Donya Miranda was lying in the Presidential Suite of a famous hospital. She was the wife of a Senator and was known for her hot temper, especially with service workers. Her stomach and back were hurting from a rare complication with her kidney.

A woman in a blue scrub suit, her hair in a ponytail, no make-up, and looking young entered the room. She was looking at the chart at the foot of Miranda’s bed.

“Excuse me!” Donya Miranda said. “Who are you? Why are you moving my chart?”

“Good morning, Ma’am. I’m just checking your vitals for—”

“Don’t speak English to me!” Donya snapped. “You’re so slow! I’ve been waiting for a doctor! Where’s my specialist?! Why are they only sending me nurses and interns?! Do you know I can buy this hospital?!”

“Ma’am, I’m the—”

“Shut up!” Miranda shouted, throwing a pillow at the woman’s face. “You have no right to talk! Call the hospital Director! I want a real doctor! The one who looks rich! The one who looks smart! Not like you who looks like a waitress!”

The woman took a deep breath. She calmly picked up the pillow and put it back on the sofa.

“I’ll follow, Ma’am. I’ll call the Director.”

The woman left without saying anything bad.

A few minutes later, Dr. Perez, the Hospital Director, arrived, panting and looking nervous.

“Donya Miranda! What happened? Why are you losing your mind? Your blood pressure is dangerous!”

“Well, Dr. Perez!” Donya complained. “I paid a million but you left me to a stupid nurse! I threw her out! Where is the Best Specialist in Asia you said would operate on me? I’m going to die of pain!”

Dr. Perez scratched his head. “Ma’am… he was here a while ago. In fact, he was the one who checked you out.”

“What?” Miranda asked in surprise.

Dr. Perez opened the door. “Dr. Valdemor, come in.”

Page: SAY – Story Around You | Original story.

The woman in the scrub suit who Donya Miranda had thrown out and thrown a pillow at earlier entered again. Her face was serious.

“Ma’am Miranda,” Dr. Perez began. “I introduce to you Dr. Aira Valdemor. She is the Chief of Nephrology and Robotic Surgery. She is the only doctor in the Philippines certified in the procedure you need. She even went to Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins. She is the one you called ‘the waitress-like one.’”

Donya Miranda felt as if cold water had been poured over her. She turned pale. She felt her throat dry.

The “nurse” she had insulted… the woman she had thrown a pillow at… was the one who had her life in her hands.

Dr. Aira approached the bed. She was not angry, but there was authority in her voice.

“Donya Miranda,” Dr. Aira said as she put on her stethoscope. “I’m sorry if I look young or not rich to you. But inside the Operating Room, diamonds or designer bags will not save you. What you need is my hand and my brain.”

“D-Doc…” Miranda stammered, her voice shaking. “Sorry… I’m really sorry… I’m just hot-headed… Don’t leave me alone…”

Donya almost knelt on the bed in embarrassment and fear that the doctor might not operate on her because of what she had done.

Dr. Aira smiled sheepishly. “Don’t worry, Ma’am. I’m a professional. I won’t gamble with a patient’s life just because of his bad attitude. I’ll operate on you. But hopefully, next time, we can learn to respect everyone—nurse, janitor, or doctor. Because we’re all the same people.”

Donya Miranda fell silent. Throughout her stay at the hospital, she had become very kind to all the staff.

She had learned the most important lesson: That the true state of a person is not seen in the uniform they wear, but in their skills, intelligence, and above all, their attitude.

The operation was successful. And since then, whenever Donya Miranda goes to the hospital, she is the first to say “Good Morning” to every nurse she meets.

Disclaimer: The stories here are just fiction and not news. What is important is the lesson and emotions that can happen to anyone. Thank you, SAY!