Merchant and doctor

Chapter 2015 Emergency Hospitalization

Carefully unwrapping the several layers of plastic bags, Dr. Han placed his organized medical records on a corner of the examination table. He then folded the plastic bags one by one, making sure the outermost one was slightly wet from the rain. He deliberately folded it carefully and walked to the trash can, lightly pressing the small switch with his toe, and tossed the plastic bag inside.

Compared to Gu Yuefeng, Dr. Han insisted on personally recording some of the medical cases. Dr. Han had beautiful handwriting, in standard regular script, and his writing revealed traces of years of practicing the Liu style calligraphy. After casually flipping through a few pages, Bian Mu felt a sense of goodwill towards this colleague who was nearly fifty years old.

Computerized printing of prescriptions, medical records, and medical case files is becoming increasingly common, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners are no exception. Occasionally, one still sees handwritten medical case files, which give people a sense of professionalism, standardization, and warmth.

For important medical cases, Bian Mu always insists on making notes by hand, and he is particular about the paper, carbon pen refills, binding methods, etc.

Dr. Han's pulse record was very well-organized... The pulse was wiry, hesitant, thin, and slippery, deep on the left and floating on the right, sometimes alternating... Hmm! It's clear that Dr. Han is a much more professional doctor than Gu Yuefeng. Judging from the general description, Dr. Han's overall medical skills should be above those of Gu Yuefeng and others.

……

"Dr. Han! How many years has this old man's wife passed away?" Bian Mu suddenly asked after closing all the relevant medical records.

"Oh! I only remember that the old man has had a very kind nanny for a long time, but I don't really know exactly how many years... Should we call and ask?"

"Wait a minute! Asking them all at once won't delay things. My initial guess is that the old man has been widowed for at least 15 years. Ask him more specifically later: when did it start, whether he remarried, how many caregivers he's hired since losing his child, and how well they cooked. If I'm not mistaken, he's had quite a few caregivers. The one currently by his side is probably from the Sichuan area. Also, the old man is somewhat educated; he might have a hobby of carving seals, like sitting there all day. He loves calligraphy and reading, and is quiet and not very active. Another important point is that the old man has almost never been in the kitchen in his life and can't cook at all. He's also quite picky about food. In short, he might not be easy to get along with. Call him now and ask! Also, have his family prepare a car to go to the hospital." Bian Mu calmly gave a few instructions.

Upon hearing this, Dr. Han's expression clearly became somewhat tense.

"What?! The situation has worsened?"

Bian Mu nodded gently.

“It’s pretty bad! Don’t feel guilty. You’re just unlucky to have run into this type of patient. They may seem more civilized than ordinary citizens on the surface, but that’s just a temporary setback. Once things turn sour, this family is definitely not easy to deal with,” Bian Mu replied with great certainty.

"That's right! These past few days, his grandchildren have been blocking the entrance of our clinic every day, making it impossible for me to make house calls. If I hadn't been forced into a corner, I wouldn't have had the nerve to come here for advice. I was just afraid that someone might get killed or something..." As he said this, the wrinkles on Dr. Han's forehead deepened even more.

“Then you should ask the more reasonable children about his condition. With his illness, it’s very likely that it will suddenly worsen on a rainy day. Think about it… persistent low-grade fever, almost no bowel sounds, obvious tenderness throughout the abdomen, chronic low potassium that can’t be controlled, general weakness, dry mouth and oliguria, and bloody stools that have almost never stopped completely. What stage will it go next?! Right?” Bian Mu deliberately reminded him in a relatively calm tone.

Upon hearing this, Dr. Han's face immediately turned pale. He studied similar medical records almost every day, but when Bian Guanzhu put them together like this... Dr. Han was so frightened that he almost sat down on the ground. Fortunately, he still had some composure. Although he was flustered, he did not panic to the point of being at a loss.

"You mean we need to arrange for hospitalization immediately?! To the emergency room?" Dr. Han asked hurriedly.

Bian Mu nodded gently.

Without delay, Dr. Han quickly found his phone and contacted one of the female family members.

After a while, Dr. Han hung up the phone. It was obvious that Dr. Han's left little finger was trembling.

"You're almost right. So... how should we arrange things specifically? They might not listen to me! They keep saying I made things worse and want more compensation... They're not usually that filial; they just bring up the old man..."

"There's no time to discuss that now. Let's do this! Try to contact the property management of the old man's apartment complex. Tell them his life is in danger, and we can't worry about anything else right now. Say that if they don't arrange for him to be hospitalized in three or four hours, he might die. As the property management, they don't want anyone to die in the complex, right? Dying from illness is bad luck! Oh, and add this: you don't know the full extent of his infection, and you can't guarantee whether it's contagious or not! Just say that!" Bian Mu quickly offered Dr. Han an emergency plan. "Okay, okay! Then... which hospital should we go to?"

"The Ninth People's Hospital of the city, surgery department, note! It must be surgery department, proctology department is also barely acceptable, and you can only see Dr. Chu Fang, a female doctor with an associate senior professional title. Tell them this, if they don't want to arrange the old man's funeral right now, their only option is to ask a friend to beg Dr. Chu Fang to come and treat him urgently. Be firm! Stick to your word! Don't drag it out!" By the end, Bian Mu's tone had become noticeably stern.

Dr. Han became even more nervous, his eyelids trembled slightly, and he quickly made several phone calls as Bian Mu instructed.

……

"Is everything arranged?" Bian Mu asked calmly.

"That's all we can do. As for whether they'll ultimately listen to us, well..." Doctor Han replied hesitantly.

"Then... just dial this number. It's the phone number of the head of the Emergency and Protection Center of the Ninth Municipal Hospital. I called him a few days ago. Director Wang is a very nice person. Just tell him the truth. Also, don't mention me!"

"Okay, okay... Shall we have them send a car to pick them up right away?"

Bian Mu nodded gently.

Worried that the patient's family might be completely unreasonable, Bian Mu finally called Chen Yurong and told her the whole story. Considering that Dr. Han was struggling to make a living, he asked his former boss to help coordinate with the Ninth Hospital and, ideally, send two capable male security guards over.

To everyone's surprise, Chen Yurong calmly agreed after only a few words.

……

Bian Mu was explaining the core of the problem to Dr. Han in the consultation room when his phone rang. Chen Yurong replied that the person had already gone into the operating room, and the main symptom was not the so-called "ulcerative colitis." The real trouble was elsewhere, and Dr. Chu Fang was dealing with it right now.

“That old gentleman suffers from severe perianal cyst infection, and the fistula has penetrated quite deep. There is also a possibility of local necrosis of the sinus tract. I suggest a combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment! Relying solely on surgery might not be enough to sustain him for more than six weeks. For example, our 'detoxifying ointment' could help.” Over the phone, Bian Mu briefly explained his “remote diagnosis” suggestions.

"No way! You've already given such expert instructions without even seeing the patient! We don't need to worry about the specifics of the treatment; you'll gradually understand later. It's a big no-no in this profession! Besides, that Chu Fang is no simple character. She can handle things on the spot. You don't know, but she's related to Zhao Xicheng. What does she think she can do at 87 years old?! Let's just wait and see!" Chen Yurong replied firmly on the other end of the phone.

"You're right, I didn't think it through and I'm sorry for the trouble!" Bian Mu quickly said a few polite words on the other end of the phone.

"Don't be so formal! It would be great if you could come over and give our Traditional Chinese Medicine department some guidance when you have time!"

"How dare I! I will definitely pay you a visit another day to express my gratitude!"

"Let's talk when we meet!" With that, Chen Yurong hung up the landline.

At this point, Dr. Han was dumbfounded. Only now did he realize that real doctors weren't all as ignorant as he was. Sigh! All these years had been wasted!