Upon seeing it was Zhao Bin, the village doctor of Zojiwa Village, Du Heng picked up the call.
Just as he answered, an anxious shout ca from Zhao Bin on the mobile phone, "Dean Du, there’s a woman in childbirth having difficult labor! Hurry and co!"
Du Heng was shocked, his chopsticks halting in his hand. He quickly said, "Hurry and find a car to take her to the hospital! Why do you still have ti to call ?"
Zhao Bin on the other end sounded like he was about to cry. "I can’t find a car! No one is willing to take a woman in childbirth; they’re all afraid she’ll die in their car."
"What about your car? Are you scared too?" Du Heng grew anxious, his voice instantly becoming urgent and his pitch rising.
Du Heng’s sudden high pitch startled everyone getting their als in the canteen, causing them all to stop their chopsticks and turn to look at him.
Hearing Du Heng’s displeasure, Zhao Bin hurriedly explained, "My father drove my mom to my uncle’s house this morning. I was just called over. Dean Du, please hurry, the woman in childbirth is running out of ti!"
"Don’t hang up. Wait," Du Heng shouted, then quickly turned to Yu Haiting beside him. "Dr. Yu, there’s a woman in Zojiwa Village having difficult labor."
Yu Haiting imdiately dropped his chopsticks and ran outside. He was in such a hurry that as he stood up, he pushed the table, sending the lunchbox and chopsticks on its edge crashing to the floor with a CLANG and a CLATTER, making the canteen even quieter.
At the sa ti, the driver who had co to get his al also abandoned his food and followed them out.
Du Heng couldn’t be bothered to eat anymore. He walked straight out, picked up the phone that hadn’t been disconnected, and was about to ask Zhao Bin for more information when Wei Wen, Wei Kaida’s sister, ran over. "Young... Dean Du, I’ll go too. I used to be a nurse in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Departnt at the Second Affiliated Hospital of JZU. I have experience."
Without hesitating, Du Heng said, "Let’s go together."
When he tried the call again at this mont, he found it had been disconnected. Du Heng imdiately redialed, but no one answered.
Hearing no answer, Du Heng stopped dialing and jogged over to the ambulance.
By now, Yu Haiting and Wang Lili were also carrying items out of the new building, with Huo Yinhua following behind them.
Huo Yinhua stepped forward self-assuredly. "Dean, let go. I have experience delivering babies."
Yu Haiting also chid in from the side, "Dean, let Dr. Huo and go. You stay and hold the fort."
Du Heng’s mind raced. He had received Gynecology and Pediatrics Expertise training. Though he had never used it, he was very confident. Yu Haiting, despite being a general practitioner, primarily specialized in internal dicine and had no experience with difficult labor or delivering babies. And with Huo Yinhua involved, Du Heng felt even less confident in them.
"Dr. Yu, you stay here. I’ll go with Dr. Huo. Wang Lili and Wei Wen will co too. Hurry, get in the car."
Yu Haiting reached out a hand, but seeing Du Heng already in the car, he could only dejectedly let it drop.
Although Du Heng was an expert in traditional Chinese dicine, his dical skills had won Yu Haiting’s admiration.
Then, a piercing WAIL sounded, and the ambulance shot out of the Health Clinic’s backyard like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Zojiwa Village wasn’t far from the Health Clinic, just a ten-minute drive. However, Zojiwa Village itself was composed of several smaller natural villages, and Zhao Bin hadn’t specified which village or house. Du Heng had no choice but to call Zhao Bin’s number again.
This ti, however, the call connected after just two rings.
Du Heng hurriedly asked, "What happened? Why didn’t you answer the phone?"
"The woman in childbirth was having contractions, so I went to check on her."
"We’re already on our way. Give us the detailed address, quickly."
"It’s the second house to the left of my clinic, the one with the large green iron gate."
Du Heng quickly relayed the address to the driver, then asked Zhao Bin, "How is the woman in childbirth now?"
"Weak, very weak."
"How many fingers dilated is her cervix, and for how long has it been?"
"Eight fingers. I heard it’s been over four hours."
"Eight fingers? If it’s eight fingers, why hasn’t she given birth?"
"According to the midwife who just ran off, the fetus’s position is wrong."
Du Heng felt a surge of anxiety. A malpositioned fetus isn’t the biggest problem; worst case, she can have a cesarean section at the hospital. But prolonged labor... that could be fatal for both mother and child! Even if the delivery is ultimately successful, if it takes too long, the fetus could suffer oxygen deprivation, leading to brain damage, and the mother would also be hard. This family would be in serious trouble then.
Du Heng was exceptionally annoyed. "What on earth is going on?" he demanded. "Didn’t the woman in childbirth go to the hospital for prenatal examinations? Didn’t she know her due date? Or the fetal position? And where did that midwife appear from? Why wasn’t the woman sent to the hospital imdiately?"
Zhao Bin sounded agitated and equally annoyed. "The woman in childbirth did have a prenatal examination; her due date is the day after tomorrow. She knew and planned to go to the hospital this afternoon to await labor. However, she only had one four-dinsional color doppler ultrasound and skipped all subsequent check-ups.
"This morning, she slipped while fetching water from the well, and her water broke. Her mother-in-law said they tried to find a car to take her, but couldn’t. So, they had no choice but to call an old midwife from the neighboring village. I heard that midwife delivered the husband of the woman in childbirth.
"The midwife ca but couldn’t help, and as more ti passed, even the private cars they found didn’t dare to take her, truly afraid both would die in the car. Just now, the midwife got scared too and ran off. It was only then that her mother-in-law rembered to call . As soon as I saw the situation, I called you imdiately."
"If you couldn’t find a car, why didn’t you call 120? Don’t people know that?"
"They panicked; calling 120 didn’t even cross their minds. Besides, people in the village often don’t have the awareness to call 120. When sothing happens, they usually find their own car and rush straight to the hospital."
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