Healing Doctor

Chapter 221 It's All Fate

"Huh? The story background?"

"There are still some? The patient's spirit is haunting him after he died? Colonel Wang, in broad daylight, under the clear sky, don't talk nonsense."

Tang Yan was in high spirits, but the circulating nurse warned her.

"Haha, you don't understand, do you? There are all sorts of strange things happening in clinical practice." Colonel Wang said proudly, "So all the nurses in our department envy you."

"What's there to envy? I'm only 23, and I have varicose veins in both legs. It looks terrible," Tang Yan said. "I even have to wear tight stockings when I go for surgery now."

"Black one."

"Pah! You filthy scoundrel!"

"I didn't say I wanted to see it. Wearing stockings during surgery... it's normal. Don't think you're the only young girl; many experienced doctors wear stockings during surgery."

"Don't interrupt, continue." The circulating nurse steered the conversation from the black stockings back to the reckless thing that Colonel Wang had mentioned. She said no, but her body language betrayed her words.

"Ahem." Colonel Wang kept everyone in suspense again.

However, he maintained a good pace, only slowly getting to the point before everyone's patience wore thin.

"The patient died, which is also a great loss to us. However, we have already explained the progression of the illness and its consequences to the patient's family repeatedly, and we also have video footage from the medical affairs office."

"But the patient was a bit paranoid, and so was her family. She started making a scene, not for money, but just to get an explanation."

"Well, then just apologize," the circulating nurse said.

"They apologized, and everyone would be happy if an apology could solve the problem in this kind of situation. But the problem is that the patient's family member is also confused; she doesn't even know what she wants."

As he spoke, Colonel Wang sighed.

"The worst thing about this person is that she doesn't know what she wants. She wants money. The medical office said that the professor who was supervising me was right, but they could give her three thousand dollars from a humanitarian aid perspective. At that time, three thousand was not a small amount."

"As long as the professor doesn't admit that the esophageal cancer was metastasized from the kidney cancer, anything else will do." Colonel Wang recalled his youthful days, "Back then, the professor would take me to the patients' families every day, bowing and apologizing like we were his grandsons. At that time, I felt that being a doctor was boring; this wasn't about treating and saving lives."

"Lu Xun said that studying medicine cannot save the Chinese people," Tang Yan interjected.

"And then, Colonel Wang?" the circulating nurse asked.

"The patient's family member was even more bizarre. She didn't know what she wanted. People at the time were simple and honest. She came up with a plan—saying that her husband died on this hospital bed and that she would stay in the bed and not get off unless she gave them an explanation."

"!!!"

"!!!"

Ji Xiang listened to Colonel Wang recount his past stories with a sense of helplessness.

He had heard his grandfather say since he was a child that there were many people in the population with varying degrees of antisocial personality disorder, and that they did things that were hard to understand.

"And then, Colonel Wang..."

"The patient's family members are lying on the hospital bed, and even my supervising professor can't do anything about it," said Colonel Wang. "Less beds mean fewer patients, which is especially frustrating. The patient's family members eat and drink on the bed, and when they need to use the toilet, they just run there and back in a flash."

"And so, everyone in our ward knew that there was a patient's family member lying in our bed, and even doctors from other departments came to see what was going on. Gradually, I got used to it."

"The training period was six months. When I went there, her husband had just died. When I finished my training and was about to return to the Second Affiliated Hospital, this happened."

"What's wrong!"

"The day before I left, the patient's family member died suddenly in the hospital bed." Seeing that Tang Yan was about to speak, Colonel Wang immediately interrupted her nonsense at top speed, "The police were called, an autopsy was performed, and it was found that long-term bed rest had led to deep vein thrombosis in the lower limbs, and the thrombus eventually broke off, causing a pulmonary embolism."

"Wow!"

"Did the couple really die in the same hospital bed?"

"Hmm." Colonel Wang nodded. "Actually, I had some supernatural thoughts back then. You know, people just shouldn't do stupid things."

"Colonel Wang, you're absolutely right," Tang Yan said, feeling a sense of agreement.

Colonel Wang found no active bleeding, began closing the abdomen, and looked up at Tang Yan with a smile.

"Yan'er, when you're off work, don't stay in bed too long. Staying in bed too long can easily lead to sudden death."

"!!!"

"Colonel Wang, that's going too far!" Tang Yan never expected the topic to turn back to her, and it was about her biggest hobby. The most important thing was that what Colonel Wang said actually made some sense.

"Hahaha." Colonel Wang said smugly.

Driving in the operating room is normal, but this kind of ingenious casual conversation is rare.

After the surgery, the patient was taken back to the ward, and Ji Xiang went to the changing room to change his clothes.

Wang Daxiao was sitting in the locker room smoking, taking a deep drag of his cigarette but not exhaling it for a long time.

Ji Xiang felt that Colonel Wang's way of smoking was courting death.

"Dr. Ji, don't rush to change your clothes, come sit down and rest for a while."

"Hehe, I'm afraid of blood clots," Ji Xiang joked.

"I was just joking with the nurse. Whether or not a blood clot forms is a matter of fate. It usually takes several months for one to develop, but some patients develop blood clots after being immobilized for 24 hours following surgery," Colonel Wang said. "Don't overthink it."

"Teacher Wang, I have something I'd like to ask for your opinion on." Ji Xiang didn't sit down, but bowed slightly and said politely.

Colonel Wang's eyelids twitched; he had a bad feeling.

"Go ahead and say it, don't be so polite."

"Professor Wang, the patient in our ward who underwent total resection for cancer appears to be in the early stages. Do you think it's possible to perform a partial resection?" Ji Xiang asked respectfully.

"..." A glint flashed across Colonel Wang's shiny bald head.

"Partial resection plus lengthening surgery seems to alleviate the patient's psychological anxiety."

Colonel Wang looked intently at Ji Xiang, as if his mother had seen him smoking, and said in a deep voice, "Why are you back so early?"

That demeanor was similar to being possessed by a ghost.

Ji Xiang didn't understand either. Although he felt that Colonel Wang would most likely refuse, and he didn't know how to persuade him, Ji Xiang just wanted to talk more.

However, Colonel Wang looked at him with a ghost-like expression, and Ji Xiang couldn't understand why.

After a long silence, Colonel Wang said in a deep voice, "Dr. Ji, who told you that?"

"The literature says that for early-stage genital warts, partial resection plus lengthening surgery has similar surgical results to total resection, and the patient's psychological well-being improves dramatically after the surgery."

Colonel Wang remained silent. He took a deep drag on his cigarette, but didn't exhale a single puff of smoke for a long time.

One minute later, Colonel Wang sighed.

There was no wisp of smoke; the puff of smoke had vanished without a trace.

……

……

Note: The incident of reserving a hospital bed occurred at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. I first heard about it from a professor, and later saw it mentioned on Professor Liu Buyan's Weibo account, so I checked it again. He has passed away, and I'm silently noting this here in regret.

(End of this chapter)