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

"On the highway, two cars collided. There were two people in the front car and one person in the back car. The first ambulance has already left the scene, but the full extent of the injuries has not yet been reported."

Lin Ye took the microphone and placed the triage book on the table.

"Report the people in the first vehicle first. Who is seriously injured?"

"The passenger in the front seat is a 28-year-old woman. She hit her head and was dazed for a while at the scene, but she can now speak, saying her neck hurts and her fingers are numb. The driver is 52 years old, has chest pain, and can sit and talk. Both of them got in the car, and we arrived in about fifteen minutes."

Lin Ye grouped "head injury, neck pain, and hand numbness" together in one line, then added, "Did the passenger vomit? Can they move their legs?"

"She vomited once, her legs can move, but she keeps saying her hands are numb. We put a neck brace on her."

"Don't remove the neck brace; transfer the vehicle on a flatbed. Monitor the driver's consciousness and limb movements on the road; report any changes immediately." Lin Ye paused. "Is the driver experiencing chest pain? Are there any seatbelt marks?"

"Yes, there is a red mark on the left chest. Blood pressure is 128/76, and heart rate is 108."

"Keep him under continuous cardiac monitoring and don't let him get out of the car on his own. What about the people in the second car?"

"The driver of the car behind is 120 years old, can walk, has abrasions on his right forearm, and says he's fine. The second ambulance just arrived at the scene and is still checking on him."

Lin Ye added a line at the bottom of the triage book: "The driver of the car behind should also be monitored. Ask if he hit his head, or if he was drinking or taking anticoagulants. Report again within fifteen minutes."

After hanging up the phone, Nurse Zhao had already pulled back the curtain of the emergency bed and placed the monitor and oxygen supply device beside it.

Ma Hao, holding the medical record folder, came closer and looked down at the information recorded in the triage book.

"Should the woman be put on the emergency bed first?"

"Go ahead." Lin Ye capped the pen again. "Neck pain and hand numbness, start with cervical spine injury prevention. Go notify the CT team to keep the examination channels for the head and cervical spine open. Also, tell the second-line orthopedic team that someone had a car accident and is experiencing hand numbness, and is wearing a neck brace."

"What about the one that hurts in your chest?"

"For the second bed, the trauma procedure should be arranged: electrocardiogram, bedside ultrasound, blood test, chest X-ray, and chest CT scan. Monitor the patient first."

Nurse Zhao pushed over two flatbeds, listened to the instructions, and handed one to Ma Hao: "Take this, don't wait until everyone arrives to search the whole room."

Ma Hao caught the stretcher, ran two steps towards the CT room, then turned back and asked, "The third one who can walk, should we put him in the waiting area?"

"Don't release them yet, wait until the second ambulance reports before distributing them."

Nurse Zhao placed the IV patch and ECG electrodes on the treatment cart, then turned to look at him: "This is going to keep you two busy tonight."

The first ambulance came to a stop outside the emergency entrance, while the second one was still waiting outside the entrance. The staff in the second ambulance stayed in the vehicle to check on the driver of the second one.

The stretcher wheels rolled over the threshold, and the woman on the first flatbed had her head and neck secured, with a gauze pad on her forehead.

Her eyes were open, her breathing was rapid, and her right hand was curled up in front of her chest.

"Dr. Lin, her name is Cheng Xiao, she's twenty-eight years old." The accompanying doctor followed the stretcher inside. "She was briefly disoriented at the scene, vomited once, had neck pain, and numbness in her hands. Her neck brace had already been secured before she was put on the vehicle, and she remained conscious throughout the journey."

Lin Ye followed the gurney to the first emergency bed and asked, "Can you move your legs?"

"Yes. My hand...my hand feels like it's being electrocuted."

Which side is heavier?

"right."

Lin Ye asked her to raise her right hand.

Her arm left the sheet a few centimeters away, hovering in mid-air, her fingers not fully extended before falling back down.

"What about the left side?"

Raise your left hand more steadily.

Nurse Zhao had already clipped the blood oxygen to her finger, and the monitoring screen lit up.

Ma Hao stood at the foot of the bed, holding scissors, ready to cut open the coat.

"Cut the clothes from the front, don't touch the neck brace." Lin Ye pressed down on the flatbed railing. "Cheng Xiao, show me your toes."

Under the sheet, two toes twitched one after the other.

"Does it hurt?"

"My neck and the back of my neck hurt."

"Don't turn your head away yet. We'll take you to get X-rays done; we need to find out why your hand is numb and you have difficulty raising it."

Cheng Xiao bit her lower lip and looked at Lin Ye: "Will I be paralyzed?"

"Protect your neck for now, and we'll decide what to do after the test results come back."

Lin Ye looked up at Ma Hao and asked, "Has the CT scan confirmed it?"

"Confirmed, can enter in five minutes. Blood pressure 120/74, heart rate 102, blood oxygen 99, conscious."

"Transport her with monitoring and oxygen. Record the differences in her hand movements and left-right hand position in her medical record. The second-line orthopedic specialist has arrived; meet her directly in the CT room."

The second flatcar was pushed in from behind.

The middle-aged man on the bus had his left hand pressed against his chest. He had abrasions on his face, his shirt collar was cut open, and there was a reddish ligature mark below his collarbone.

Upon hearing the word "CT," he reached out to try and sit up.

"I didn't hit my head, I patted her first. I just bumped into her chest."

Lin Ye pressed his hand back onto the sheet: "What's your name?"

"Chen Li."

"Chen Li, where does your chest hurt the most?"

Chen Li raised his hand and pointed to his left chest: "Here. It hurts even when I breathe heavily."

"Did you feel a jolt in your back? Did your heart race?"

"My back is a little sore too. My heart is beating fast."

"Don't move yet. Do the ECG and ultrasound first, and don't get out of bed until the results are in."

Before Chen Li could speak, Nurse Zhao had already placed the electrodes on his chest.

The monitor emitted regular beeps, the heart rate was 112, and the blood pressure was still within an acceptable range.

Ma Hao handed Cheng Xiao's medical record to Lin Ye: "The CT scan is ready."

Lin Ye accompanied Pingche as they walked out.

As he passed the second bed, he paused. "Sister Zhao, call me when Chen Li's ECG results are ready. Ma Hao, you accompany Cheng Xiao to the CT scan. Don't remove the neck brace the whole time, and keep an eye on your right hand's movements on the way."

"Aren't you going?"

"I'll pick up the second car."

Ma Hao then shoved the flatbed into the back of the vehicle: "Okay, I'll call you if there's any news about the CT scan."

Just as Cheng Xiao's stretcher left the emergency area, the second ambulance pulled up at the door.

The driver of the car behind sat on the side of the stretcher, his right forearm wrapped in gauze, and his face still covered in dust.

When he saw the nurse trying to push him inside, he waved his hand first.

"You really don't need to lie down, I got out of the car and walked over."

Lin Ye stood in front of him: "Did you bump your head?"

"The steering wheel grazed my forehead, but I didn't feel dizzy."

"Is your seatbelt fastened?"

"Tethered".

"Are the airbags in the car deployed?"

"It's open; my face was just covered in airbags."

Lin Ye made him lift his legs and then made him clench his fists.

The movements were all completed, but the right hand stopped halfway through the grip.

"Your wrist hurts?"

The man glanced down and said, "I didn't notice it before, but I do now."

"Get on the stretcher, and we'll take pictures of your forearm and wrist first. The nurse will ask again about anticoagulants, vomiting, and headaches. After the neurological examination, we'll decide whether to take pictures of your head."

"I'm really fine, my car is still sitting on the road."

"The car is under someone's control, but the severity of the injury will depend on the examination." Lin Ye supported his wrist, his fingertips tracing along the radial side. "Does it hurt here?"

The man gasped.

"Don't move him yet." Lin Ye looked up and called to Nurse Zhao, "Patient three, immobilize his forearm and wrist, and prepare X-rays. Find out if he has any drug allergies or underlying medical conditions."

Nurse Zhao brought over the fixation plate, adding a comment as she did so.

"The one who said they could walk, don't use your hand to prove it yet."

The man was taken aback by what she said and obediently put his arm back on the stretcher.

Lin Ye returned to the emergency area, where Chen Li's electrocardiogram had already been output by the machine.

Nurse Zhao handed him the paper.

"The pain in my left anterior chest, the ECG results are in first."

Lin Ye spread it out on the treatment cart, his gaze fixed on the waveform of the leads in front of his chest.

"Ma Hao, Cheng Xiaojin, please wait in front of the examination room."

The sound of a cart wheel rolling could be heard from the other end of the phone.

"She just got to the door, what's wrong?"

"Please refer the inability to lift your right hand to the second-line orthopedics department. Also, please arrange a cardiology consultation for me. Chen Li needs a repeat electrocardiogram and troponin supplementation. Continue with the chest trauma screening."

"Okay. I'll call you back after Cheng Xiao finishes her CT scan."

Chen Li leaned against the edge of the bed, sweat trickling down his temples.

"Doctor, this...it's not just a simple bump or soreness?"

Lin Ye clipped the electrocardiogram to the medical record.

"Don't speak yet, and don't take your hands off the bed."

Outside the second intensive care unit, the number on the monitoring screen suddenly jumped up one notch.