Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 852 Strange Mental Illnesses: Hysteria and Catatonia (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets: 3K Chapters)

Fang Yan glanced at the two men, then nodded to them.

Although Ms. Lü was weak, she was still able to greet Fang Yan with a smile, but Situ Chi was a little annoyed. He didn't move or speak, and his eyes were staring straight ahead.

"Who wants to see first?" Fang Yan asked the crowd.

Director Liao looked at the Huo family, and just as Fang Yan thought the Huo family was about to step forward, he heard the Huo family representative say:
“Mr. Situ’s condition is a bit more serious. Since they came from the United States, let them take a look first.”

Ms. Lü said weakly:
"Yes, we've already discussed it on the way. It would be best to let Mr. Situ see a doctor first."

Situ Jie was deeply moved when he heard this.

This can be considered as doing them a favor.

This demonstrates the Huo family's respect for the Situ family.

He thanked the Huo family profusely, and then Director Liao said to Fang Yan:

"You should show the dialect to Mr. Situ first."

"Okay." Fang Yan nodded.

He was just thinking about who was important to the leader, but now it seems that the Huo family is more important. However, this family is also very good at dealing with people. Before the leader could make a conclusion, they stepped forward and said that the Situ family should be treated first.

This resolved the dispute over who should take the place of the emperor and also earned a favor from the Situ family.

It’s really high!
If it were a dialect, he would probably make the same choice, or deliberately arrive a little late.

The Situ family pushed Situ Chi to the clinic in front of Fang Yan.

Fang Yan glanced at Situ Chi, who was probably in his thirties. He was wearing a hat and was wrapped up tightly, revealing only a somewhat sallow and thin face.

His eyes were vacant, and there was a stiffness about him. Fang Yan could also smell a strange scent on him, which was a bit like some kind of Chinese herbal medicine, or some kind of incense.

Fang Yan thought for a moment and guessed that it was more likely that he had sprayed perfume on Situ Chi for the occasion.

He raised his head and said to the Situ family:
"Then... shall we talk about Mr. Situ's condition?"

“Okay.” Situ Jie nodded, then beckoned to another middle-aged woman.

"Ali, tell Dr. Fang the details."

Then a middle-aged woman who looked burly and muscular, as if she had worked in bodybuilding, stepped forward and said to Fang Yan:

"Dr. Fang, six years ago, Mr. Situ Chi began experiencing frequent dizziness, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and inconsistent sleep. Sometimes, after exertion or exercise, he would feel palpitations and a rapid heartbeat. He also mentioned that he experienced intermittent pulse. He went to several hospitals in the United States for examination and was eventually diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease and arteriosclerosis."

"Huh?" Fang Yan was taken aback.

Rheumatic heart disease and arteriosclerosis, that doesn't match his current condition at all.
"Was it a misdiagnosis?" Fang Yan asked, frowning slightly.

“Anyway, he thinks it’s true,” Ali said to Fang Yan.

He asked in dialect:

"How did he become like this?"

Ali said:

“From then on, his mental burden increased day by day. Coupled with his introverted nature, we outsiders could clearly feel that he began to have doubts, fears, and pessimistic emotions.”

Fang Yan asked her:
"Did he receive treatment using traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine?"

Ali said:

“They tried everything, but he didn’t have much confidence in curing his illness. In the last three to five years, his condition has gradually become more serious.”

"At first, I was introverted, and later my personality became even more withdrawn."

"Moreover, he is becoming increasingly obsessive about things and is easily angered."

"He became quiet, rarely spoke, was depressed all day, and lacked interest in anything in the outside world."

"Sometimes I get absent-minded, like right now. My face is blank, my reactions are slow, and I don't even know to go eat unless someone reminds me."

"These symptoms come and go, and sometimes it takes several days before they gradually return to normal."

Fang Yan nodded, recorded all of this in his medical record notebook, and then asked:
"So, he's currently experiencing an episode?"

Ali glanced at Situ Chi and nodded:

"Ah."

She continued:
"However, at the beginning of last year, he was indeed hospitalized for treatment due to intermittent rapid heartbeat."

"After being admitted to the hospital, he also suffered from severe insomnia and was unable to fall asleep for more than ten days and nights in a row."

"The doctors at the hospital used large amounts of sedatives and sleeping pills, but they could only get him to sleep for a short while."

“When he wakes up, he is very restless and has no appetite. He sweats on his upper body, and this sweating will come and go.”

"He also suffered from constipation, only having a bowel movement every few days. His stools were hard and dry, like stones. Sometimes, the hospital even needed to use enemas to help him defecate. From then on, his body became weaker and weaker."

"You're not eating anything at all?" Fang Yan asked.

Ali said:

"Yes, he doesn't eat or say he's hungry, so the hospital can only give him intravenous nutrition to keep his vital signs up."

Fang Yan frowned and looked at Situ Chi, only to find that he hadn't even blinked.

Ali continued:

“At the end of last year, an elderly traditional Chinese medicine doctor from Taiwan came to San Francisco, and we invited him to help diagnose the patient. He prescribed two doses of medicine, and after taking them, Mr. Situ recovered somewhat and was able to eat on his own. We have been giving him medicine according to the doctor’s prescription ever since.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan was surprised by the unexpected turn of events.

"The prescription is here." Without Fang Yan having to say anything, Ali had already taken out a sheet and handed it to him.

Fang Yan saw the beautiful traditional Chinese calligraphy above and wrote down a prescription for Tianwang Buxin Dan combined with Si Ni San.

Tianwang Buxin Dan comes from Shesheng Mipo, and Si Ni San comes from Shanghan Lun.

The Treatise on Cold Damage needs no further introduction; it is a text familiar to all traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.

"The Secrets of Nourishing Life" is a traditional Chinese medicine book on health preservation written by Hong Ji in the Ming Dynasty. It was published in 1615 and consists of two volumes. The first volume mainly discusses the theory and methods of health preservation, including "The Essentials of Preserving Life" and "Sixteen Things to Do for Health Preservation," emphasizing the principles of health preservation such as following nature, regulating emotions, moderating diet, and moderate exercise.

The second volume mainly introduces some health-preserving prescriptions and medicines, and the Heavenly King Heart-Nourishing Pill comes from the second volume.

The core of his prescription is to nourish yin and blood, and soothe the liver and relieve depression.

However, judging from Situ Chi's current attitude, it is clear that he has not succeeded.

"Please continue," Fang Yan said to Ali.

Ali nodded and then continued:
"Then last month, one morning, Mr. Situ suddenly lay straight on the ground, his consciousness blurred, his eyes open and staring at one spot, his expression like this now, his mouth closed and not speaking, not eating, and not defecating."

“We wanted to find that old Chinese medicine doctor again, but he had already gone to another place. We tried to contact him, but we couldn’t. The situation was urgent, so we had no choice but to go to the local hospital for diagnosis.”

"The hospital we went to diagnosed him with a mental illness, and the traditional Chinese medicine doctor also believed that he had a mental problem. After several days of treatment, his condition has not improved. He has been motionless, silent, not eating, and not defecating for more than 20 days now."

“Now we give him IV fluids at a fixed time every day. He will urinate once two hours after the infusion. Otherwise, he has no physical reaction. He doesn’t even sleep at night and keeps his eyes open staring at one spot.”

Fang Yan pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking quickly; this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

At this moment, Situ Jie picked up the conversation and said to Fang Yan:

"So this time when I returned to China, I brought him back with me and wanted Dr. Fang to take a look at him."

Fang Yan nodded and said after hearing Situ Jie's words:
"Okay, I'll take a look first."

Fang Yan took out a flashlight and came to Situ Chi's side, shining it into his eyes.

There is a pupillary response, but it is slow.

He was in a state that seemed to be both asleep and awake.

His eyes were fixed on a certain spot, his expression was indifferent, and he didn't say a word. Fang Yan listened carefully and found that his breathing was very weak.

It's more like it's entered a state of restlessness.

The body's metabolism is reduced to a minimum.

Cut off from external perception.

His skin was sallow, dry, rough, and lacked luster.

Fang Yan took his hand and found that he didn't react, so she took the opportunity to check his pulse.

The pulse feels wiry, strong, slippery, and rapid.

"Mr. Situ, can you open your mouth?" Fang Yan asked Situ Chi.

Of course, he knew Situ Chi couldn't speak; he was speaking to others.

“He can’t cooperate and doesn’t respond to external stimuli,” Ali said.

"Then I'll have to forcibly pry his mouth open?" Fang Yan said.

He was just looking for an opportunity to make his move.

Upon hearing Fang Yan say this, Ali looked at Situ Jie standing to the side.

Situ Jie said:
"Of course I completely trust Dr. Fang."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have traveled all that way back just to see him for treatment."

Then he said to the dialect:

"Trust those you employ, and don't employ those you don't trust. Doctor Fang, please proceed with your task."

Ali thought for a moment and nodded to Fang Yan.

"Please!"

Fang Yan grabbed Situ Chi's chin with one hand and twisted it!
Hmm, I couldn't move him. Even though this person is unconscious, his muscles are taut.

Its mouth was even harder.

Fang Yan originally wanted to put her chin down, but then she thought that with so many people watching, it wouldn't be appropriate.

So he took out silver needles and inserted them into his cheekbone, dicang, and xiaguan acupoints.

Situ Chi immediately opened his mouth.

A foul stench gushed out of his mouth, but luckily Fang Yan was prepared and held his breath to avoid smelling it.

On the contrary, Ali and Situ Jie got too close and were knocked over by the stench.

"Ugh!" The two of them immediately started retching.

Others around also frowned and covered their mouths and noses.

Director Liao walked to the window and pushed it down as far as it could.

Fang Yan could now clearly see the condition inside the mouth: the tongue was red, the coating was black and dry with no saliva, and it even had prickles.

He suddenly remembered a disease recorded in Zhou Zuoyu's "Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate".

Now it all makes sense.

The book calls this hysteria or stupor.

It is also recorded in the Complete Works of Jingyue.

This condition has two states: real and illusory, and it is a relatively rare disease.

Next, we need to determine whether his current state is real or feigned.

Speaking in his dialect, he picked up a flashlight and shone it deep into his mouth.

P.S.: Someone complained yesterday that my chapter was too short, so today's chapter is 3000 words!

I still owe you 56000 words after finishing this chapter.

There will be more this afternoon.

(End of this chapter)