Chapter 148 - 146: Idiopathic Pulmonary Hypertension
After finishing the scene, Lily Sterling returned to her dressing room, accompanied by Yuna.
Finn was on the phone. "Okay, no problem. I’ll tell her..."
After hanging up, Lily Sterling gave him a questioning look. "Was that Connie?"
Finn nodded. "Connie said a platform’s A+ Level project is looking for you. It’s a Campus Life series. The production team said the male lead is confirmed to be Andrew Sutton, and he was the one who recommended you for the female lead."
"Since you two have some buzz online lately, with a few trending topics and even some shipping fans, the production team thinks pairing you up again would bring in natural traffic. That’s why they contacted Connie, and she wants to know what you think."
Lily Sterling was a little surprised. "Andrew Sutton recommended me?"
Finn nodded. "That’s what the production team told Connie."
Yuna looked at Lily Sterling with concern. "Lily, I still get scared just thinking about what happened last time. Maybe you should pass on this one..."
"Is there a script?" Lily Sterling asked.
"Yes, Connie sent it over. I’ll go print it out for you in a bit," Finn said.
Lily Sterling nodded. She wasn’t particularly resistant to the idea. When it came to acting, she only cared about the script. If the role interested her, she would take it.
What did surprise her, however, was that Andrew Sutton had taken the initiative to recommend her for a role. ’He’s probably doing this out of guilt for what happened last time,’ she thought.
’If it’s a good role, I’ll have to thank him for it.’
The next day, Cecilia Sterling was up bright and early.
"You’re up early too? Have a class?"
Blair, just back from his morning workout, saw Cecilia Sterling washing up and asked instinctively.
Estelle Goodman was still fast asleep, her head buried under the covers.
"I’m going to the hospital to see our instructor."
"Perfect. I’ll go with you. I’m free anyway, so I can visit my mentor’s wife."
Cecilia Sterling paused, surprised. "The same hospital?"
Blair smiled and nodded.
So the two of them got ready and left the dorm together, not wanting to wake the soundly sleeping Estelle Goodman.
When they arrived at the hospital room, they saw that the department head had left the previous night. Now, by Director Lawson’s bedside, there was only a thin, neatly dressed elderly woman.
Director Lawson’s wife was nowhere to be seen.
"Director Lawson!" Cecilia Sterling called out as soon as she entered.
John Lawson was already awake. When he saw Cecilia Sterling, he greeted her with a smile. "Well now, Cecilia, what brings you here so early?"
Cecilia Sterling said, "I was up early and thought I’d bring you some breakfast."
The truth was, she didn’t trust Director Lawson’s unreliable wife and had come early, worried that no one would be there to look after him. But of course, Cecilia Sterling couldn’t say that out loud.
However, seeing the elderly woman, Cecilia Sterling, unsure if she was his mother or mother-in-law, still greeted her politely. "Hello, Ma’am. I’m one of Mr. Lawson’s students."
"Mom, this is Cecilia Sterling," John Lawson quickly explained to his mother. "I collapsed suddenly yesterday, and thankfully, she was right there to bring me to the hospital."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Lawson emotionally grabbed Cecilia Sterling’s hand. "Oh, you dear girl, thank you so much."
Seeing her sincere gratitude, Cecilia Sterling guessed she was most likely Director Lawson’s mother.
"You’re welcome, Ma’am. It was the right thing to do."
As she spoke, Cecilia Sterling set down the breakfast she had bought. "Has the doctor said if you can eat? I bought some steamed buns, congee, and eggs. Why don’t you have a little?"
John Lawson’s eyes filled with warmth, and he nodded. "Alright. Thank you, Cecilia. I appreciate it."
"Director Lawson, please don’t be so formal with me," Cecilia Sterling said as she unwrapped the breakfast. "You’ve looked out for me so much since I started university. Now that you’re sick, isn’t it only right that I do something in return?"
"Are the test results back? What exactly is the problem?" Cecilia Sterling asked.
John Lawson shook his head. "Not yet. I’m waiting for the news, too. But I don’t feel any discomfort anymore. It’s probably nothing."
Hearing him say that himself made Cecilia Sterling feel much more at ease.
By nine-thirty in the morning, Director Lawson’s wife still hadn’t shown up, and the doctor hadn’t come by either.
Mrs. Lawson was getting antsy. She stood up and said, "Oh, why hasn’t the doctor come yet? I wish they’d just give us a straight answer about whether he can be discharged. I’m going to go ask."
"Mom, don’t wear yourself out. This hospital is huge, you won’t be able to find anything. You’ll just get lost," John Lawson said, stopping her worriedly.
Seeing the situation, Cecilia Sterling looked at them both and said, "Let me go. The sooner we ask, the sooner we’ll have peace of mind."
John Lawson didn’t stop her. After Cecilia Sterling left the room, his mother chided him, "Do you really think it’s appropriate to have a student run around doing these things? It’s such a bother for her."
John Lawson just smiled. "It’s okay, Mom. Cecilia is a really good kid."
The old woman sighed and sat back down. "That Charlene still hasn’t shown her face. You’re not even divorced yet, for crying out loud. Who acts like that?"
At the mention of Charlene Miller, the smile on John Lawson’s face vanished. He didn’t say much, simply lowering his gaze dejectedly and lapsing into silence.
「The Doctor’s Office.」
"Why are you asking again? Wasn’t a family member just here?"
The doctor looked surprised when he heard Cecilia Sterling identify herself as family of the patient, John Lawson.
Cecilia Sterling was taken aback. "A family member was already here?"
"That’s right. His wife was here. She just left," the doctor told Cecilia Sterling.
Cecilia Sterling nodded. Before she left, she instinctively asked, "So... he’s going to be alright, isn’t he?"
The doctor’s expression froze for a moment before he sighed. Cecilia Sterling immediately became alarmed. "What is it, Doctor? Is something wrong?"
"Then I’ll just have to repeat myself." The doctor’s expression turned exceptionally grave, and at the sight of it, Cecilia Sterling’s heart began to pound as a dreadful numbness crept over her scalp.
"It’s Idiopathic Pulmonary Hypertension!"
Cecilia Sterling stared blankly. "What?"
She had never heard of such a disease.
The doctor explained with a grave expression, "It’s a rare disease characterized by a sustained increase in pulmonary artery pressure, caused by an unexplained rise in pulmonary vascular resistance. This results in abnormally high pressure readings even when at rest. The fainting spell he had yesterday from the intense pain was a direct result of this."
Cecilia Sterling couldn’t understand the rest of the technical explanation, but the two words "rare disease" landed with chilling clarity.
’How could he have a rare disease?’
Diseases labeled as "rare" were almost always incurable. Cecilia Sterling froze, her limbs turning ice-cold as her eyes began to sting.
She asked tentatively, "Doctor... is there any chance of a cure?"
The doctor hesitated. "Currently, the international standard of care is primarily medication. ’Specialized targeted drugs’ from abroad can control the condition very well, but long-term medication still takes a toll on the body. As for a cure... the only option is a ’lung transplant’."
"Are there donor lungs available?"
"You have to wait."
Cecilia Sterling left the doctor’s office in a daze, her mind buzzing. She was looking for a place to calm down when she happened to glance through the glass window of the stairwell door and saw John Lawson’s wife inside, talking on the phone.
"Look, since he has this disease, I’ll definitely get custody of our daughter. You’re bringing a son, so why can’t I bring a daughter?"
"Of course I want the house! So what if it’s his premarital property? Does it not cost money to raise a daughter?"
"I know him. He loves Yvette so much, he’ll definitely leave the house to her."