands from her neck area with his fingers, he remembered Su Lianghao mentioning about the procedure wherein they needed to make a cut through her neck into her windpipe. As he recalled, he caressed her fair neck, which miraculously was free from scratches or bruises which she got in different parts of her body. Now they even want to make a cut into the area.
He Zifeng shook his head to dismiss the thoughts. 'The procedure will help her breathe. It is necessary, so she will continue to stay alive.' he thought.
He placed all the materials he used for the sponge bath into the basin and carried it out the glass door.
The nurse noticed that he did, so she took the basin from his hands and was about to leave to keep the things when He Zifeng stopped her.
"I heard...uh, Dr. Su mentioned tracheostomy..." He Zifeng almost choked on his words.
"Oh...Sir, please ask the other nurse at the station. The patient chart and the consent forms are with her. If you have decided to replace the ET tube with a tracheostomy, you will need to sign as consent." the nurse tried to gesture the station with her head.
"Oh...okay." He Zifeng replied in almost a whisper. He did not even look back on the nurse who told him the area. He just slowly walked towards the nurse station.
The nurse at the station situated strategically in the middle of the intensive care unit rose from her seat when He Zifeng towered at the counter area. "Yes, Sir? What can I do for you?"
"Uh, Patient Chen...she..."
The nurse frowned. She became worried if there was something wrong with the patient and immediately eyed the corresponding vital signs on the monitor. "Sir, all the monitors on Patient Chen indicate that she is still fine. What's wrong? Did you notice anything?"
"Uh, no...it's just that...Dr. Su said she will need a tracheostomy...I'm here...to sign for it." He Zifeng felt as if there was a lump in his throat.
"Oh...I'll prepare the consent in a minute, Sir." The nurse bent down to search for the correct form, then she filled out details of the patient and the procedure to be done. Afterwhich, she turned the form she attached on a clipboard for the patient's relative to sign.
He Zifeng grabbed a pen with his shaking hand. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. When he was confident he could control his hand, he found the blank for the relative and slowly signed his name.
He gulped, then turned the clipboard back to the nurse.
"We will schedule the operation as soon as possible. We will notify you once it is set," the nurse told him.
He Zifeng just nodded.
Suddenly, the monitor on the station beeped.
"Number 7...huh?! Patient Chen!" the nurse exclaimed as she saw the figures on the monitor.
He Zifeng had wide eyes and dashed back to Chen Kaori's room.