CHAPTER 149: 149 STRANGE BODY ODOR

Presently, Liu Banxia felt like crying but had no tears; this situation was impossible to explain. But Qing Kewa was a naïve girl, speaking whatever came to her mind, blurting out anything she thought of.

He wondered if his own straightforward principles would eventually be led astray by Qing Kewa. It seemed that while enhancing her medical skills, he also needed to strengthen her understanding of the local culture.

"Dr. Liu, give me some lessons too," Xu Dan said as she gleefully ran up to him, extending her small hand.

Liu Banxia gave her hand a smack. "Always stirring up trouble. The next difficult patient we get, I’ll assign to your care."

Having grown familiar with Liu Banxia, Xu Dan no longer feared his threats.

Actually, Liu Banxia had always maintained a good reputation among the nursing staff. When they learned he had become the resident chief of the emergency department, they were even happier than he was.

Doctors and nurses formed two distinct groups, and conflicts naturally arose in the course of their work. Sometimes it wasn’t personal; in the hustle and bustle of a busy workday, emotions inevitably got affected.

Liu Banxia pondered. He was already quite proficient with the skeleton model; should he return it to Director Xu? The break room was crowded and somewhat chaotic, and if it got damaged, it would be hard to explain.

Just as he was mulling this over, his phone rang.

"Uncle Jiang, what are you up to?" Liu Banxia asked cheerfully after answering the call.

"Not much. Do you remember Old Cao from Block Three? He fell while climbing the stairs today and got a gash on his head. Should I bring him to you?" Uncle Jiang asked directly.

"Sure, bring him over. We’ll talk when we meet," Liu Banxia agreed readily.

He had some recollection of Old Cao: a former soldier with a somewhat fiery temper. His two sons were reportedly doing very well. However, Old Cao was reluctant to leave his old neighbors and continued to live in the old district.

After waiting for more than twenty minutes, Uncle Jiang and his son-in-law walked in from outside, supporting Old Cao.

"Grandpa Cao, don’t worry. Now that you’re here with me, everything will be fine," Liu Banxia hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.

"Ah, Liu, in my opinion, it’s no big deal. They’re just being overcautious. It’s hardly bleeding anymore," Grandpa Cao stated.

"Still trying to act tough? At a time like this! That gash is a good Five Centimeters long. Let Doctor Liu take a look at you; his medical skills are top-notch," Uncle Jiang said.

"Haha, don’t flatter me. Grandpa Cao, have you contacted your sons?" Liu Banxia asked with a smile.

"Don’t tell them. If they hear about it, they’ll just worry. It’s nothing serious, but they’ll turn it into a big deal," Grandpa Cao responded.

"Alright, we won’t mention it then. But you’ll still need a brain CT scan later. Considering your age, I won’t be at ease if we don’t do one. You must agree to this," Liu Banxia stated.

"Okay, go ahead. There’s still plenty of money on my medical insurance card," Grandpa Cao readily consented.

Liu Banxia removed the towel. The gash was indeed not small, at least four centimeters long. Moreover, it was deep; it looked like he had hit the sharp edge of a step.

"Doctor Liang, could you please rinse it first? Then I’ll stitch it up. Uncle Jiang, let’s chat for a moment. How’s your baby?" Liu Banxia said, pulling Uncle Jiang out of the room.

"The baby is doing well. You wanted to ask about Old Cao, right?" Uncle Jiang asked with a laugh.

Liu Banxia nodded. "How did he fall? I remember he used to have a caretaker. His clothes are clean now, but why does he have such a strong odor?"

"You might not have noticed, but Old Cao is afraid of people gossiping behind his back, so he dismissed his caretaker last year. Today, he was going downstairs, missed a step, and fell," Uncle Jiang explained.

"It’s a good thing he was already at the bottom of the stairs and only hit his head. If he had fallen from higher up, it could have been fatal. You should try to scare him a bit later; he needs to have someone looking after him. He’s almost seventy, after all."

Liu Banxia nodded and walked back into Treatment Room 2.

"Dr. Liu, the wound is still oozing a little blood. Should we do a routine blood test?" Liang Xiaolin, who was cleaning the wound, asked.

"Yes, let’s do one. Grandpa Cao, come, lie down on the bed. I’ll feel your bones to see if there’s any spinal damage," Liu Banxia suggested.

"Dr. Liu, you know this skill too?" Uncle Jiang’s son-in-law asked curiously.

"It’s just something I studied on my own in my spare time. After a fall like this, at his age, I’m worried his lumbar spine might be injured. I’ll examine it by touch first; if I can’t be sure, we’ll need to take an X-ray," Liu Banxia explained.

Uncle Jiang’s son-in-law gave a thumbs-up. "When it comes to your medical skills, I’m truly impressed! Once you have some free time, you absolutely must come over. We insist on treating you to that fish dinner."

"Sure, I’m really craving it too. It’s just that I’ve only recently taken over this role, and I’ve been genuinely busy. Grandpa Cao, does it hurt when I press here?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Hmm, it does hurt a bit here. Is it because I hit it?" Grandpa Cao inquired.

"The impact could be one reason, but I suspect you might have a slight fracture here. Let’s get an X-ray later. Just consider it part of a check-up; you don’t usually have time to come to the hospital anyway," Liu Banxia said with a laugh.

"Do you have any other medical history? High blood pressure, heart disease, coronary heart disease, diabetes, or anything like that? We need to ask about these things because we’ll have to administer anesthesia."

"Just a bit of diabetes, no other problems. I’m still hale and hearty," Grandpa Cao replied.

Liu Banxia furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

DING! Task Issued: Strange Body Odor

Open Task: The patient’s strange body odor has aroused the Host’s curiosity, requiring further diagnosis. Task rewards will be allocated based on the diagnostic results.

Upon seeing this task notification, Liu Banxia already had a rough idea. That was, Grandpa Cao’s diabetes was definitely not as insignificant as he claimed; the key was this smell on him. Initially, when Liu Banxia smelled it, he thought the old man didn’t bathe frequently, and because it was summer, the smell was stronger. Now, having paid closer attention and taken a good sniff, he noted a rotten apple odor. Diabetic patients and people who were frequently starving sometimes emitted this smell. For diabetic patients, it was due to insufficient insulin secretion, leading to an increased concentration of ketone bodies in their system. Some of these ketones would be excreted through sweat and urine—ketonuria. The rest would be present in the blood—ketonemia. And what about people who were severely starved? In their case, the body would break down fat, causing ketone bodies to accumulate, leading to a similar phenomenon. Nowadays, in the city, let alone ordinary people, Grandpa Cao’s pension wasn’t small; there was no way he’d be starving. Adding his history of diabetes, the judgment was quite straightforward.

"Xu Dan, when you do the blood tests, also check his blood sugar and blood ketone levels. Additionally, schedule an X-ray for his lumbar spine," Liu Banxia instructed.

Xu Dan nodded; these tasks were now a piece of cake for her.