Healing Doctor

Chapter 165 A Difficult Journey (Bonus Chapter by Alliance Leader Lu Renyi x6)

"How is your old man doing now?"

"I'm fine, I feel great." Zhao Zhe said happily. "After the surgery, I stared at the screen for three days straight without daring to blink, and I still couldn't believe it was real when I was discharged from the hospital."

"And then what? Patients started coming to us?" Director Liu asked.

"No, but this incident left an impression on our head of the medical department and the vice president in charge of clinical care. Later, my work still couldn't get going. About a year later, there was a patient with postpartum hemorrhage. Her family was frantic. Hundreds of people crowded around our hospital, and it looked like they were about to take action if the patient wasn't going to make it... Everyone was out of control. I guess they were determined to smash up our hospital."

Although this kind of thing is not common, it is not rare either; Director Liu has seen it many times.

"Why would you vandalize a hospital?" Ji Xiang asked, puzzled.

"Everyone has moments when they lose control of their emotions. Everyone says that mother and child are safe and sound. You'll understand when you experience it yourself," Director Liu explained simply.

Ji Xiang nodded, "That's true."

On a small scale, giving someone a needle in the head is a perfectly normal thing for the surgeon, but for the patient, it means enduring excruciating pain.

Although medicine is a flawed science, it's hard to say what will happen when someone dies.

Especially for a joyous occasion like childbirth, it's normal for the family not to accept it if the celebration turns into a funeral.

"Our area is small, and the regulations for maternal and child health only allow for two accidents a year. So, relevant leaders from the city came, and our hospital director and... hahaha."

Zhao Zhe laughed heartily as he spoke, looking quite pleased with himself.

Although he didn't say it aloud, both Director Liu and Ji Xiang understood, like he was his third grandson.

If you really cross the line, everything will probably vanish.

"Thinking of you again?" Director Liu asked.

"Yes." Zhao Zhe nodded. "It was a last resort to have me perform the surgery. The mother's blood pressure had dropped to zero, making the surgery difficult. Sending her to the provincial capital would have been certain death, so it was better for me to try and save her from certain death."

"How long did it take to get down?"

"Thirty minutes? I forgot. But I did it really well this time, I didn't even break a sweat!" Zhao Zhe wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, indicating that he hadn't sweated at the time.

"Awesome!" Director Liu exclaimed.

Indeed, it's truly amazing that an ordinary, non-professional doctor could achieve this, Ji Xiang thought to himself.

"Maybe it's because I performed such a great service that time that I was able to secretly carry out the surgery without anyone interfering," Zhao Zhe said.

"Meritorious service? The little merit you've earned, the leaders will definitely think it's theirs. Did you have a big argument with the hospital staff, threatening the medical affairs department that if they don't let you perform the surgery, you won't do any more of this kind of dirty work?" Director Liu asked with a smile.

"Haha, Director Liu, you have such keen insight! You can't hide my little scheme from you at all," Zhao Zhe laughed.

It's common for leaders to take credit for the work of technicians; it would be truly bizarre if Dr. Zhao were promoted simply because he saved a few lives.

Those who know, know. Zhao Zhe was just saying something vague, but Director Liu immediately saw through his lie.

"normal."

"I gradually gained some surgical rights, but I know how many eyes are watching me. You know, it's really not easy for a person to accomplish anything. But once someone does something, others start finding fault. It's okay, I'm used to it. I'll take it slow. Fortunately, I've always been cautious and haven't made any major mistakes."

"After that, I intermittently performed embolization followed by surgery on patients with kidney cancer, and the postoperative results were good, so..."

"Wait a minute!" Director Liu interrupted Zhao Zhe, "How many units have you made, bit by bit?"

"105 units."

"!!!" Director Liu's glasses fell to the ground and shattered beyond repair.

The unsophisticated-looking doctor in my field of vision quickly blurred.

105 is indeed not a high number. Among the professors leading groups at the Second Affiliated Hospital, the one with the worst skill level and the fewest work can do 100 cases in one or two years.

But this is an ordinary prefecture-level city, which doesn't even have DSA equipment for interventional surgery. How could an unremarkable, greasy middle-aged doctor with all sorts of ailments do so much!

"It's good if one patient stays for treatment each month; most go to the provincial capital," Dr. Zhao stated calmly. "Those with money go to the provincial capital, and those who don't have money but trust me stay. I'm usually careful..."

"Dr. Zhao, did you really perform 105 surgeries?" Director Liu asked, frowning.

"Yes!" Zhao Zhe said earnestly, "For each patient, I not only perform surgery, but I also have all kinds of data and postoperative follow-up records. That's why I have fewer patients. I heard that Peking Union Medical College Hospital and 912 Hospital also do follow-up on patients. They have so many surgeries and still..."

"Teacher Zhao, please wait a moment."

Zhao Zhe's words touched Ji Xiang's memory. The NPC told him that the oilfield hospital's diabetes project had taken 30 years and involved hundreds of thousands of people before it could be considered true scientific research.

And Zhao Zhe...

"What's wrong?" Zhao Zhe asked curiously, sensing that Ji Xiang sounded a bit anxious.

"Have you maintained follow-up records with all 105 patients over the years?"

"Yes, at first I was afraid something would happen to the patient, that my good intentions in performing surgery would turn into a disaster. But later..."

As he spoke, the talkative Dr. Zhao stopped, embarrassed.

"What happened next?" Director Liu was also becoming increasingly interested in this doctor.

"Please don't laugh at me, Director Liu," Zhao Zhe said, but he wasn't afraid of being laughed at at all. He continued, "I think the articles in the journals with 'China' in their titles are just so-so. I figure my kind of article will definitely get published. I'm still an attending physician, and I need more articles to get promoted."

"You didn't buy one?"

"Ugh, don't even mention it!" Zhao Zhe said dejectedly. "A few years ago, right after I came back from the 912 earthquake, an SCI paper cost 40,000 yuan. I didn't know anything about these things back then. I thought these people must be crazy, asking for 40,000 yuan for anything."

Director Liu smiled.

"But the price is as stubborn as housing prices in the capital. It's still not going down to 100,000." Dr. Zhao sighed. "Where would I get the extra money to buy SCI papers? Articles with Chinese journals in the title are a bit cheaper... Yes, they call it publication fees! But you still need research to advance. Tell me, where are we going to find research in this tiny place? Who will give us funding? Isn't this just deliberately making things difficult for us?"

"Let alone in Yuanliao City, even in the provincial capital, the vast majority of doctors don't do much research; they just dabble in things."

Zhao Zhe's words were somewhat incoherent, but both Ji Xiang and Director Liu could understand them.

"I was forced by the pressure to get a professional title, so I tried to do some kind of project on my own. But this thing... I couldn't even get the application approved."

Director Liu smiled and said, "People from small places don't understand the rules. Is scientific research something that can be done by simply doing it? It's just like the martial arts world, where everyone is fighting and killing each other."

(End of this chapter)