Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1437 Traditional Chinese Medicine or Western Medicine? (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

Hearing this, the people present were still a little confused.

They genuinely had never heard of the dialect name.

Fang Yan was simply assumed to be a young cadre who knew some traditional Chinese medicine.

Now I hear the flight attendant say he's a miracle doctor from Beijing?
In most people's minds, the term "miracle doctor" has nothing to do with young people.

Seeing the surprised expressions on their faces, the flight attendants knew that these people probably didn't know who Fang Yan was.

So I quickly added:
"You haven't heard of him? Comrade Fang Yan is a celebrity in Beijing. He's been in the newspapers many times. Many overseas Chinese businessmen who have returned to China are attracted to him for treatment."

The flight attendants knew this so clearly because they had encountered overseas Chinese businessmen returning home while flying over the route.

If the officials in Shanxi are not sick, why would they care about a traditional Chinese medicine doctor in Beijing?
Moreover, information was not readily available in those days, and not everyone in the capital knew about the existence of dialects.

However, some people still remembered it at this moment.

A middle-aged cadre sitting in the back row said:

"Hey, I do seem to have heard about attracting overseas Chinese businessmen back to China before. It's said that the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council is trying to attract overseas Chinese businessmen back to China for medical treatment and also to get them to invest. This method has already successfully brought back quite a few overseas Chinese businessmen. Is this what you're talking about?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him.

He said:
"I only heard about it from my superiors; I don't really know the specifics."

The flight attendant chimed in:

"That's right, it's him. Overseas Chinese businessmen who couldn't get treatment abroad had no choice but to come back to China for treatment. Dr. Fang is the one who treats them. I heard that there's no illness he can't cure yet."

Upon hearing this, everyone's attention turned to the dialect again.

It feels a bit unbelievable. So young, yet so amazing? And what does it mean that "there is no disease he cannot cure so far"?
Does that mean this person can cure any disease?
Or is it just a metaphorical way of putting it?
At this point, Fang Yan had already said:

"Alright, let's not talk about me anymore. Let's use the radio to notify the people in Beijing to make preparations. This old comrade will need to receive treatment after arriving at the airport."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding cadres realized what was happening and quickly said:

"Yes, yes, we need to notify the airport in Beijing about this immediately!"

The flight attendant then realized what was happening and said:
"I'll go tell the captain right now."

After the flight attendant left, Fang Yan began to take the old man's pulse.

A cadre standing nearby, watching this scene, asked Fang Yan:

"Um... Comrade Xiao Fang, you really can cure any disease?"

"No, not at all," Fang Yan said, shaking his head.

Just kidding. There are so many diseases in the world, some of which are congenital defects or extremely rare diseases. How could it be possible to cure every disease?
Hearing the dialect say it this way, the others felt it made much more sense.

If someone actually dared to claim they could "cure any disease," it would seem exaggerated and unbelievable.

Then they said to the dialect:

"Dr. Fang, our former leader is experiencing an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and also has pulmonary heart disease."

"I've been receiving treatment in Shanxi for almost half a month, but my symptoms keep recurring. I get very short of breath even with slight activity. This time, I came to Beijing specifically to have a bullae removal surgery. The doctor said that the surgery will relieve airway obstruction and make breathing easier."

"We have always followed the treatment methods of Western medicine, and the decision to have the surgery was made after repeated discussions."

Fang Yan asked them:

Which hospital did you contact?

"Tiantan Hospital," the other party replied.

Fang Yan was taken aback:
"Oh, I thought it was Peking Union Medical College Hospital..."

If we're talking about the pinnacle of Western medicine in Beijing right now, it's still Peking Union Medical College Hospital. And most retired officials who come to Beijing for medical treatment also choose Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

It's quite rare to choose Tiantan Hospital directly.

Then, in dialect, they heard them explain:

"The doctor who recommended us for the surgery is a classmate of the doctor at Tiantan Hospital, so he knows about this matter quite well. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gone to such a far place as Beijing."

Fang Yan asked, somewhat puzzled:
"For a case like this elderly comrade's, the doctors from Beijing should actually come directly to Taiyuan to perform the surgery. Why did you have to fly to Beijing?"

They explained:
"That was the original plan, but I can't leave there for the time being, and we can't afford to delay here, so I have no choice but to go."

Fang Yan suddenly understood and nodded.

Then they switched to feeling the pulse on the old man's right hand.

Seeing someone speaking in a dialect, someone asked:

"Is there any way to treat this disease in Traditional Chinese Medicine?"

He explained to them in dialect:
“There are no terms like ‘chronic obstructive pulmonary disease’ or ‘pulmonary bullae’ in traditional Chinese medicine. The symptoms of the elderly man fall under the categories of ‘pulmonary distension’ and ‘asthma’.”

"The core problem is a deficiency of the lungs, spleen, and kidneys, coupled with external wind and sand, and blood stasis caused by prolonged illness, which leads to qi stagnation in the chest, resulting in difficulty breathing and shortness of breath."

"Western medicine's surgery is to resolve organic blockages. The approach is very direct: cut out the part that is not right. This is different from the approach of traditional Chinese medicine."

“The old man is quite old and his health is not very good. After the surgery, there may be problems with the recovery of his organ functions. I don’t know what stage his condition is at now, but surgery is definitely not the first choice.”

"Judging from the pulse, the old man not only has lung deficiency, but also spleen yang deficiency. Phlegm and dampness are blocking the airway, which is why he has recurrent wheezing. Your surgery can clear the 'blockage' of the pulmonary bullae, but it cannot replenish the depleted vital energy, nor can it clear the deep phlegm."

The crowd only vaguely understood what was going on, but they still got the gist of it: surgery was not a good option, the old man might encounter serious problems in his recovery, and surgery was not a permanent solution.

“Then… traditional Chinese medicine…” the old man said haltingly to the dialect.

Fang Yan immediately understood that he wanted to ask how to treat it using traditional Chinese medicine.

Fang Yan glanced at the IV drip bottle hanging on his arm, gently squeezed the IV tubing to feel the flow of the fluid, and then slowly said, "Old comrade, traditional Chinese medicine treats your illness by addressing both the symptoms and the root cause. Right now, you're in an acute exacerbation phase, so we'll first treat the symptoms with acupuncture to clear the airways and resolve phlegm, and then we'll prescribe herbal decoctions to relieve lung congestion and asthma, getting your breathing back on track, just like the acupuncture we did earlier, to alleviate the immediate crisis."

“Once your breathing stabilizes, then we can address the root cause,” Fang Yan said, pointing to his chest and lower abdomen.

"Your lungs are weak, your spleen is weak, and your kidneys are also deficient. These three organs are the foundation and need to be replenished slowly. We will use medicine to warm the yang and strengthen the spleen to help you metabolize water and dampness and prevent phlegm from blocking your airways. We will use medicine to nourish the lungs and kidneys to replenish your depleted vital energy. When your qi is sufficient, your breathing will naturally become more steady."

"As for your pulmonary bullae, traditional Chinese medicine does not involve surgery. Instead, it relies on the approach of 'softening and dispersing nodules, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis.' Using herbs such as Fritillaria thunbergii and Prunella vulgaris, the nodules are gradually softened. Combined with Salvia miltiorrhiza and Ligusticum chuanxiong to clear stagnation, the flow of qi and blood in the lungs will be smooth, preventing the nodules from worsening and allowing them to gradually shrink, thus clearing the airways."

Upon hearing this from the dialect, the veteran cadre nodded with difficulty, his lips moving as he said:
"Try..."

The meaning is clear: he still intends to try traditional Chinese medicine, and he himself is unsure of the cost of surgery.

At this moment, one of the cadres standing nearby said:
"Boss, I'm afraid this won't work!"

"As everyone knows, traditional Chinese medicine is slow to heal. If it were before, we could have given it a try, but your condition has progressed to this point, so we can't delay any longer!"

"Besides, the surgical plan at Tiantan Hospital has already been finalized, and the experts have been scheduled. If we switch to traditional Chinese medicine at the last minute, and it delays the patient's condition, the consequences could be unimaginable!"

Another cadre echoed:

"Yes, old leader, this disease is an organic lesion diagnosed by Western medicine. Pulmonary bullae have already formed. How can it be eliminated so easily by just taking medicine and getting acupuncture?!"

"The Western medicine doctor also said that this disease can't be delayed any longer, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to fly to Beijing."

They spoke one after another, their voices filled with worry. After all, they had been receiving treatment in Shanxi for almost half a month without any improvement, and they had been looking forward to having surgery in Beijing. Now, suddenly they had to switch to traditional Chinese medicine, and they were really unsure of what to do.

P.S.: I still owe you 9000 words after finishing this chapter.

That's all for today, please come early tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)