"I'm very sorry, I may have startled you a bit, but there really was an issue with Lisa this morning. She called and said that our dog might have accidentally swallowed a large amount of anti-inflammatory dicine. I hurried back ho, only to find that everything was okay."
"What exactly happened?" Ben Parker asked.
Aux sighed, his brow creasing with a hint of worry. "You know, Lisa had a small tumor before, and it was a bit strange, so she was transferred to Elders Council Hospital."
"But hadn't she recovered?"
"Yes, she was doing very well after the surgery and with the aid of the cure potion, she was almost completely fine, so we decided to discharge."
"On the way back ho, Lisa told that she needed to quickly give away the bulk purchase of anti-inflammatory dicine she had bought. Since she was cured, she wouldn't be needing them anyti soon, and it would be a waste if they expired as they weren't cheap."
"Oh, I forgot to ntion, Lisa is one of those people who's a bit superstitious about antibiotics. She believes that any discomfort is due to inflammation in the body, so whenever she feels unwell, she would take antibiotics first."
"With a tumor in her uterus, she definitely felt discomfort, and before going to the hospital, she would've bought a large amount of anti-inflammatory dicine. However, when we got ho, Lisa searched high and low for several hours and couldn't find the dicine."
"I was in a rush to get back to my shift and didn't help her look, and so she searched all night. In the morning, she called crying, saying that the dog might have eaten the dicine."
"I wasn't entirely sure myself, because she had been in a bad mood during her hospital stay, and I had brought both cats over, but since the hospital doesn't allow large dogs, I didn't bring our dog. It might have sniffed out and swallowed the dicine while neither of us were ho."
"Although I didn't notice anything abnormal about the dog, we decided to take it for a checkup, and that took all morning."
"It's not that the checkup was difficult—it was just an X-ray of the stomach. But after the first hospital said there was nothing wrong, Lisa didn't believe them, and we went to a second and then a third hospital..."
"In the end, all the vets said that if the dog had eaten such a large amount of anti-inflammatory dicine, there would be so reaction. Lisa got into a big fight with the last vet and even had trouble with security. We were kicked out, and she cried in the car for a long while, and I spent a long ti comforting her, which is why I'm only getting back now."
"After returning ho, I also helped her look, but we found nothing. Lisa thought she was going crazy, and I had no idea what was going on, but I had to get back to work."
"Having not worked for seven or eight months and with the burden of high dical costs, our savings have bottod out. Missing one shift today ans less inco. If this continues, we truly won't be able to pay off the credit cards."
Ben Parker hesitated, but after a mont of conflict, he said, "Have you taken Lisa to see a psychiatrist? She seems to be showing symptoms of anxiety."
"Lisa has been visiting a therapist, actually. She's suffering from primary anxiety, but her symptoms really aren't severe. She only occasionally obsesses about whether she has taken her keys. Her personality used to be very cheerful, rarely fixated on anything for a long ti."
"But ever since she ca back from the hospital, she's been acting a bit neurotic. Last night she kept telling that she feels this world isn't real, and she listed all sorts of doubts for , which could be a sign of schizophrenia."
"What did she say?" Ben Parker asked, a bit curious.
"I was also a bit puzzled," Aux said as he took a sip of tea. "When Lisa first felt unwell, we went to the community hospital and found a uterine fibroid. Then we were transferred to Elders Council Hospital during the surgery because the tumor was found."
"There was sothing odd about that tumor, and the doctors told us a lot, but it was too technical, and we didn't rember it. However, if there is a problem, there would surely be many consultations and investigations before surgery, which would definitely leave a lot of imaging and record data."
"Yesterday, Lisa called the hospital wanting to access these records. It's normal, right? They don't involve any secrets, and after all, Lisa is the patient herself, not soone else."
"But she called many departnts, and no one was able to provide that information. The doctors and nurses kept passing the buck around, and even when trying to find the lead surgeon, there was no luck."
"Did you call the insurance company?" Ben Parker asked.
"Of course, I called them on the way here, but their answers were vague, and they didn't resolve any issues. I couldn't bla them, because our finances were tight before, and we didn't get a very high coverage, so it's normal for them not to be so professional."
Ben Parker frowned and said, "I think you should really pay attention to your wife's ntal health. Have you considered finding her a psychiatrist?"
Aux looked embarrassed, stamring for a while before saying, "The psychiatrist that Lisa used to see has raised his rates, and by a lot, almost doubling. We only found out when we called him. Since there is a high demand for therapists, and he is overbooked, he has to use price to limit the numbers."
"Our insurance coverage is not high, and so dications are not included, which ans a high bill. I also bought a lot of supplents, and we don't have enough money to see a psychiatrist with such high fees."
Ben Parker sighed and said, "Then for the next few days, I'll schedule you for more shifts. The Orbital Maintenance System could use help. Do you have any similar experience?"
"I don't, but I'm willing to try," Aux hesitated and then looked at Ben Parker and asked, "By the way, boss, have you heard about that Stella Core project?"
"Are you talking about the job at the Stella Core Space Station?" Ben Parker looked at Aux and said, "Are you considering it?"
"Yes," Aux nodded, "I know that leaving Lisa to work so far away at this ti isn't good for her, but not having money to pay the bills and being unable to afford a doctor is even worse for her. If we keep dragging this on, bigger problems will arise."
"Although her body has healed, she still needs ti to recuperate and can't go back to work so soon. Right now, I'm the only one who can earn money. I hope to earn more, and I've heard that working at the space station pays well."
"Yes, the salary is quite high. If you work a full rotation at once, you'll not only be able to completely cover your dical bills and credit cards, but you'll also have more than enough to see a psychiatrist. The only problem is it's a bit far, and there's so risk involved."
"No problem," Aux rubbed his hands together and gave a smile, saying, "It's just two months, after all. There are signals up on the space station, right?"
"Of course, communication with Earth isn't affected. But you need to think it through; during the closed cycle, you are not allowed to leave. If there's an ergency, you can't return because the portal doesn't operate without permission, which is hard to obtain, so..."
"Lisa has a large family," Aux said. "Her mother, hearing about her condition, has already co from Texas, and will soon take her back ho. On the farm, she'll get better care."
"Oh, she's a Texan girl."
"Yes, so when I say she's quite outgoing, I'm not lying. To be honest, she's even toned it down a bit after marriage. When we were dating, she really was..."
The two laughed together. Ben Parker stood up and said, "I'll get you the recruitnt flyer. You can call the number on it to inquire. I think with your qualifications and experience, it'll be simple to pass the screening. Maybe we can even set off together."
"Oh, you're going too?" Aux seed even more delighted. "I was worried about being clueless on the station without an experienced old hand to guide us, but this is great news."
"I wouldn't say I'm experienced; I just got transferred here not long ago. Working at the space station must be completely different from here. We'll have to learn together."
After Ben Parker left, Aux picked up the phone, dialed a number, and spoke to the person on the line: "Yes, my dear, I've already prepared to apply. Don't worry, I'll go up to space right away to check for you, there definitely aren't any aliens trying to invade Earth, and your mories haven't been altered. Stop worrying so much, all right, goodbye."
In Psychiatrist Schiller's office at the Elder Council Hospital, Peter opened the cookie tin, showing the cookies that Aunt May baked for Schiller—a small box with five different shapes of cookies, each looking like a different flavor, and even emitting a delicious aroma without having completely cooled down.
Schiller brought out his treasured tea leaves and brewed a cup of even more fragrant tea. They sipped the tea and ate the cookies together.
"My uncle plans to work on the space station," Peter started, "What do you think about it, Doctor?"
"The Stella Core Station, is it? I think it's quite good. The station has just been built; its facilities are relatively new and the conditions are very good. Plus, there are technical personnel from various countries which makes for great international exchange, beneficial for career developnt."
"Yes, but honestly, I'm most worried about the safety issues," Peter sighed. "My uncle is good in every way, but he's just an ordinary person. Ordinary people are so vulnerable. Just three days ago, soone in our lab made a mistake during an operation and blew a big hole in his palm, losing a lot of blood."
"True, the bodies of ordinary people are very fragile," Schiller didn't deny it, saying, "In fact, their minds are a bit more fragile than their bodies. If you take a round through the psychiatric inpatient departnt, you would understand."
"But you have to admit, the thriving society we now live in was built by ordinary people. If all they had was fragility, how could they have created such miracles?"
Peter's frown eased as he said, "You're right, Doctor. When I visited the colleague who got injured, he told he knew the risks of doing experints and that such a day might co, but he still chose to be in the lab."
"But the truth is, when he got hurt, he was in agony, sobbing uncontrollably, almost on the verge of madness. Yet when he received treatnt, and even before his wound was fully healed, he said he was fine and forgot the pain quickly."
"Because there are more things worth thinking about than pain," Schiller said, his hands on the desk, "That's the advantage of an evolved brain. Thinking is the best dicine for healing pain, adept at comforting oneself in any situation, justifying everything."
After Peter left, David ca in, a visit Schiller had anticipated would happen sooner or later.
"Hello," Schiller greeted him with a smile. "Would you like to talk about mutants?"
"I can't read your mind," David said, looking at him. "This ans you're not an ordinary person."
"I am, but I'm a psychiatric patient. People with ntal illnesses can usually block mind-readers because their minds are really devoid of rational thought."
"I saw many versions of you. Are you a patient with dissociative identity disorder?"
"Of course not."
Surprisingly to David, Schiller denied it. David squinted at him, and Schiller spread his hands, saying,
"My illness is far more serious than yours."
User Comments
0 comments from readers