I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1397 Mother is Sick

In a tent in the rest area on the east side of the royal hunting grounds, the royal physician Marc Antoine Petit wiped Queen Mary's face with a damp towel, quickly reviving her.

Joseph hurried over to the stretcher, knelt down, and softly asked his mother, "How are you feeling?"

Queen Mary forced a weak smile: "I'm fine, my dear, I'm probably just tired from hunting. Oh, could you please give me a glass of water? I'm very thirsty."

Countess de Berninaque hurriedly brought over a water glass.

Queen Mary drank three cups in a row before letting out a long sigh of relief: "I feel much better, don't worry."

Dr. Petit leaned closer and said, "Your Highness, Her Majesty the Queen is very weak. I need to give her an injection of glucose. Please, Your Majesty the King, excuse yourselves for a moment."

Currently, the entire European medical community regards glucose as a "panacea." Regardless of the patient's symptoms, doctors will almost always inject a vial—if the patient can afford the expensive cost.

Especially for a weak and fainting queen, glucose is a natural solution.

Joseph suppressed his anxiety and pulled his father and Charles aside.

Charles, however, was completely unable to calm down, repeatedly asking the doctor, "Mr. Petit, what's wrong with Mother? She was perfectly fine this morning..."

Seeing that his assistant was still preparing the syringe, the imperial physician bowed to him and said, "Your Highness, based on my preliminary examination, there are many possibilities. For example, stroke, gout, angina pectoris, fluid imbalance, kidney cirrhosis, excessive fluid loss, etc., could all lead to Your Majesty's current condition."

Joseph frowned as he listened to these terms, which were full of "ancient medicine". Although most French doctors had begun to learn modern medicine, a large number of illnesses were still treated according to traditional methods.

He started analyzing it to himself.

First of all, heatstroke can definitely be ruled out; the outside temperature is at most twelve or thirteen degrees Celsius.

Secondly, it's unlikely to be low blood sugar, since I personally saw my mother eat at least two large pieces of cake this morning...

What I fear most are diseases like heart disease and high blood pressure, which are difficult to diagnose in this era, and there is a lack of appropriate medications.

He shook his head in frustration, his gaze sweeping over the wooden table used for picnics outside the tent.

There was a huge pile of strawberry pudding, cocoa cake, and a "polite lion" on it...

He suddenly realized a possibility and quickly raised his hand to stop the doctor who was about to inject Queen Mary with glucose: "Wait a minute, Mr. Petit!"

"What are your orders, Your Highness?"

"If the mother fainted because of diabetes, then injecting glucose would kill her."

Petit asked doubtfully, "You mean, diabetes...?"

Joseph, assuming diabetes hadn't been discovered yet in this era, didn't bother explaining it to him. Instead, he turned to the Queen's maid and asked, "Countess de Berninac, has Mother been feeling thirsty more often lately, frequently needing to 'attend to personal matters,' and seems to be in worse shape than before?"

Actually, because Queen Mary had an extreme fondness for sweets, he was worried that she would develop diabetes. However, he had not noticed anything wrong with her health over the past ten years or so. He figured it was probably because she often danced and used up her sugar, so he had become complacent.

The countess nodded almost immediately: "Yes, Your Highness. His Majesty has indeed experienced the conditions you described over the past six months."

"Oh no," Joseph's heart skipped a beat, "It could very well be diabetes..."

Dr. Petit interjected, "Your Highness, the 'diabetes' you mentioned, could it be polyuria?"

"Polyuria?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Symptoms such as severe thirst, frequent urination, and weakness all fit the description. Oh, by the way, the urine of patients with polyuria tastes sweet, which is why you call it diabetes."

Upon hearing that the urine tasted sweet, Joseph immediately nodded and said, "Perhaps it is what you call polyuria."

Petit bowed and said, "Your Highness, I think your judgment may be inaccurate, because polyuria does not cause fainting..."

Yes, in fact, as early as the beginning of the 18th century, several doctors had discovered diabetes, also known as polyuria. Some British doctors even determined through autopsies that the condition was related to pancreatic damage.

Joseph did not argue with him, but asked Countess Deburnnack again, "Has Mother not drunk any water all day?" "Yes, Your Highness," she nodded, "because His Majesty has been at the hunting grounds and only drank a cup of water in the early morning."

Joseph looked at Petit: "Diabetes causes a rapid increase in blood sugar levels. If there is a lack of water to dilute it, it will cause insufficient blood supply to the brain. In addition, Mother has been riding horses, which consumes a lot of energy, so she is very likely to experience dizziness."

His former homeroom teacher had diabetes and often complained about various health problems, so he was very familiar with the symptoms of the disease.

As the two were talking, Marie-François Bischa, the chief physician of Versailles Palace, hurriedly entered the tent, quickly bowed to the king and others, and then looked at Petit: "How is Her Majesty the Queen?"

“Good heavens, you’ve finally arrived.” Petty quickly explained the symptoms, and concluded, “His Highness the Crown Prince believes that His Majesty may be suffering from polyuria.”

Bisha frowned: "But polyuria doesn't cause fainting..."

Before he could finish speaking, Petit explained to him the knowledge he had just learned about "dizziness caused by blood sugar concentration".

Bisha looked at the Crown Prince, chose to believe him, and then, recalling the method for diagnosing polyuria, instructed Countess Debernach to fetch some of Her Majesty the Queen's urine.

Before long, the queen's maid handed him a small cup of urine.

After a moment of "brewing," Bisha finally gritted his teeth, scooped out a small spoonful, closed his eyes, and put it in his mouth.

Yes, all the medical books related to polyuria currently record various diagnostic methods.

Petit asked anxiously, "How is it?"

Bisha rinsed his mouth and shook his head: "It seems to have a little bit of a sweet taste... I'm not quite sure."

Joseph frowned. The urine of diabetic patients contains glucose with very low sweetness, and the concentration is measured in milligrams. Given the sensitivity of human taste, it is indeed difficult to detect.

He saw that Dr. Petit was also picking up a spoon with a pained expression, but then he suddenly remembered a book he had read in his later life that recorded a method for analyzing sugar content.

He quickly stopped Petit: "Have you ever been exposed to the urine of patients with polyuria before?"

"No, Your Highness."

Because diabetes was relatively rare in this era, he and Bisha had only read about the disease in medical books and had no experience in its diagnosis and treatment.

Joseph waved his hand: "Then I'm afraid it would be difficult for you to confirm."

He then gestured to Emmanuel: "Take some men and go find some ants."

You mean, ants?

"Yes."

A little over ten minutes later, Emman returned carrying a small wooden box: "Your Highness, are 40 enough?"

"almost."

Joseph then dripped the three portions of glucose water he had just prepared, along with Queen Mary's urine, onto different spots on the table.

Then he opened the small wooden box and released the ants inside.

The ants scattered quickly, but soon noticed the smell of sugar.

They circled among the different droplets a few times before finally stopping almost all next to the urine and beginning to feast excitedly.

Joseph frowned. Of the three servings of sugar water, the highest concentration had reached 4 grams per liter.

If ants prefer urine, it means that the sugar content in it has exceeded this level.

(End of this chapter)