After a hearty dinner, it was ti for a rare mont of relaxation.
Tomorrow was the official back-to-work day for businesses and public institutions. Today’s flurry of activity was like the final small wave before the resumption of work.
This year’s Spring Festival had passed safely. Everyone’s hard work had not been in vain; at least, the holiday left no regrets.
Liu Banxia went upstairs and made another round in the patient ward. He checked on the young patient scheduled for surgery tomorrow and then went to the room of the patient who had undergone a total hip replacent.
"How have you been feeling these past few days?" Liu Banxia asked with a smile.
"Pretty good, just a bit lonely," the young man answered.
"Don’t worry, you’ll be able to start rehabilitation soon. At that point, your attitude will be of paramount importance. Otherwise, it could slow down your recovery," Liu Banxia said.
"I don’t think you need to worry about the osteosarcoma anymore. The most important thing now is your ntality. Actually, I think at this point, you can consider gradually telling your parents."
"Dr. Liu, won’t that... scare them?" the young man asked, hesitating.
Liu Banxia shook his head. "Often, we underestimate our parents’ resilience. Their love for their children is sotis truly beyond imagination."
"Besides, do you think you can keep this from them forever? With such a long recovery period ahead, are you going to avoid them the entire ti? Anyone would have to think twice about that."
"Letting them worry and speculate wildly is worse than telling them directly. Plus, this is a hospital. Once you decide, I can have an ergency cart ready."
"Alright, thank you, Dr. Liu. I’ll think it over these next couple of days. I’ll have my friend accompany them when they co, to give them a gentle heads-up first," the young man said cheerfully.
"Then you should continue to rest. I’d like to chat more, but I’m needed downstairs," Liu Banxia said.
"Thank you, Dr. Liu," the young man waved cheerfully.
Liu Banxia was pleased. Having family around might even help the young man recover better. Mood is very important; otherwise, he’s been so downcast these past few days.
After leaving that room, he went to the ward of the young woman who had suffered a pulmonary embolism.
"Dr. Liu, I heard you’ve been on cloud nine lately?" the young woman asked with a grin.
"These rascals, it seems I need to find them more work," Liu Banxia said helplessly.
"The thrombolysis was quite effective. We’ll do another check tomorrow, and if there are no major issues, you can be discharged. But there’s one thing: you must be careful when you move around. It’s best to continue resting in bed at ho for a few more days, doing only light exercises at most."
"Don’t worry, I definitely will. They all say I’m so lucky. When I’m discharged, I’m going to buy a lottery ticket," the young woman said.
"They’ve been encouraging to buy one too. I’m considering it. I’m just a bit worried about what I’d do if I actually won the jackpot," Liu Banxia said with a straight face.
This amused the patient and her family in the room. Dr. Liu was, as always, fond of joking.
"Alright, everyone, don’t stay up too late tonight. Although lying in a hospital bed is boring, and watching TV might seem more appealing, getting a good night’s sleep is also crucial. Let’s aim for a swift discharge for all of you," Liu Banxia continued.
Everyone responded with light-hearted laughter.
This was Liu Banxia’s style during ward rounds, never letting things feel dull or impersonal.
The old gentleman with the myocardial infarction didn’t need a visit for now; he had already been transferred to the cardiac surgery ward, which was on a higher floor, so Liu Banxia would have had to go up again.
Just as he reached the ground floor, he saw Shi Lei rushing a patient with a bloody neck towards the operating room.
Liu Banxia furrowed his brow. This patient looks sowhat familiar...
"What’s the situation with that patient who just ca in?" Liu Banxia called Xu Yino over.
"He had an abscess on his neck. I don’t know what he was thinking, but he sterilized a needle with alcohol at ho and lanced it himself. He punctured a blood vessel, but thankfully he applied pressure in ti, so he should be alright," Xu Yino replied.
Liu Banxia was montarily stunned, then shook his head helplessly. I rember now, he thought. This is the patient who ran off this afternoon. What a character. I just don’t know where he learned this thod; he really has guts to do that to himself.
"Teacher Liu, do you know him?" Xu Yino asked curiously.
"He ca to our Ergency Center for treatnt, had a CT scan ordered, and then ran off," Liu Banxia said.
Xu Yino stuck out her tongue. I didn’t expect that connection! "But how deep did he have to stab? Even if he was draining it himself at ho, a light poke should have been enough, right?"
"Not necessarily. It depends on his actual condition," Liu Banxia said.
"If the patient’s low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is high, it can cause blood vessels to dilate. Combined with inflammation, the vessel walls can beco very thin."
"It’s possible the needle pierced a bulging vessel wall, or the wall was already too thin. Releasing the pus would have also changed the pressure. So, these things are hard to predict."
"Banxia... Banxia..."
Just as Liu Banxia finished speaking, he heard soone calling his na. Turning around, he saw it was his father-in-law.
"What brings you here?" Liu Banxia hurriedly went to greet him.
"Qiaoqiao was originally going to co, but I took her place. A child of a friend from Linyu Villa fell while running. Your father and I were playing with Tang Dou, and we convinced them to bring him over," Qiao Xuezhi explained.
"Alright, I’ll see the patient. You can rest here for a bit," Liu Banxia said with a smile.
So that’s who Qiaoqiao gets her personality from, Liu Banxia mused. Definitely from Qiao Xuezhi. I thought Qiaoqiao was capable of sothing like this, but I hadn’t expected my father-in-law to be so on the ball either.
"Old Lin, have you finished registering? This is my son-in-law; let him take a look at your son." Just then, a few people walked over, pushing a man in a wheelchair.
"It beca this serious from just a fall?" Liu Banxia asked with a frown.
"Uncle Qiao is worried about . Honestly, I think I just ran a bit too much today and got tired. My legs feel a little weak now," the patient in the wheelchair said.
Liu Banxia imdiately tested the strength in his legs; it was very weak.
"This isn’t just a matter of weak legs. Have you had any other symptoms recently? Any changes in your lifestyle? How did you fall? The streetlights at Linyu Villa are bright, and it’s not like soone would leave sothing there to trip over," Liu Banxia asked.
"I’ve also been having occasional headaches recently. When I fell, it felt like my legs just gave out. Could it be because I hit my knee?" the patient asked.
Liu Banxia palpated his knee and shook his head. "There’s no issue here, just a simple scrape. Are there any other symptoms or any relevant dical history?"
The patient shook his head. "I’ve always been quite healthy, just an occasional cigarette and a bit of alcohol."
"Alright, let’s do a basic examination first, then a CT scan of your brain," Liu Banxia suggested after a mont’s thought.
"Although it seems like weakness in your lower limbs due to overexertion, if you exercise regularly, you should have recovered significantly over the distance from Linyu Villa to here."
"Given that your lower limb strength is very weak and you’re also experiencing headaches, we need to first rule out any cranial abnormalities. After that, please try to recall carefully if there are any other symptoms."
"Dr. Liu, thank you for taking such thorough care. Old Qiao and Old Qiu have praised you highly," the patient’s father said.
"You’re too kind, Uncle. However, the current symptoms don’t point to anything specific yet, so we can only proceed with tests by elimination. Actually... let check your jugular vein right now," Liu Banxia said, moving to examine the patient’s neck.
The patient was wearing a winter coat, so it hadn’t been noticeable before, but now it was clear: the patient’s jugular vein showed signs of distention.
"Let’s add an echocardiogram, blood tests, blood chemistry, urinalysis, and checks for blood pressure and temperature. We’ll focus particularly on kidney function," Liu Banxia stated after the examination.
"Dr. Liu, is it serious?" the patient’s mother asked.
"It’s still too early to say for sure, but as you can see now, his neck veins are sowhat bulging," Liu Banxia said, adjusting the patient’s wheelchair so they could see more clearly.
"Zhou Qian, please take this patient for these tests. Su Wenhao, you go with this patient too," Liu Banxia called out.
After all, this patient was brought in by my father-in-law. And it’s not too busy right now, so I can give them so extra attention, he thought.
"Old Lin, you go with your son first. Don’t worry about ," Qiao Xuezhi said.
He was in an excellent mood. My son-in-law assigned a doctor and a nurse specifically for them – that was quite a display of respect! Normally, he wouldn’t care for such things, but since his son-in-law arranged it, he was thrilled.
"Uncle, our director is also on duty today. Shall I take you to et him? Qiaoqiao and I occasionally go over to his place to freeload a al," Liu Banxia said with a smile.
"You two, still going to your ntor’s ho to freeload als?" Qiao Xuezhi shook his head, feigning helplessness.
He hadn’t known about that. He only knew Liu Banxia had a very good relationship with this ntor. Now it seed it was more than just good; even his own daughter was so chummy with him.
"Director, I hope you’re not too busy. This is my father-in-law." After knocking and entering Zhou Shuwen’s office, Liu Banxia quickly made the introduction.
"Hello, Director Zhou. I’ve long admired your reputation. Banxia and Qiaoqiao speak of you often and very highly," Qiao Xuezhi said.
"You’re too kind. My office is a bit ssy. I’m very fond of Qiaoqiao, that girl. I always feel she’s too good for Banxia," Zhou Shuwen joked.
"Why does everyone say that? I’m trying my best. You two chat. I’ll go outside and keep an eye on things; Shi Lei is in surgery now," Liu Banxia said with a wry smile.
"Go on, don’t mind . Even though this is my first ti eting Director Zhou, I feel we’re hitting it off," Qiao Xuezhi said.
That was practically an official dismissal, Liu Banxia thought, and quickly slipped out.
This is kind of like the parents eting, isn’t it? Anyway, I’m a bit nervous, he mused.
Despite that, his mood was still quite good. My father-in-law is even starting to refer patients to . Doesn’t that prove I’ve gained so standing in his eyes?
Looks like I really need to hurry up with getting the marriage certificate with Qiaoqiao. Once we get that certificate, she’ll officially be my wife.
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