Healing Doctor

Chapter 782 A person who cannot empathize with others is a person with a strong heart.

"What are you going to do next?" Shen Lang asked.

"What? What should we do?"

Although Ji Xiang didn't understand "himself," he instantly understood Shen Lang's meaning.

Grandpa is dying; he's in his final stages. His three-concave sign is very obvious, and the feeling of not being able to breathe is truly agonizing.

For the elderly, every second of being alive is torture.

Although the closed thoracic drainage procedure has relieved the symptoms of breathing difficulties, it is only an emergency measure, not a cure.

The key is!

During his internship, Ji Xiang saw many patients with advanced lung cancer who had a lot of pleural effusion. Over time, the protein in the pleural effusion would solidify and form fibrous strands.

When pleural effusion can be drained, the lung tissue can still maintain a certain function, providing the body with the most basic blood oxygen exchange.

As the fibrosis worsens and the pleural effusion cannot be drained, the symptoms of difficulty breathing become increasingly severe.

Just like the suffocating feeling we just experienced, this will become the norm in the near future, and it will only get worse.

Even in the end, neither closed chest drainage nor puncture could solve the breathing problem.

This involves a complex problem.

"Sigh, haven't you ever seen a patient with late-stage lung cancer? Their brain is all mush, they don't think about the future at all?" Shen Lang blew a puff of smoke into "his" face.

"Oneself" fell silent.

Let me give you some advice.

"Brother Lang, you said it," "I" said sincerely.

Shen Lang hesitated for a moment, and instead of speaking directly, he thought about it for a long time.

But Shen Lang didn't say anything until the very end. He just sighed deeply, patted "himself" on the shoulder, and said, "I'm going back to sleep. If anything happens, just call me. My house is nearby."

"Brother Lang, thank you."

"Don't mention it." Shen Lang gave Ji Xiang a deep look, his gaze seemingly telling Ji Xiang that this matter should be resolved decisively.

Because Ji Xiang was in observer mode, he lacked the ability to actively communicate with Shen Lang. He silently watched Shen Lang, pondering Shen Lang's unspoken words.

"Don't be so dejected," Shen Lang said seriously. "The general approach and principles for handling problems are very basic. Cong Wen is an animal, but why is he an animal? He knows it perfectly well."

"First of all, aortic dissection itself is not an incurable disease. It's just that the boss was old and didn't want to suffer, so he chose to pass away peacefully. Anyway, at the time, I felt it was better to respect the boss's wishes, and I was being a bit too nosy."

Shen Lang found this particularly boring and sighed deeply, "I'm not going to say anymore. You already know all this, so there's no point in me saying it again."

Watching Shen Lang's departing figure, "himself" fell into deep thought.

He smoked one cigarette after another, and Ji Xiang even felt that the whole room had turned blue from the smoke.

As dawn broke, "myself" seemed to have made up my mind, put on a white coat, and walked out of the duty room.

Morphine, 5 mg intravenously.

With improved heart failure and a sedative effect, the elderly man finally fell into a deep sleep under the influence of the medication.

Looking at the red fluid in the IV bag and at Grandpa's sleeping face, everyone knew that things were hopeless.

From then on, "I" asked Director Zhou for leave and stayed by his bedside.

The same treatment is given whenever symptoms such as difficulty breathing or rapid heart rate occur.

Compared to the current situation, the things he had encountered in his empathetic experience were nothing at all. After careful comparison, Ji Xiang's mindset gradually changed.

Shen Lang's meaning and his final actions were very similar to Shen Lang telling the boss's final story.

Although Director Zhou stopped that matter and resolved it satisfactorily, it was essentially the same thing.

Each time Ji Xiang saw his grandfather's condition, he recalled his own "loss of composure" during his surgery, and gradually calmed down.

Compared to the life-and-death separation before my eyes, everything I had experienced in the past through shared empathy is insignificant.

A week later, the old man passed away peacefully. Ji Xiang knew that his death was not caused by illness. If it were simply lung cancer, with active treatment, his grandfather might have lived for a while longer.

But this kind of work has lost its quality of life; it's not an exaggeration to say it's just barely surviving.

And this is a desperate struggle for survival with no hope and no future in sight.

Ji Xiang didn't know whether what he did was right or wrong.

The moment the old man's electrocardiogram showed a straight line, Ji Xiang had an epiphany.

Before I could even process the feelings in my own heart, a flash of light appeared before my eyes, and I was immediately transported back to the system's operating room.

"Teacher, I'm back," Ji Xiang said calmly.

One event, one moment of empathy, and Ji Xiang seemed to grow up overnight.

"Hmm, got it figured out?" the system NPC asked.

"Teacher, I have something to ask you." Ji Xiang looked into the eyes of the system NPC and asked earnestly.

"you say."

"You had aortic dissection, chose to leave peacefully, and then Professor Zhou went against your wishes after you drank the milk?" Ji Xiang asked.

"Yes."

"How should I view this matter?" Ji Xiang asked a very strange question.

How should I interpret this? The system NPC seemed amused by this remark, and he looked at Ji Xiang with a particularly kind expression.

Ji Xiang did not avoid the gaze, but instead met the eyes of the system NPC.

"Things aren't that complicated. I understand what Zhou Congwen means: if the surgery is successful, I'll live. If I die, I'll die on the operating table under anesthesia, so I won't suffer." The system NPC explained with a smile, "In short, he's willing to take a chance."

So that's how it is!

Ji Xiang suddenly realized that he had been overthinking things.

"Having come this far, I've seen and tasted so much in my life, traveled all over the country, and witnessed countless mountains and rivers. I really can't think of anything I could regret. If there is anything, it's beyond my personal ability."

"My name is in textbooks, and surgical procedures named after me are performed on the operating table. I saved countless lives in my lifetime. I left peacefully with no regrets."

"!!!" Ji Xiang's passion was ignited and boiled over by the system NPC's words.

"Are you done yet?" The system NPC stopped talking about itself and returned to Ji Xiang.

"It seems to be all better." Ji Xiang grinned, moved his fingers, and made a stitching motion.

Everything is under control!

Through this experience of empathy, and after more than a week of observation and reflection, I finally untied the knot in my heart.

"Teacher, I have another question," Ji Xiang said. "Brother Lang said that people who can't empathize with others are people with strong hearts."

"But isn't the system designed with empathy in mind precisely to help doctors understand and empathize with patients?"

"Hehe." The system NPC smiled slightly. "First of all, everything progresses in a spiral, with both advantages and disadvantages."

"The saying goes, 'When you see a mountain, it is a mountain; when you see a mountain, it is not a mountain; when you see a mountain, it is a mountain again.'"

Uh……

Ji Xiang was slightly taken aback.

Ji Xiang used to think that kind of cryptic talk was nonsense.

But after experiencing it firsthand, coupled with the inner torment, to the point where he couldn't even have the surgery, he now has a completely new understanding of that statement.

"That's about right, you understand correctly," the system NPC said. "But the system's empathy isn't what you think it's for. Letting you feel the joys and sorrows of patients and their families is just a byproduct."

"What was its original purpose?"

The system NPC chuckled, straightened his hunched back slightly, and waved his hand.

Ji Xiang immediately returned to reality.

Holding a needle holder, a small hand wearing a sterile glove reached out.

Tang Yan gently patted Ji Xiang's hand to comfort him and tell him to try not to be nervous so that the surgery could proceed smoothly.

"Hmm?" Ji Xiang looked up at Tang Yan.

"Nervous? I see you're doing a great job with surgeries. Why don't you just take a drive to relax?" Tang Yan narrowed her eyes and whispered to comfort Ji Xiang.

Lin Jiu, who was performing the imaging, cast a surprised glance at Ji Xiang, staring at him as if trying to find the answer in him.

"I'm fine. I just did a good job with the surgery, but my driving skills aren't that great." Ji Xiang took a deep breath and began stitching.

Tang Yan's mask shifted slightly, as if she were pouting.

Ji Xiang started driving and went incredibly fast, yet he claimed that his driving skills were poor.

His hands, which had been trembling just moments before, had returned to normal. Ji Xiang's movements were fluid and comfortable; even just watching him, one could sense a graceful rhythm.

"Young man, don't rush, take your time." The circulating nurse watched the surgery from afar and comforted Ji Xiang.

"Thank you, sis," Ji Xiang said with a smile.

"Ji Xiang, you should say something. I feel like you're too nervous," Tang Yan said.

Ji Xiang looked up at the imaging image; Eagle Eye's skills had been activated.

"My mom always carries photos of her and my dad when they were young, and she takes them out to look at them whenever she encounters difficulties."

"Your parents have a really good relationship." Although Tang Yan didn't know why Ji Xiang was bringing this up, she still went along with what Ji Xiang was saying.

Ji Xiang was visibly off his game today, so it's best not to put any more pressure on him.

After all, both morally and logically, Ji Xiang should be taken care of.

As a matter of sentiment, it is only right to comfort a comrade who has performed so many surgeries and is in the same medical team.

Logically speaking, the cost of Wenban Yama's surgery is quite high, so we can't let a mistake affect our earnings!

"Oh, it's not what you think." Ji Xiang started stitching again, his hands moving at a perfect pace.

"My mom told me that whenever she encounters difficulties, just looking at this photo gives her motivation and comfort."

"Because my mom knows..."

"If she can manage to live with this madman for over 20 years, she's absolutely capable of handling anything!"

"Damn it!" Tang Yan didn't expect this twist and blurted out a curse.

"My dad really is..." Ji Xiang said while stitching up, "like when I was in school, he registered a fake account and pretended to be a girl to have an online romance with me. I've never seen any parent do that before, it's just too much."

"How did you manage to get through this?" Tang Yan felt that Ji Xiang was like a pure lamb, trembling in the clutches of a demon.

"I don't need to endure it much. My dad said I should get a taste of society's harsh realities early on. He'd rather take matters into his own hands than let others beat his son."

"!!!"

"!!!"

"!!!"

This bizarre educational concept not only stunned Tang Yan, but also left Director Liu and the professor in charge of the group behind her dumbfounded.

I've never heard of such a way of educating children.

Deng Chaohong pretended to be busy, as performing surgery required extremely high acting skills. He did insignificant tasks, leaving all the attention to Ji Xiang.

This procedure was incredibly difficult; Deng Chaohong never understood how to do it.

"Later, before I graduated, I wanted to start my own business. Do you know what my dad said?"

"Start a business? Do you have the money?" Tang Yan asked.

"I have a family fund, and my mother can also help me out a little."

"How much is one point?"

"Not much, but my dad doesn't agree," Ji Xiang said while working.

Lin Jiu could clearly perceive the changes in Ji Xiang before and after he was "dazed" for 0.5 seconds.

Previously, Ji Xiang had been inexplicably nervous.

Afterwards, Ji Xiang seemed to start chatting and joking around, but in reality, he regained his usual feeling of having everything under control.

It was really strange. Lin Jiu looked at Ji Xiang carefully, but in the end, he couldn't figure out anything.

"Why don't you agree? I've heard that the most wasteful way for rich kids to spend their money is by starting their own businesses, but it seems like your parents don't care about this small amount of money."

"I told my dad that there are plenty of opportunities in the market, such as the Internet, Bitcoin, buying a house, Taobao, cross-border e-commerce, and so on."

"Yes, what did your dad say?"

"My dad said that you also missed the chance to go bankrupt from Ezubao, Ofo, Tron, LeEco, P2P, and so on."

"ha."

"My dad talked to me a lot and gave countless examples. In the end, he said that someone with my stupid mentality of only seeing people eating meat but not seeing thieves getting beaten, especially the idea that if I don't pick up money when I go out, I should just consider it lost, would quickly have a mental breakdown if I started a business."

"It seems... your dad has a point."

"Of course, the second son of the Li family has top-notch information. He was successful at first, hailed as a little superman, and bought real estate in Ginza, Tokyo. In the end, it was his father who covered for him."

"Young Master Wang was initially very successful, but later his mother had to bail him out."

"My dad said that as long as I don't start a business, I can avoid 10 years of detours."

"Haha, are you thinking of applying for a security guard position?" Tang Yan asked with a smile. "Finding a position in the security department of our hospital isn't difficult at all; you'll never go down the wrong path in your life."

Ji Xiang completed the surgery while rambling on.

He felt a little regretful, because when he was buying cigarettes for the system NPC in the shop, he saw the recovery potion.

It is estimated that if the solution is diluted and rinsed, Li Muzhi will be able to stand up and run around for everyone to see after the surgery.

That would be great, but it's ahead of its time.

The system NPCs won't do it either.

Ji Xiang felt a little regretful.

However, this technique itself seems to be ahead of its time, although its effects are not as obvious as those of the medicine.

I don't know when I'll be able to unlock the use of the potion.

Ji Xiang probably will never have that chance in his lifetime.

"Professor Deng, is there any explanation for the location of your sutures?" Director Liu asked in a low voice from behind, looking at her curiously.

Deng Chaohong sighed deeply, feeling somewhat dejected.

The chances of a perfect performance on the operating table are slim.

After all, those watching the surgery weren't people who knew nothing about medicine, but seasoned veterans who had been working in the operating room for decades.

She had already done her best, and given Ji Xiang's previous strange behavior, which had attracted attention, the possibility of her trying to hide the past was not high.

Deng Chaohong did not suspect that Ji Xiang was deliberately trying to embarrass him; he knew Ji Xiang.

Faced with Director Liu's question, Deng Chaohong did not answer, but instead proceeded with the double-needle suturing with Ji Xiang as usual.

There weren't many places on the Achilles tendon that needed suturing, and the surgery was completed within 10 minutes.

After suturing the tendon, Deng Chaohong glanced at Ji Xiang, turned around and left the stage, while Ji Xiang took over the task of suturing the skin.

This is something that junior doctors must do.

"Professor Deng, I didn't understand the surgery," Director Liu said frankly.

Deng Chaohong smiled. It was understandable that he didn't understand it. He'd followed dozens of similar surgeries, and he still didn't understand it.

"The surgery is actually not difficult; there are a small number of capillaries supplying blood to the Achilles tendon."

Deng Chaohong began to explain the relevant information to Director Liu.

Deng Chaohong couldn't perform the surgery, but he knew every single one of Ji Xiang's research articles by heart. He would bring them up at this time, speaking eloquently and logically.

Director Liu was a little confused.

"Professor Deng, why did you start having your assistant perform the suturing? Your assistant doesn't seem to be very skilled," asked the professor leading the group next to Director Liu.

"Xiao Ji? His skill level isn't very high?" Deng Chaohong smiled. "The notorious boss Qin Chu from Shanghai wanted to take Xiao Ji as his last disciple last year."

Upon hearing this gossip, both Director Liu and the professor in charge of the group had their pupils shrink to pinpoints almost simultaneously.

Everyone had heard rumors about Boss Qin, the notorious figure in Shanghai, but since he was a shady character, the information was mostly fragmented and far-fetched, not enough to be believed.

But everyone can clearly see who Qin Chu is and what his current situation is.

Director Liu immediately became curious.

"Professor Deng, this way please." Director Liu politely invited Deng Chaohong to the changing room, preparing to ask him in detail.

Deng Chaohong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiao Ji has so many stories; he can just pick one or two to prove that he did the right thing.

They left, and Lin Jiuze and Zhao Zhe finished the angiography. Zhao Zhe applied pressure to stop the bleeding, and Lin Jiuze came up behind Ji Xiang.

"Dr. Ji Xiang, what just happened to you?" Lin Jiu asked seriously. "I feel like you were under a lot of psychological pressure at the beginning, which caused the surgery to go wrong."

When faced with Lin Jiuze's question, Ji Xiang did not avoid the topic.

"I've spoken with Neymar," Ji Xiang said. "Athletes all have similar mental states; they all want to achieve results. Although Li Muzhi and Neymar are worlds apart in terms of fame and status, their deep-seated desire for success is the same."

"I was also moved by Neymar's emotions. I didn't think much of it at the time, until I was facing Li Muzhi and it stirred up those feelings."

Ji Xiang's description was brief, half true and half false.

Lin Jiu sighed, "Being too sensitive is not suitable for being a doctor."

"Hehe, seeing a mountain is not seeing a mountain, but seeing a mountain is still seeing a mountain." Ji Xiang quoted the system NPC's words to Lin Jiuze.

Lin Jiu was taken aback.

"The surgery is complete, Dr. Zhao."

"Yes, I'm here," Zhao Zhe replied honestly.

"Tell them about the details of your post-operative rehabilitation. They are all professional athletes; they should have their own methods."

"Probably, I'll go and talk to them," Zhao Zhe replied.

The effects of post-operative treatment will take some time to materialize, and Ji Xiang no longer dreams of using the medicines from the system store on Li Muzhi.

After sending Li Muzhi back, Ji Xiang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking back on his surgery, Ji Xiang still feels like he was in a dream.

Being unable to perform surgery is a joke, yet this joke has happened to me.

This experience made Ji Xiang clearly feel that he had grown.

Perhaps this is the pain that must be endured to mature. Fortunately, the surgery wasn't delayed. If things had gone wrong one after another, like the doctor who had anastomotic leakage during esophageal cancer surgery, as the system NPC mentioned, Ji Xiang didn't know if he could have withstood such a blow.

It's all in the past now.

After the surgery, Ji Xiang wasn't interested in the local hospital's pleasantries, and he and Lin Jiu missed dinner that evening.

If Ji Xiang had to choose, he would rather accompany Meng Qingfei on duty.

The next day, the medical team flew back to the provincial capital.

After getting off the plane, Ji Xiang saw Director Bai standing at the arrival gate to greet him as he exited the station.

"Director Bai, what brings you here?" Ji Xiang asked, somewhat surprised.

"Professor Ji's flying knife is back; isn't it only right that I catch it?"

"..." Ji Xiang was sweating and somewhat at a loss.

He knew Director Bai well and was acutely aware of how terrifying he was.

Although Ji Xiang wasn't afraid, he didn't want to provoke this person. Where had he gone wrong? Ji Xiang immediately began to recall.

"An expert contacted the hospital, and the dean passed the buck to me," Director Bai said jokingly, then added, "Dr. Meltz, an expert in sports medicine, are you familiar with him?"

Ji Xiang shook his head.

Lin Jiuze's brows furrowed.

Director Bai noticed the change in Lin Jiuze's expression out of the corner of his eye. He looked down at the ground and asked, "Professor Lin, do you know him?"

"Yes, when Massachusetts General Hospital hired me last year, Dr. Meltz voted against it."

"Oh." Director Bai immediately understood why.

Wherever there are people, there is a world of its own; it's just that the rules of that world are somewhat different.

"The surgeon who performed the first surgery on Wenbanyama in Boston was probably connected to Dr. Meltz, so they don't understand why Wenbanyama came to the provincial capital for a second surgery."

Lin Jiu spoke politely, but Director Bai immediately realized what had happened.

"I see. Professor Lin, how is Dr. Meltz's skill level?"

"It's quite high. Their medical team is one of the top sports medicine teams in Massachusetts. There was a minor conflict because of my hiring conflict with the radiology doctor."

Minor conflict?

Although Lin Jiu spoke lightly, Director Bai knew all too well the bloodshed and turmoil involved.

The appointment of every department head and every professor leading a research group in almost every hospital in China has a similar story, only the protagonists and the intensity of the struggles are different.

Director Bai knew of the most brutal incident where two candidates for department head came to blows, one of whom suffered a brain hemorrhage and was left with a lifelong disability.

As for the consequences... well, that's a long story.

Even now, Director Bai still doesn't understand how the person who injured the man escaped imprisonment and successfully became the director.

Given the medical standards of Massachusetts General Hospital, it's estimated that the level of brutality in the appointment of professors there is no less than, and perhaps even greater than, that in China.

It seems we've run into trouble.

(End of this chapter)