CHAPTER 196: 196 NO WAY TO TURN THINGS AROUND

"Dr. Liang, who is on duty in cardiac surgery today? Is it still Chen Xuehai?" Liu Banxia asked Liang Xiaolin.

"What are you up to?" Liang Xiaolin nervously inquired.

"What could I be up to? If he’s on duty, that would be great. There might be an esophageal perforation repair surgery tonight. You can touch base with him then," Liu Banxia told her.

"Oh, okay. I thought you were up to your mischief again," Liang Xiaolin replied.

"Am I really such an unpredictable person? By the way, how was your outing at Langtaosha yesterday?" Liu Banxia asked.

"HEH HEH, it was a lot of fun! Not only did Langtaosha have all kinds of baths, but also lots of delicious food," Liang Xiaolin said with a grin.

"I really admire Qiaoqiao for being able to manage Langtaosha so well. In fact, we all stayed at Langtaosha last night. Later, Yanzi also came over, and we even learned some yoga with her."

"You’ve never really hung out before, have you?" Liu Banxia asked, surprised.

Liang Xiaolin gave him a stare, feeling that she might have said a little too much.

"Dr. Liu, it’s really fun over there! If it wasn’t so far from the hospital, I’d go there every day," Qing Kewa commented excitedly from the side.

"Speaking of which, I’ve got something to discuss with you," Liu Banxia started.

"Normally, you would only work the day shift. However, I think if you truly want to improve your skills, it would be better if you also worked night shifts. When you return to Russia in the future, your hospitals will also require night shifts, won’t they? You can start practicing now."

"Great! I’ve been wanting to work alongside you all. Can I start tonight?" Qing Kewa asked excitedly.

Liu Banxia smiled and nodded. "Then I’ll start scheduling you normally from tonight. It won’t be too much."

Regarding how to mentor Qing Kewa, he really didn’t have a clear plan. It wasn’t just Qing Kewa’s special circumstances; even if another resident on rotation came, he might not be able to train them effectively either.

But for Qing Kewa, having more work hours would be beneficial. At present, she couldn’t even be entrusted with abdominal closure sutures, so she could only observe for now.

"What are you up to again, kid?" Liu Banxia turned around and saw Qiu Mingyuan strolling over.

"Brother Liu, I want to discuss something with you. Do you think I could volunteer here or something? I saw volunteers in the inpatient department building," Qiu Mingyuan suggested.

"You should probably take it easy. Do you really have that much time? Volunteer work is exhausting. You need to guide patients for various examinations, and you have to familiarize yourself with the entire hospital," Liu Banxia replied.

"Brother Liu, I can handle it. Otherwise, I don’t have much to do this summer vacation. This would be meaningful, wouldn’t it? I’ll just stay in the emergency department. I see that nurses often have to escort many of the patients," Qiu Mingyuan insisted.

Liu Banxia gave him a look. "You’re not just doing this for fun or because you have some other motive, are you? Just ’wanting to help’ might not be enough of a reason."

"Oh, come on, Brother Liu, don’t think I’m that shallow. If you hadn’t taken me along to save someone this morning, I wouldn’t have even considered this," Qiu Mingyuan protested.

"If you put it that way, then it’s all right," Liu Banxia replied with a grin, then turned to Shi Lei.

"Dr. Shi, do we need to report temporary volunteers like him to the hospital administration? It’s like a kid doing charity work, right? Can we just inform the director?"

"You don’t even need to tell the director; just telling me is fine," Shi Lei answered, amused.

"You’re the chief resident, responsible for assisting the director in managing medical affairs. We’ve never actually had volunteers in the emergency department before because there weren’t many patients. Letting him try it out could be good practice for him."

"Brother Liu, so there won’t be any problems, right?" Qiu Mingyuan asked cheerfully.

"No problem at all! I’ll get you a red vest in a moment. First, familiarize yourself with the routes to the radiology and gastroenterology departments, because X-rays, CT scans, and the like, as well as endoscopies, all require patients to go there for examination," Liu Banxia said.

"Right, and also the ENT department. Some emergency patients need to go there for check-ups too. Familiarize yourself with the routes first, then you can guide patients more accurately."

"Thank you, Brother Liu!" Qiu Mingyuan exclaimed before darting off.

"He’s actually quite a good kid. It doesn’t seem like just a fleeting whim; I doubt he’ll disappear after a few days," Shi Lei said with a smile.

"I’m starting to realize that a person’s upbringing doesn’t necessarily correlate with their family’s financial status," Liu Banxia stated.

"I used to think that children from ordinary families would have better manners because they understood life’s difficulties. But it’s not entirely like that; upbringing is more related to the overall family environment."

"The news used to focus on rich kids of the second generation bullying people, or third-generation rich kids doing this or that. Those were just isolated incidents, often sensationalized. Don’t children from ordinary families also have issues? Of course, they do."

"He’s very polite; he even treats his driver with great respect. And it’s not superficial; he maintains an appropriate, professional distance."

"You should learn a thing or two from him. Don’t always be so flippant and disregard seniority," Shi Lei teased.

Shi Lei was very satisfied with Liu Banxia’s professional capabilities, but the young man could be a real headache sometimes. You never knew what kind of trouble he’d stir up next, which was exhausting.

Liu Banxia just grinned and said nothing. He was relentless in his mission to tease Shi Lei. Even though the system was incredibly powerful, there was still much he could only learn from people.

"Doctor, Doctor, quick, save someone!" A man in his fifties rushed in through the emergency entrance.

"What’s the situation?" Liu Banxia quickly asked.

"Someone passed out in my car! I don’t know what happened," the man said anxiously.

Liu Banxia didn’t hesitate and rushed outside. He saw a sedan with its back door open. A man in his thirties was sprawled across the back seat, while a woman next to him was fanning him.

"Doctor, he fainted once at home, and then he fainted again just as we arrived at the hospital!" the woman quickly explained when she saw Liu Banxia.

"Did he say anything before fainting? Did he complain of chest pain? Does he have any prior medical history?" Liu Banxia asked, simultaneously checking the patient’s carotid pulse. It was weak, but still present.

"No, he was just talking, and then he suddenly shook his head and collapsed," the woman said.

"Everyone, be careful. Let’s move him onto the gurney slowly," Liu Banxia instructed as the gurney was wheeled out.

The back seat of the car was cramped, and the patient weighed at least 165 pounds. Liu Banxia, Shi Lei, and Wei Yuan struggled to lift him onto the gurney.

"His temperature is a bit high, pulse is rapid, and his eyes and skin show signs of jaundice," Liu Banxia reported while they pushed the patient towards the resuscitation room.

"Transfer to the bed! One, two, three! Connect the monitor. Liang Xiaolin, secure the airway. Xu Dan, establish IV access. Full blood count, blood chemistry, coagulation panel, and blood lactate!"

Liang Xiaolin efficiently tore open an intubation kit and began to intubate the patient, while Wei Yuan had already snatched the task of connecting the monitor.

"Blood pressure 80/40, heart rate 130," Wei Yuan announced.

"Initial assessment: patient is in shock. Respiratory sounds are weak. Responds only to pain. Looks like septic shock. One milligram per kilogram of sodium bicarbonate to correct acidosis," Shi Lei reported after completing his examination.

"Let’s do a surface examination for any wounds. We need to cut open his clothes to see if this is a viral infection caused by external trauma," Liu Banxia said, then looked at the woman who had accompanied the patient.

The woman accompanying him could only nod anxiously.

Liu Banxia examined the patient’s hands and arms but found no wounds.

Shi Lei cut open the patient’s trouser legs and, after a thorough check, also found no wounds on the legs. However, he discovered a congested, nickel-sized lesion in the patient’s left groin.

Seeing this, Shi Lei’s heart sank. He turned his head and saw Liu Banxia looking back at him with a wry smile.

Liu Banxia had also cut open the patient’s T-shirt. There were over a dozen blood-filled blisters of various sizes on his chest. This isn’t septic shock; it must be necrotizing fasciitis.

"May I ask your relationship to the patient?" Liu Banxia asked the woman.

"I’m his wife. Doctor, why aren’t you saving him yet?" the patient’s wife asked anxiously.

"We’ve diagnosed him with necrotizing fasciitis. If we’re to attempt to save him, he needs surgery immediately. We need to—"

"Do it! Save him! Whatever it costs, you have to save him!" his wife interrupted before Liu Banxia could finish.

"Please, let me explain. When necrotizing fasciitis is in its fulminant stage, the chances of a successful rescue are very low," Liu Banxia continued.

"We need to surgically remove all the infected, necrotic tissue and administer antibiotic therapy. Judging by the patient’s current condition, the infection has already become systemic."

Hearing Liu Banxia’s words, the patient’s wife froze. After a full five seconds, she finally nodded. "Save him. You must save him."

"Book an OR. Dr. Shi, Dr. Wei, the three of us will debride. Xu Dan, draw blood cultures as well," Liu Banxia directed.

They all knew the chances of success were slim. But since the patient’s family insisted, they had to try. The symptoms were too pronounced now, completely different from the finger debridement Liu Banxia had handled before.

BEEP...

The monitor’s alarm blared. Cardiac arrest.

"I’m starting CPR! One unit of epinephrine, charge to 200 joules!" Wei Yuan hastily commanded.

"Charged!"

"Clear!"

THUMP.

"No rhythm. 300 joules!"

"Charged!"

"Clear!"

THUMP.

"No rhythm. 360 joules!"

"Dr. Wei, the patient’s pupils are dilated," Liang Xiaolin reported.

Wei Yuan’s actions stopped. He knew further defibrillation was pointless.

DING! Consultation completed. Earned 100 Experience Points, 50 Proficiency Points for Diagnostics.

"Save him! You have to save him!" the patient’s wife shrieked, her voice filled with despair.

"Time of death: 14:37," Liu Banxia announced, glancing at the digital clock in the resuscitation room.

For necrotizing fasciitis in its acute phase, there was truly nothing more they could do. The blood-filled blisters on the patient’s body were already so large. If he had come in a few days earlier, perhaps there might have been a sliver of hope.

SLAP!

Before Liu Banxia could explain further to the patient’s wife, he felt a sharp sting as she slapped him hard across the face.