Inside Operating Room 4 of St. Raphael Medical Center, everything was silent except for the beeping of the heart monitor.

Dr. Gabriel “Gabo” Valdes, the best Neurosurgeon in the country, stood in the middle. In front of him lay the patient—Lina, eight years old, undergoing a dangerous brain surgery to remove a tumor.

“Scalpel,” Dr. Gabo ordered.

The nurse reached for the instrument. The child’s skull was open. Just one wrong move, Lina could die or be paralyzed for life.

Suddenly the floor shook.

At first, they thought it was just a fainting spell. But then a loud rumble followed. IV stands fell over. The lights flickered and went out, replaced by emergency red lights.

Intensity 7.2 Earthquake.

“Get out! The building is collapsing!” the Head Nurse shouted over the intercom.

The staff inside the OR screamed. The scrub nurses and anesthesiologists panicked. Medicine cabinets fell. The walls began to crack.

“Doc! Let’s go! We need to evacuate!” a nurse pulled Dr. Gabo’s arm.

“No!” Dr. Gabo shouted, firm and unwavering. “The child’s head is open! If we leave him, he will die from infection or debris! Get out if you want!”

Due to fear and panic, the nurses and assistants ran out. Dr. Gabo was left, alone, in the middle of the collapsing and dark room.

The shaking grew stronger. The sound of metal giving way was heard above. Dr. Gabo saw the ceiling falling right in front of the operating table.

Without hesitation, Dr. Gabo threw the scalpel. He placed his entire body on top of Lina. He became a human shield. He hugged the child’s head with his chest and arms to make sure no dust or rocks would land on his exposed brain.

BLAG! CRASH!

A large chunk of cement and steel fell behind Dr. Gabo.

“ARGHHH!” he screamed in pain.

He felt his ribs crack. The steel dug into his shoulder. But he didn’t move. He stayed on Lina until the earthquake stopped.

Dark. Dusty. The smell of blood and cement.

Page: SAY – Story Around You | Original story.

Outside the hospital, everything was in chaos. The Search and Rescue Team arrived. The East Wing of the hospital where the Operating Room was located was destroyed.

“There’s no life left there,” said the Building Engineer. “The structural integrity of the third floor has given way. They’re running.”

But the Rescue Team led by Captain Bato did not give up. They entered the rubble. It took them three hours to reach the door of OR 4, which was blocked by rocks.

They opened it with hydraulic tools.

When the smoke cleared, the rescuers were stunned.

In the middle of the room that looked like it had been through a war, there was a light on—a small flashlight that a man was biting.

Dr. Gabo.

He was still standing. His back was bloody, his scrub suit was torn, and his legs were shaking from fatigue and pain. But his hands… his hands were strong and still moving.

He was stitching the child’s scalp.

“Doc?” Captain Bato whispered, incredulous.

“Don’t… don’t make any noise…” Dr. Gabo replied hoarsely, not taking his eyes off the patient. “Last stitch… done.”

When the last stitches were done and Lina’s head was bandaged, Dr. Gabo’s body gave out. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

The two were immediately rushed to the field tent outside. Miraculously, Lina survived and the surgery was successful. Dr. Gabo, on the other hand, suffered a fractured spine and internal bleeding but was quickly treated and is now out of danger.

Dr. Gabo’s heroism made headlines around the world. He was called “The Unbreakable Surgeon”.

But the real twist of the story happened the next day, when the patient’s father visited him.

Engr. Enrico Cortez, a wealthy contractor, entered the tent. He was crying and knelt by Dr. Gabo’s bedside.

“Doc… thank you… you saved my child…” Enrico sobbed.

Dr. Gabo stared at him seriously. He knew Enrico.

“Engr. Cortez,” the doctor said softly. “Do you know what hit me in the back while I was protecting your son?”

Enrico shook his head.

“A steel beam,” Dr. Gabo replied. “A beam from the ceiling of this hospital… a hospital your company built five years ago.”

Enrico turned pale.

“I saw the steel as it ran over me,” Dr. Gabo continued. “The standards were very low. The cement, mixed with too much sand. The materials you used were substandard to save money and collect a big kickback. That’s why the East Wing collapsed immediately even at Intensity 7.”

Enrico bowed his head. His fraud and corruption had almost killed his own son. The debris that crushed the back of the doctor who saved his son was the same debris created by his greed.

“I saved your son because he was my patient,” Dr. Gabo concluded. “But his life now is also a second chance for you. Fix the buildings you are building. Because next time, there may be no doctor to share the roof for your family.”

Because of the incident, Engr. Cortez voluntarily surrendered his license and spent his wealth to have the entire hospital properly and sustainably repaired.

The world has proven that true heroes are not just those who save lives, but those who have the determination to do what is right even when the world around them is crumbling.