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

The door to the MRI area closed behind him, and Wu Jianping leaned back in his wheelchair, first raising his hand to rub the back of his neck.

"It's much noisier in here than at the CT scan."

"I told you not to move, is your neck sore?" His wife tugged at his collar.

"The sourness was alright, but the sound kept coming in waves, which made me feel uneasy."

The caregiver pushed the wheelchair back to the observation area.

Nurse Zhao caught the push handle, stepped on the brakes, and hung the black waist bag back on the back of the wheelchair.

His wife took her phone out of her bag and handed it to him.

Wu Jianping took it but didn't rush to look at it. He closed his eyes and rested for a while.

He couldn't move his head during the MRI scan, and his shoulders and neck were tense the whole time, but he was only now slowly relaxing.

"Is it still spinning badly?" Lin Ye asked as he walked over.

Wu Jianping opened his eyes and looked at him, then stared at the digital clock on the wall: "It's a bit lighter than before. It spun really hard when I lay down, but it calmed down a bit later."

"Disgusting, isn't it?"

"There's still a little bit left, but I don't feel like throwing up."

Lin Ye had him sit down and rechecked his mouth and arms outstretched. Wu Jianping spoke clearly and could raise his arms steadily; there were no new cases of double vision, limb weakness, or obvious headaches.

"Do your ears feel stuffy? Does the sound quality seem the same as usual?"

"Same here, I don't feel like I can't hear clearly on either side, and I don't have tinnitus."

Lin Ye then gently rubbed his fingers together near his ears, so that he could hear it from both sides.

"How long will it take for the film to be ready?" his wife asked.

"The images are already being transmitted." Lin Ye glanced in the direction of the workstation. "Don't let him get out of bed yet. The neurologist will need to confirm the results later."

Wu Jianping didn't urge him any further. He leaned the back of his head against the chair back with his eyes closed, but his hands remained on the armrests, as if he wanted to try to stand up at any moment.

When Lin Ye returned to the workstation, the images from the cranial MRI had already been transmitted to the hospital's system. The diffusion sequence was laid out layer by layer, and he flipped through it from the posterior fossa upwards, but he did not see any clear abnormal high signal.

The on-call neurologist arrived quickly after receiving the message, sat down, reviewed the original images again, and cut several sequences.

The radiology report followed: no clear signs of acute cerebral infarction were found, and no obvious intracranial space-occupying lesions were observed.

The on-duty doctor scrolled down the report, stared at the original image for a moment, and then got up and walked to the observation station.

Wu Jianping first observed her complexion: "The MRI didn't show any problems?"

"There are no signs of acute ischemic stroke so far, which is a good thing."

His shoulders relaxed a little, and he immediately asked, "So, was that CT scan just a waste of time? If I had known, I could have just done this instead, and saved money!"

The doctor on duty put the examination card aside: "The CT scan is used to check for brain hemorrhage first, and the MRI is used to check for early small lesions that are not easily detected by the CT scan. They are not the same thing."

"If neither of them tested positive, then it means everything is fine, right?"

"I can only say that we haven't seen any signs of acute conditions like cerebral hemorrhage or cerebral infarction yet." The on-duty doctor looked at him. "When you came in, you couldn't even stand up. We couldn't skip any necessary tests. It's good that the scans haven't found anything wrong."

"So that means it's completely ruled out?" the wife pressed.

"These results have reduced the risk so far, but we still need to see how things develop." The on-duty doctor didn't give a definitive answer, "If you suddenly see double, have slurred speech, or experience weakness in one arm or leg, call for help immediately."

His wife nodded and patted Wu Jianping on the shoulder: "The money's gone, but it's better than actually finding out there's a problem."

Wu Jianping rubbed his nose, no longer dwelling on the money: "So what exactly is this of mine?"

"Don't rush to decide, cooperate with me to do a few more movements."

The doctor on duty told him to sit up straight.

This time, Wu Jianping was able to keep his eyes open, and when his gaze moved left and right, he no longer rushed to hide behind him.

The horizontal nystagmus is still there, but the direction hasn't changed erratically.

After alternating between covering the eyes, no obvious vertical shift was observed.

When the on-duty doctor quickly turned his head, his gaze followed the movement.

Halfway through the investigation, Wu Jianping still felt dizzy and gripped the armrest tightly, but he didn't close his eyes to avoid it anymore.

The on-duty doctor paused for a while to wait for him to recover before finishing the examination on the other side.

After checking both sides, she checked the finger and nose and the strength of the hands and feet before taking back the examination card: "The scans didn't show any acute lesions. Based on the tests just now, it seems more like there's a problem with the balance system in the ear. Compared to when I first came here, the possibility of an acute brain condition is much smaller."

"Is it still benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)?" Wu Jianping asked immediately.

"We can't make a decision yet." The on-duty doctor put the card into his pocket. "This time you've been feeling dizzy even while sitting still, unlike before when you'd only feel dizzy for a few seconds when you turned over. We'll treat the symptoms first, and then evaluate you once your symptoms stabilize. Don't try to reposition yourself by following the video instructions."

Wu Jianping looked down and unlocked his phone: "I actually did save two reset videos."

"Stop scrolling." His wife reached out and turned off the screen. "You've been relying on your limited experience to make judgments all day. You were just thinking about taking the high-speed train."

The on-duty doctor returned to the workstation, wrote the imaging and follow-up opinions into the consultation record, and left two points at the end: treat the symptoms first and continue to observe; check standing and walking before leaving the hospital, and if the patient continues to lean to the right or new neurological symptoms appear, notify the neurology department immediately.

Her phone rang as soon as she submitted the record.

The person on the other end of the phone gave another consultation bed number. She responded and turned to Lin Ye, saying, "Proceed with the initial assessment here. Call me again if there are any changes during the follow-up examination."

"it is good."

The doctor on duty picked up the examination card and quickly left the observation area.

Lin Ye wrote appropriate medical advice based on the consultation opinions and also scheduled a follow-up evaluation on the observation form.

Nurse Zhao brought the medicine and warm water, watched Wu Jianping take it, and then pushed the wheelchair into the observation area to prevent passersby from bumping into the footrest.

The wife put the paper cup on the small table and took out her phone to send a message to her younger brother who had helped move the car: The MRI didn't detect a cerebral infarction, so we need to observe him for a while longer.

The other party replied quickly, saying that the car was parked properly and that they shouldn't worry.

Lin Ye added the MRI results and specialist opinions to the record, but did not withdraw the request to "not go out for the time being".

Wu Jianping, holding the paper cup, asked, "The scans are fine, and I've taken the medicine. How much longer do I have to sit here?"

"Let's wait for the medicine to take effect," Lin Ye said. "When you came, you couldn't even stand up straight, but now you're just sitting down and feeling less dizzy. Whether you can go back depends on whether you can stand and walk steadily on your own."

"Then you guys help me try again later?"

"Sit down first, I'll call you when it's time for your follow-up appointment."

Nurse Zhao recorded the medication time on the observation sheet.

Wu Jianping initially resisted touching his phone, but after about ten minutes, he finally opened the ride-hailing app.

The airport reservation from this morning has been cancelled, but the regular order taking status is still open.

"Why are you still clicking on it?" His wife reached out and snatched the phone away, turned off the order notification, and shoved it back into his hand. "Don't think about it today. The doctor hasn't said you can leave, so just sit still."

This time, Wu Jianping didn't argue. Every few minutes, he would glance up at the digital clock on the wall.

More than half an hour later, when Lin Ye went to the observation post again, Wu Jianping was already able to open his eyes and look at his phone.

He held the screen further away, and when he looked up, he didn't immediately close his eyes like before.

"How are you feeling now?" Lin Ye asked.

Wu Jianping stared at the digital clock opposite him for a few seconds.

"It's not turning much anymore." He handed his phone to his wife, gripping the handrail with both hands. "Can I walk now?"