Here’s a story I wrote a while back as a gift to my mother. She used to tell me inspirational stories like this all the time when I was a kid and I just wanted to give her the same joy.
The Gem – a heartwarming story of medical malpractice
Dr. Kinnley prepared for open heart surgery on a young man with a congenital defect. It was a normal procedure, something he’d done hundreds of times before, even while drunk. He wasn’t drunk this time though, since someone had found his secret stash and drank every last drop. Stupid interns.
The young man he’d be working on today was one of those romantics, the kind who spoke about his heart as if it was one of those corny cards you buy at the supermarket, the red ones shaped like stylized hearts. The kid was getting married in a few weeks and kept making doe eyes at his fiance, while saying crap like, “You hold my heart in the palm of your hand” and “My heart is a gem, cut just for you.”
As they were getting ready for surgery, the man looked up at Dr. Kinnley and said, “Doc, just you wait. My love for Stacy is so strong, I just know my heart has been cured and that this is the last surgery I will ever need.”
Dr. Kinnley grumbled and shook head as the patient went under. He didn’t put much stock in miracles, or love for that matter. Especially not after his wife left him to join the circus. The world was a harsh place, filled with heartbreak and clowns seducing surgeon’s wives to the alluring world of tents and cotton candy.
He started cutting open the man’s chest, expecting more of the same; blood, bone and a pulsating mass of diseased heart muscle. Instead, Dr. Kinnley found a gem shaped in Valentine’s Day fashion, twinkling under the hospital lights.
“My god,” he said in awe. “His heart really is a gem.”
Dr. Kinnley laughed and danced around the room. It was a miracle. His heart really was a gem! Love really had transformed it. “Go love!”
Dr. Kinnley cut the man’s heart free and gently lifted the glittering gem. The other doctors and nurses nearby stared at him in shock and some even tried to rush over. He just cradled the heart to his chest and pushed them away.
“It’s a miracle,” Dr. Kinnley shouted. “The world needs to see!”
He pushed as the door leading into the hallway. “Don’t worry, I’ll give it back when I’m done.” Dr. Kinnley was pretty sure the patient would be fine without his gem heart for a few minutes. It was a miracle, after all.
Dr. Kinnley rushed into the waiting room and screamed. “Behold, the power of love!” He shoved the heart into the hands of the patient’s fiance. “Now you really can hold his heart in the palm of your hand.”
Instead of crying tears of joy over the miracle, the woman screamed and dropped it to the floor. Everyone else in the waiting room screamed as well and backed away from the the still bouncing heart. As Dr. Kinnley was tackled from behind, he thought that maybe taking that hit of acid to replace his booze wasn’t such a good idea.
Cartopia 