Krafft's Anomaly Notes

Chapter 329: A Vibrant New Social Group (End of Volume)
"It's not easy to find you."

There were puddles among the weeds after the rain, reflecting the blurry and gloomy sky between the treetops, and endless drops of water fell casually from overhead.

Decay and brokenness are the themes here, with mosses like nature's fingers climbing up the cracks in the tombstones, dragging these man-made objects, along with the information about their owners, into the mud.

Wadin found the man they had been looking for all morning at the edge of the cemetery.

The back of a man wrapped in a black doctor's gown stood in front of a group of small tombstones.

One of them was obviously newly built, and even had some shriveled bouquets of flowers from overnight on it. It had begun to turn yellow and fade, and it was only a matter of time before it blended in here.

"Neither at the academy nor at the clinic. If someone hadn't shown me the way, I would have spent the whole day looking for you."

The man turned around, and Wadin saw other things on the ground that were blocked, empty swaddling clothes, baby clothes, and some gadgets that looked like they were made with poor craftsmanship. Although they were of ordinary shape, they were polished very smoothly without burrs.

"This is?"

"A patient." Kraft flicked the water droplets off his shirt. His hair and shoulders were a little wet, and it was obvious that he had been standing here for quite some time.

The priest who showed Wadin the way was a little uneasy when he mentioned this mysterious man. If he hadn't seen that the man didn't have any tools on him, he might have thought that he was here to disturb the rest of the dead.

"Your patient?" This was a very special experience. Brother Wadin had never thought that one day he would be able to chat with people from the medical school in a cemetery so calmly.

He swore that if the other party really had any disrespectful thoughts towards the bodies of the deceased under the protection of God, he would stop him, or at least express his opposition clearly.

This idea made my subconscious mind feel a little funny. Maybe I could tell this joke to those twisted things that have solidified into petrified corals in the underground lake - maybe they would laugh and come alive?
However, the professor did not seem to have such intention at the moment. He nodded and said, "Yes, my patient. We announced his death just three days ago."

“Father, have mercy.” The monk drew a circle on his chest, mourning for the souls who were called back to the Father before they had the chance to experience life.

He was not surprised. Looking at the other small tombstones around him, he knew that this was not an uncommon case. Many more people did not even have the chance to get a place in the church cemetery, but were buried privately in gardens or on land near homes, or even hastily abandoned and buried.

At the end of his short life, he received the final love and care of his parents and had a decent ending, which was one of the better ones he knew.

But he didn't understand why Kraft was here.

After all, babies are as fragile as wheat sprouts. Some of them are destined to die prematurely due to various reasons. This is a natural law.

Death is so common that there is nothing to blame, just as no one is qualified to criticize the fate given by God. Children with congenital defects will live a painful life even if they survive.

But since Kraft was willing to spend his rare rest day here in a daze, he must have his reasons. Usually people would want to talk at this time, and Wadin was also very curious.

"What was the cause of death?"

"Our negligence, and limited conditions."

"I remember that your specialty doesn't seem to include fertility and children." As someone who has done background checks, Wadin has some understanding of the majors of the key targets. "What's going on?"

"The earliest medical record of this family was later found to be traced back to the child's father, who had visited David's clinic about two months ago for a 'chronic cough', which was around the time when we first started to establish the medical record system."

"He is 35 years old and runs a cotton spinning workshop. He inhales a lot of cotton dust and fibers in his work environment. His current wife has been married to him for nearly ten years and they had no children before this pregnancy."

"Considering that it was just a common cough, David gave the patient a bottle of cough syrup and sent him back without doing any further treatment. In fact, no matter who was in charge, there was nothing better to do, but in hindsight, it was obvious that he missed a step."

He recalled these things so clearly that it almost felt like he had an invisible book in his hands for him to consult at any time.

"Aren't you talking about children?" Wadin had the urge to ask why the other party didn't start from the Genesis, but considering that there was no need to humiliate himself in front of professionals, he held back.

"Forty-seven days ago, the patient's mother came to the clinic and said she had 'a little cough'. At that time, we were rolling in the sewer, and we only had time to review the case at night. However, there were too many repeated surnames, and it was impossible to save them by family when arranging them, so we were unable to make a connection at all."

"Fifteen days ago, the baby was born at thirty-six weeks of gestation. He is said to be in good condition and cries less than other babies. He looks very well behaved. In addition to celebrating the smooth delivery and the safety of mother and child, they began to prepare for a full-month party and invite neighbors."

"Seven days ago, the child developed a noticeable fever. His parents used traditional methods to treat him at home for two days, but his condition did not improve. Finally, he was sent to the clinic again, and this time he came to me."

"What disease?"

"tuberculosis."

In all the narration, the only useful information that Wadin grasped was this one word: "That's not right. Isn't tuberculosis a chronic disease? And how can a newborn baby have tuberculosis?"

"The cotton spinning industry inhales a large amount of cotton dust fibers every day, which is a high-risk factor for lung disease. Later it was proved that the child's parents were tuberculosis patients. It is impossible to trace who infected each other or whether they were both infected from outside the family."

"She has been married for nearly ten years and has no children. After further questioning, she even had a history of two or three unexplained miscarriages." The seemingly unrelated clues were connected together: "Reproductive system tuberculosis, manifested as difficulty in getting pregnant and a history of repeated miscarriages."

"Due to the special physical condition during pregnancy, the manifestations of tuberculosis are often atypical. There may be no symptoms at all or mild symptoms, such as a slight cough."

"The disease then spreads along the placenta and umbilical cord blood vessels, skipping the step of slowly eroding from the lungs and directly entering the blood. The first stop is the liver, where it forms granuloma lesions. It then returns to the heart through the hepatic vein and inferior vena cava, and from the heart to the lungs, traveling through the entire circulation and entering the course of disseminated tuberculosis, which usually develops two to three weeks after birth."

"When it came to me, it was already in the final stage. He had fever, shortness of breath, drowsiness and dullness. There were patches of lesions in the liver, lungs and even the brain. The pathological signs were obvious." The professor's chest rose and fell, and it was hard to tell whether he was breathing or calming himself down.

Wadin seemed to understand, but he probably got the key point: after a tragedy happens, the more you recall it, the more you realize how many signs had quietly passed by right before your eyes.

"Even at this point, if we have targeted drugs, we can still give it a try. We can try to administer the drug based on the metabolic characteristics of the infant. If that doesn't work, we can also use intrathecal injections to control central nervous system infections."

Kraft paced slowly among the puddles, as if performing some delicate puncture movements with his hands, using an imaginary long needle to penetrate through the bone joints and into the internal cavities of the human body.

A whole set of thoughts ran through simulating that situation, and it was impossible not to believe that there was indeed such a way.

"Unfortunately, we didn't." He concluded everything with one sentence, "So three days ago, we announced his death."

Wadin did not respond and remained silent.

It wasn't because of the tragedy, but because I felt that this thing seemed to be closer to some congenital disease. There were at least double-digit cases of this kind of thing in the row of old graves behind. It was not new. "Can't you cure tuberculosis?"

"I never said that. Before the real anti-tuberculosis drugs appear, all unconventional methods can only delay the disease a little." Kraft easily denied the most famous thing he had done since arriving in Dunling and reported a string of cold numbers.

"Since arriving at Dunling, there have been 327 recorded cases of artificial pneumothorax, and 208 follow-up records. Only about 40% achieved significant short-term symptom relief, 50% received repeated insufflation, and 45 cases developed complications such as excessive pneumothorax, pleurisy, pleural effusion, and atelectasis, of which five cases were severe or even fatal."

"Well, I wanted to consult for a friend." Wadin was a little embarrassed. Ever since Kraft became a little famous in the church, everyone has a few sick relatives and friends, right?

“But this is indeed the most effective means at present.”

Considering that Father Green was not present, the monk quietly asked a question of his own: "So...will those special methods work?"

Kraft stared at him in disbelief.

"Hey, don't be like that. After all, I came with good news."

"good news?"

"Yes, considering that we have obtained the experimental site for you." A large envelope was handed to Kraft. On the wax seal block was a double-winged circular pattern pressed by a seal, and the delicate lines of the unfolded feathers were visible.

"Everything is over. The application for the experimental site has finally been approved? I almost forgot about this."

The two moved outside the tree canopy and opened the envelope. Inside were several sheets of thick parchment paper similar to land deeds, with two seals and several signatures that they had never seen before. Attached to the letter was an official document to a local family, and on the last page was... an engineering drawing?

It is obvious that the place is not in Dunling or nearby, but a building built on the mountain, with multiple floors above and below the ground, as well as a complete set of warehouses and towers.

The most surprising part is the center of the building, where a tall space supported by an arch is designed, which is a rather rare characteristic structure.

"Which parts can I choose from inside?" Kraft felt that the church was unlikely to give him the hall, and the warehouse next to it would be a good choice.

Wadin gave a mysterious smile and said, "No, you don't have to choose."

"What do you mean?"

"From now on, this place belongs to you and will be registered under the name of the society. Of course, don't make it too public."

"?"

He scanned Wadin from head to toe with a suspicious look, and then scanned the carefully drawn engineering drawing from top to bottom to make sure that he had not misread the dimensions or anything.

If I'm not mistaken, this building property, which is larger than the family castle, will fall into his hands?
When receiving unexpected wealth, people's initial reaction is definitely not ecstasy, but disbelief.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. Heavenly Father is always generous."

It is hard to say whether the Heavenly Father is generous or not, but it is somewhat unbelievable that the church is so generous. Even if they are rich, they cannot give away things for free. Kraft absolutely does not believe that there is no problem.

"Don't worry." Wadin patted the professor's shoulder, trying to calm the doubts of this ally who had fought together for half a month. "This document has been approved by the archbishop, and the one above Green is willing to sign it. Even if the king comes, he can't deny your ownership."

"Consider it as a thank you. Our work has brought great advantages to the church, including but not limited to directly announcing that the power of the Lord has quelled the evil that caused the earthquake. This made those who went out 'hunting' very embarrassed. This may be the peak of the prestige of the bishops in the past thirty years."

"After all, it is a true miracle. By comparison, it makes sense that the bigwigs would approve a monastery that has been vacant for a long time."

"The monastery..." Kraft flipped through the chapters of parchment back and forth. The value of the real estate was beyond doubt, but reason told him that things could not be that simple.

"The only drawback is that the location is a bit remote. I believe you can understand that no one wants such a venue to be arranged too close to them." Wadin added, "For the sake of the monastery, respected professor, are you willing to answer my little question?"

"Of course, I'd love to." Kraft put the parchment back into the envelope and put it close to his body. "The answer is no."

"Why? You can chop that monster in half and make it into a stone sculpture, but you can't cure a disease in a mortal?"

"Destruction is always easier than construction. It only takes a few seconds to kill someone with a sharp weapon, but it takes more than ten years of training to learn how to remove the correct lesion without killing the person. The research behind it takes even longer."

"I often wonder if knowing more is also a curse." The professor walked slowly along the path out of the cemetery, the swollen and blackened leaves rustling under his feet.

"Including this child, if I had taken the medical history initially, I might have realized the risk of congenital tuberculosis a month before he was born, but I couldn't do anything either. In a practical sense, apart from providing anxiety, there is not much difference between me and Dr. David."

"Clear knowledge brings no enlightenment, only the pain of realizing one's own limitations."

"Think positively, we saved the lives of a city. You don't need to regret a life that is doomed to be irrecoverable." Wadin comforted him.

"That's not how it works." Kraft shook his head. "Let Heavenly Father give me more time to do something else."

"Please let us know if you need any help."

"That's great. I just need it." Kraft's eyes lit up, and he suddenly remembered what he envied most about Green. "Now we have a venue..."

"Does your church school have people who have good physical fitness, good reading and writing skills, and preferably some medical electives, but whose family backgrounds are average, and who have not yet found employment within the church or have difficulty in promotion?"

"I am willing to offer a number of high-quality, matching positions with above-average salaries, free food, accommodation, weapons and equipment, affiliation with the Duke's organization, regular training and further studies, and a stable path to promotion. The only drawback is that they may require frequent business trips."

"It's best if they have some basic training in armed forces, are mentally stable, careful and courageous, and have no rigid requirements in terms of faith. You must have such people there, right?"

"Yes, but we generally don't introduce it to outsiders..."

"It doesn't matter. This is a subsidiary of a religious society that is self-financing. I've even thought of a name for it. Since it's mainly for the great cause of medicine and is affiliated with a medical institution, how about calling it the Knights Hospitaller?"

"Did anyone ever tell you that you're not very good at naming?"

Two in one! o(〃'▽'〃)o