Lie in the Chart, Patient Codes

The surgeon just asked me to lie in the patient chart. Blood pressure drops to sixty over forty

and alarms scream through the OR like a war zone. I'm squeezing bags of fluid while two

surgeons argue over whose technique caused the bleed. My hands shake but I can't stop.

The anesthesiologist shoots me a look, the same one from last night when we almost kissed

in the supply closet. Focus. The patient is coding. Dr. Chen is spiraling since her daughter's

accident, missing steps, forgetting protocols. I smell the metallic tang of too much

blood. The attending barks orders that contradict what's right. Do I speak up and

risk my career or stay silent and risk a life? That falsified chart could destroy everything.