When I'm on the night shift, all the department heads can't sleep.

Chapter 131 This is not a back injury

Qin Hai's words, "Don't delay any longer," were still ringing in her ears when Nurse Li had already pulled open the curtain of the treatment room.

"Place the wheelchair next to the bed. Auntie, please loosen your grip and don't try to lift yourself up; wait for us to help you."

Liu Hailiang, supporting himself in the wheelchair, still wanted to follow them inside.

Nurse Li reached out to stop her.

"Please hold it for her first. It's crowded inside and hard to move. I'll call you when I need to ask you later."

Liu Hailiang raised his hand, but in the end he still gave up the wheelchair and stepped outside the curtain.

The wheelchair was parked next to the examination bed.

Luo Chunmei tried to move over by herself, supporting herself on the handrail, but as soon as she lifted her waist a little, she gasped in pain.

Lin Ye immediately grabbed the wheelchair handle.

"Don't try to move it yourself, I'll get someone to give you a ride."

Nurse Li put away the foot pedal and turned to call Ma Hao.

"Ma Hao, come and give her a hand. Slow down, she can't get any weight on her right leg, don't drag it on the ground."

Ma Hao had just run halfway.

"Didn't you twist your back?"

Qin Hai hung the stethoscope back around his neck and looked up at him.

"Can you twist your ankle like that by twisting your waist?"

Ma Hao shut his mouth and, together with Nurse Li, moved the person to the examination bed.

As soon as Luo Chunmei sat down, her right leg involuntarily veered outwards. She tried to pull her foot back, but her toes were a beat too slow, and the sole of her shoe scraped against the ground.

Liu Hailiang grew anxious outside the curtain.

"Chunmei, what happened to your foot?"

Luo Chunmei didn't look at him.

"numb."

The word was spoken very softly.

Lin Ye stood by the bed, not in a hurry to touch her.

"Auntie, I want to ask about the numbness in my leg again."

Luo Chunmei wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.

"Go ahead and ask."

Where does the numbness in your leg start? The outer thigh, the calf, or the top of your foot?

Luo Chunmei tried to lift her right leg, but couldn't.

"My right side is numb from my buttocks all the way down to my instep. My left side is also numb, but not as badly."

"Is the area under your buttocks, around your perineum, still numb?"

Her eyes welled up with tears again.

"Um."

Liu Hailiang interjected from outside the curtain.

"She said she felt uncomfortable sitting at home, and I thought it was because she was in pain or numb."

Nurse Li pulled the curtain in halfway.

"Let her speak. Don't add anything yet."

Liu Hailiang lowered his voice.

"I'm just afraid you'll misunderstand."

There was no sound outside the curtain.

Lin Ye looked at Qin Hai.

"Teacher Qin, I can't get any strength in my right leg either. Let me sweep my bladder first."

Qin Hai had already turned his head.

"Nurse Li, bring the bedside ultrasound machine over."

Nurse Li didn't bring a large machine, but a small bedside ultrasound commonly used in the emergency room. As soon as the coupling gel was squeezed out, Luo Chunmei subconsciously pulled her clothes down.

Nurse Li held her hand down.

"Look at your lower abdomen, don't touch anything else. Don't tense up."

The probe was placed in the lower abdomen.

The black liquid dark area on the screen quickly filled the entire area.

The machine's valuation popped up, and Qin Hai read the numbers aloud.

"More than 600 milliliters."

Liu Hailiang overheard this from outside.

"Over six hundred? Isn't that just holding it in? Why not just export it?"

Qin Hai didn't respond to his question, but turned to instruct Nurse Li first.

"Put the catheterization kit here. Don't get out of bed. Before the orthopedic surgeon arrives, check the strength and sensation in your legs again. You'll be there to examine your private parts later."

Nurse Li responded and casually straightened Luo Chunmei's trouser legs.

"Point your right toes upwards slightly."

Luo Chunmei gritted her teeth, moved her toes up a little, and then fell back down.

My left foot can be hooked up, but my right foot feels like it's being held down by something.

Ma Hao stood at the foot of the bed, all his joking spirit gone.

"This is different from a back injury."

Lin Ye looked at the right foot.

That's why you can't just get one shot and leave.

Liu Hailiang, who was outside the curtain, finally couldn't resist and lifted it a crack.

"Doctor, is she going to become paralyzed?"

Luo Chunmei turned her head away abruptly.

"Could you please not say that word!"

Liu Hailiang shrank back after being yelled at.

Qin Hai pulled the curtain back down.

"Nobody's trying to scare you. Let's get to the bottom of this first, and save every minute we can."

The landline rang.

Ma Hao was the closest, so he answered the phone, listened for two seconds, and then turned around.

"Teacher Qin, the orthopedic ward on duty said they'll be down soon."

"Tell him not to go to the examination room, but to come directly to the treatment room."

Less than five minutes later, Du Li, the on-call orthopedic surgeon, strode over from the other end of the corridor, his white coat unbuttoned and a pair of unopened gloves in his hand.

"Back pain and inability to urinate?"

Qin Hai raised his chin.

"Here. Numbness in the perineum, numbness in both legs, unable to flex the right leg, and a 600-plus-inch bladder scan."

Du Li didn't rush to reply; instead, he squatted down beside the bed.

"How long has it been?"

Lin Ye reported the time he had just obtained to him.

"I started having trouble urinating this afternoon. My leg is numb and more on the right side; just now, when I tried to flex my right leg upwards, it was noticeably less effective."

Duli's gloves were torn open.

"I'll examine the perineum and perianal area. Nurse Li, please stay here for a moment. Family members, please wait outside."

Liu Hailiang spoke up again from outside.

"I'm her husband, can't I watch?"

Luo Chunmei's voice was strained.

"Don't come in."

This time, Liu Hailiang stopped arguing.

Nurse Li closed the curtain tightly.

A few minutes later, Du Li took off his gloves.

"I have poor sensation in the saddle area and perianal region. My right foot is dorsiflexed at level 3 to 4, and my toe dorsiflexion is also weak. Dr. Qin, please follow the suspected cauda equina pattern. I need an emergency lumbar spine MRI. It cannot be scheduled with a regular follow-up examination."

Outside the curtain, Liu Hailiang remained silent for a long time.

"Doctor, can we find out by doing an MRI?"

Duli threw the gloves into the medical waste bin.

"We need to see the scans first. If the nerves are really compressed, it won't just be a matter of pain relief; we need to call a senior surgeon to review the operation."

"Operation?"

Liu Hailiang's voice was trembling this time.

Qin Hai picked up the phone and dialed the MRI room.

"We have a suspected case of cauda equina syndrome in the emergency room. He has lower back pain, difficulty urinating, perineal numbness, and poor dorsiflexion of his right leg. An MRI of the lumbar spine needs to be expedited."

A few words were spoken on the other end of the phone.

The person on the other end of the phone was still explaining when Qin Hai turned on speakerphone so Du Li could hear as well.

"If you need to schedule a follow-up appointment, could you please have the on-call radiologist check if it can be postponed? It's really not scheduled for tomorrow morning."

Luo Chunmei lay on the examination bed, her eyes fixed on the curtain.

Outside the curtain, Liu Hailiang's voice was much lower than before.

"Chunmei, I didn't know this would be so serious."

Luo Chunmei closed her eyes.

"Don't talk to me right now."

Luo Chunmei's right toes slowly drooped down again.

Before it could reach the bottom, Lin Ye called out to Du Li.

Finally, someone else answered the phone in the MRI room.

After listening, Qin Hai turned to look at Du Li.

"Send it over in ten minutes."

Du Li nodded.

Qin Hai hung up the phone and turned his head towards Ma Hao.