A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

Before Zhou Yi and Nurbahati could respond, Zhou Hongmei decisively offered a concrete plan: "I propose that we use a combined approach of Western medicine to control the heart rate and traditional Chinese medicine to regulate qi and blood!"

She first looked at Zhou Yi and clearly assigned tasks: "Dr. Zhou, you continue with the existing Western medicine regimen to keep his heart rate and blood pressure firmly stable. This is fundamental; we absolutely cannot allow his condition to worsen."

I'm in charge of prescribing traditional Chinese medicine here. I'll use Codonopsis pilosula and Astragalus membranaceus, which grow locally in the Gobi Desert, to replenish his Qi. These two herbs grow robustly here and have mild medicinal properties, making them most suitable for his condition of long-term depletion and Qi and blood deficiency.

After a pause, she added details to the prescription, explaining clearly: "It's not enough to just replenish qi; you also need to add some danshen and safflower to invigorate blood, plus angelica to nourish blood. One replenishes and the other invigorates, gradually replenishing his depleted qi and blood, allowing his body to hold up first."

In addition, I'll give you a dietary therapy suggestion: have the cafeteria cook some red date, goji berry, and millet porridge for Chef Tong every day, along with some local sea buckthorn berries. It's easy to digest and can also help regulate qi and blood. With both medicine and food working together, it should be effective.

Traditional Chinese Medicine?

Upon hearing those two words, Nurbahati's tone was full of undisguised skepticism, even a hint of disdain: "Just that old method of observation, listening, questioning, and palpation? Is it reliable?"

He leaned forward slightly. "The ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine are all over the place. Who knows what's in it? What if it reacts with Western medicine and worsens the patient's heart condition? Who will be responsible if something goes wrong?"

Nurbahati looked down on traditional Chinese medicine from the bottom of his heart, always feeling that it was just a bunch of unscientific folk remedies that relied entirely on luck.

Faced with Nurbahati's questioning, Zhou Hongmei was not angry at all. Instead, she calmly took out her phone and said, "Director, if you are worried, take a look at these first."

I previously used a combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine to cure more than twenty patients like Mr. Tong who suffered from chronic diseases complicated by heart disease. These are their medical records, treatment plans, and follow-up examination reports; each one is written clearly.

She put her phone away, her tone still firm: "I didn't just try it randomly. I carefully took Tong Guoliang's pulse just now and prescribed the medicine based on his medical report."

As for your concerns about drug reactions, there's absolutely no need to worry. I have patients take the Chinese medicine and Western medicine two hours apart, and there will absolutely be no conflict.

"We can start with a small dose for three days, monitoring his heart rate and blood pressure regularly during those three days. If anything seems amiss, we'll adjust the plan immediately. That should be safe, right?"

Tong Lei listened with skepticism and couldn't help but interject, "Dr. Zhou, can traditional Chinese medicine really work? My dad has heart disease, not just a minor ailment like a cold. We can't afford to delay!"

He was still furious and wanted to transfer to another hospital, but after hearing Zhou Hongmei's detailed explanation, he hesitated about the risks of the transfer.

"I can't guarantee anything, but I can assure you that my plan is tailored to your father's specific situation. If you trust us, just give us three days, just three days."

Zhou Hongmei paused for a moment, then gave Tong Lei a reassuring promise, "If his symptoms don't improve at all in three days, then you can transfer him to a major hospital in Urumqi. I will personally help you make the arrangements and will not waste your time."

The office fell silent again.

Looking at Zhou Hongmei's confident and determined demeanor, and recalling the despair in Tong Guoliang's eyes during rounds earlier, Zhou Yi made a sudden decision: "Alright, let's do as Dr. Zhou says!"

After saying that, he looked at Zhou Hongmei and took the initiative to discuss the details: "Dr. Zhou, let's meet every afternoon before we leave work. You tell me about his pulse and his reaction to the medication, and I'll share his heart rate and blood pressure data with you. We'll adjust the plan immediately if there are any changes. We absolutely cannot let anything go wrong."

Zhou Hongmei looked at Zhou Yi and explained clearly, "Continue with the existing Western medicine treatment to stabilize his heart rate and blood pressure. This is the foundation; we can't let his condition get any worse."

I'll prescribe some traditional Chinese medicine using codonopsis and astragalus, which grow locally in the Gobi Desert, to replenish his qi. These two herbs are mild in nature and are most suitable for his qi and blood deficiency. I'll also add salvia miltiorrhiza and safflower to promote blood circulation, and angelica sinensis to nourish the blood, so that his depleted qi and blood can be replenished little by little.

Zhou Hongmei added, "Medicine alone is not enough. I'll also give you a dietary therapy recipe. Have the canteen cook some red date, goji berry, and millet porridge for Chef Tong every day, along with some local sea buckthorn berries. It's easy to digest and can also help regulate qi and blood. With both medicine and food working together, it should be effective."

The announcement of the combined treatment plan of "Western medicine for controlling heart rate + traditional Chinese medicine for regulating qi and blood" caused an uproar in the entire department.

Old Chang was a veteran cardiologist. He was highly experienced and straightforward. He immediately pulled Nurbahati to a corner of the corridor and said, "Director, why didn't you stop him? Zhou Yi is too reckless."

Heart disease is no minor ailment; it can be life-threatening. Our department has never tried treating heart disease with a combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine; there's absolutely no precedent.

If a medical dispute arises, our department's reputation will be completely ruined. Who would dare to come here for treatment in the future?

Associate Chief Physician Dr. Wei also came over and nodded in agreement: "Dr. Chang is absolutely right. I also think this method is unreliable."

Traditional Chinese medicine has a mess of ingredients and hasn't undergone rigorous clinical trials. The dosage is entirely determined by the doctor's gut feeling, without any accuracy.

Treating heart disease with such unreliable folk remedies is playing with the patient's life! If something goes wrong, none of us can bear the responsibility!

Several young doctors were also gathered around the nurses' station, whispering among themselves, their faces full of anxiety.

"Yes, I've heard that the side effects of traditional Chinese medicine are unclear. If you take it with Western medicine, it could cause a reaction, which would be terrible."

"Master Tong's condition is already serious, we can't let anything else go wrong."

Nurbahati didn't believe in traditional Chinese medicine from the bottom of his heart, but since the I Ching had already made the decision, he couldn't very well deny it in public.

After a long silence, he turned around and quickly found the head nurse. "From today onwards, you will personally monitor Tong Guoliang's various indicators, including heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen saturation. Record them once an hour, and don't be careless at all."

"If any data shows even the slightest anomaly, report it to me and Zhou Yi immediately. Absolutely no time can be wasted!"

Seeing his serious expression, the head nurse quickly nodded solemnly, "Don't worry, Director. We guarantee to keep a 24-hour watch, report any issues immediately, and absolutely will not dare to make the slightest mistake!"

The department was filled with questions, but Zhou Yi and Zhou Hongmei seemed not to hear them, focusing all their attention on Tong Guoliang without being disturbed at all.

Zhou Yi made rounds twice a day without fail, morning and evening. Each time, he would take a thick medical record book, squat by the bedside, carefully check all the data, and meticulously record the progress of the patient's condition in the book.