Nevertheless, this boy was really something to be able to admit his wrongdoings, which differed from Zheng Ren's first impression of him.
"Uncle, it was my fault for being so reckless, but it was not intentional.
"Please believe that I would never hurt Little Wan. I want to protect her forever as you do. I already hurt her once. There won't be a next."
Then, the boy kept quiet and stared at the floor dejectedly.
It was pin-drop silence outside of the ICU.
Suddenly, the boy burst out crying on the floor.
"I really didn't know… I don't know how this happened!"
This whole incident…
Zheng Ren felt his c.h.e.s.t clench.
The middle-aged man was still silent, but Zheng Ren could feel his tense muscles slowly relax.
At least there was no more animosity.
He did not have to witness anymore drama.
Zheng Ren let out a long sigh.
Thank goodness.
Zheng Ren wanted to comfort the boy sobbing on the floor.
However, whatever he would do or say in a situation like this seemed unnecessary
His presence alone was unnecessary.
The conversation between a father and his future son-in-law was none of his business.
Zheng Ren wanted to leave quietly, but he was still a little worried. He planned to stay a little longer and make sure they were alright before leaving.
Then, the man moved all of a sudden.
He walked over and kicked the boy gently.
"Stop crying and stand up."
The boy was stunned, not knowing how to react and continued gasping for air.
Zheng Ren felt relieved when he found that the boy's emotional intelligence was lower than his.
He walked over and helped the boy up from the ground. He then said gently, "He'll approve your marriage if you take good care of her in the future."
The boy felt a mixture of bittersweet emotions.
Lost.
Bewildered.
…
…
Thanks to Teacher Guo for providing the case and story for this.
Chapter 363 - A 14.8 km Fly-in
Zheng Ren slipped away from the scene.
The girl should be fine, but his date with Xie Yiren tonight was ruined again…
Too bad. Zheng Ren took out his phone as he walked.
Xie Yiren messaged him on WeChat. She had finished packing and was waiting for Zheng Ren in the car.
The ward was very quiet. Zheng Ren scurried back to the emergency ward and changed before leaving for the bas.e.m.e.nt parking lot.
Life was just a cycle of repeating events; it would get boring after a while.
It was already past ten, just when the nightlife started to get going at Imperial Capital, Sorcery Capital, Chengdu, and Shenzhen City.
However, it would be inappropriate for an emergency department chief resident with a flexible shift to go out and party at this hour.
Xie Yiren had no interest in night clubs either. She joked around with Zheng Ren on the way home.
They continued to text for a while before sleeping in their own beds not too far from each other.
Just like that, the night had passed.
The sun rose as usual and life went on.
In the morning, Zheng Ren headed to the hospital, attended the pre-shift briefing and proceeded with ward rounds.
When he arrived at the emergency ward during ward rounds, Zheng Ren noticed a peculiar patient.
The patient was an 80-year-old man: healthy, with good eyesight and hearing. The System's monitor only showed a few geriatric diagnoses; none of them were acute.
However, the old man was complaining that he was not feeling well.
Old Chief Physician Pan led the ward rounds. He mentioned a few routine checkups and treatments before leaving the others to Zheng Ren.
Since the last time he encountered the young couple who faked being ill, Zheng Ren took his time to examine and check the labs. After his diagnosis matched with the System, he told the emergency physician to put those aside for him to deal with after his surgery.
He was scheduled for two elective surgeries today: a surgery to remove a secondary stent and a TIPS surgery to treat refractory ascites.
Zheng Ren went to the gastroenterology department after he left the emergency ward.
It was the surgeon's job to check on the patients before surgery to prevent rookie mistakes.
Even though they were simple assessments, they were important.
When he reached gastroenterology, two people walked out of the chief's office: Chief Xia and a grey-haired, middle-aged man who Zheng Ren did not recognize.
"Little Zheng, let me introduce you to my classmate. His surname is Zhang, the supervisory deputy director of Secondary Hospital, in charge of clinical work," Chief Xia introduced.
"Director Zhang, nice to meet you." Zheng Ren's attitude was slightly aloof. He had a lot on his plate today, juggling between checking preoperative patients and visiting Yang Lili in the ICU. He might not even have time for lunch today, not to mention finding time to entertain the deputy director of another hospital.
Even if he had the time, he was reluctant.
Director Zhang looked at Zheng Ren, smiling, and extended his hand enthusiastically. He shook hands with Zheng Ren and said, "Chief Zheng, I'm here to observe the surgery."
"Observe?"
Zheng Ren glanced at Chief Xia perplexed.
"The Secondary Hospital1 hasn't dabbled in TIPS surgery, but they had the most patients who require the procedure." Chief Xia chuckled and said, "The patient you just operated on was our classmate. Old Zhang heard about it and rushed over to have a look."
"Chief Zheng, can you come over to our hospital to perform a few TIPS surgeries if you're free? It'll be a fly-in job, and you can fix the price," Director Zhang said when he saw that Zheng Ren was in a hurry and his wandering eyes were not on him.
The majority of clinical physicians were like that.
When you discussed a patient's condition with them, you would have their undivided attention. However, if you spoke about something else, especially before surgery, you would be lucky if they were even standing in front of you, pretending to listen to what you were saying.
Zheng Ren's eyes lit up when he heard that he could perform TIPS surgeries.
He could not care less about the money. He was about to fly-in to Imperial Capital. He believed that Chief Kong would not let him down.
However much he would receive in payment did not affect his life.
Would Xie Yiren's parents be bothered by 18,000 yuan?
On the other hand, Zheng Ren yearned for the hefty rewards from the second stage of The Crown Jewel mission, especially with the 3,000 cases of radiofrequency ablation experience.
Zheng Ren had been pondering on how to complete the mission.
Who knew the answer fell on Director Zhang and his greying temples.
"Sure, how many patients have you got?" Zheng Ren asked.
"As many as you want," Director Zhang said smilingly.
In Director Zhang's opinion, people like Zheng Ren were the easiest to handle. A young doctor like him worked hard to improve his techniques and skills. So long as he could provide the patients, he was not worried that Zheng Ren would be disinterested in the Secondary Hospital.
The surgical fee would not be a problem. This young doctor would probably be satisfied with 1,000 to 2,000 yuan in consultation fees.
After all, it was still in the city. Did he really think that he was a fly-in doctor?
More importantly, he needed to be able to handle all the surgeries they were about to give him.
TIPS surgery was not as simple as an appendectomy, which could be performed by anybody that worked in the hospital for a couple of years. A doctor without a strong foundation or natural talent would never dare perform it.
Director Zhang thought that Zheng Ren was force
d to step up during an emergency situation and he was lucky to complete that one TIPS procedure.
This was also the reason he came to observe the surgery. He wanted to see for himself that if he managed to pull through, he would be generous enough to provide him with a 'chance'.
By feeding him ample surgeries, he could also help many patients, killing two birds with one stone.
Director Zhang was busy plotting his scheme, mostly because Zheng Ren was quite young. If it was Old Chief Physician Pan in his place, he would already kneel down and beg him to come over.
It is said that those who could perform TIPS surgeries were Gods.
After exchanging a few words, Zheng Ren requested to visit the patients before surgery.
The patient who had the emergency TIPS surgery was recovering well. The hematemesis had subsided and there were no complications of hepatic encephalopathy.
When they checked her blood ammonia level that morning, it was within the normal range. Even if they failed to retrieve the second stent, the treatment effects were satisfactory.
The other patient with decompensated cirrhosis and refractory ascites, along with complications of electrolyte imbalance, was improving without any contraindications.
The patient's family members were also cooperative. Most of the hospitals, including Sea City General Hospital, had given them a death sentence due to the presentation of refractory ascites.
Unless they did TIPS surgery.
However, the exorbitant cost of TIPS surgery, on top of the need to travel outstation, had obliterated their hopes. The only thing left was to wait for death.
When Chief Xia told them that Sea City General Hospital was able to perform the surgery at the cost of a higher risk, the patient's family members agreed to do the surgery without letting them finish.
The patient would die in the end either way. At least they still had a chance if they tried.
The recovery of the hematemesis patient was especially promising, lighting the hopes of the other family members of the refractory ascites patient once again.
They had signed the forms. Zheng Ren left after seeing the patient was in good condition to receive surgery.
He bid farewell to Chief Xia, then ordered the staff in gastroenterology to the operating room while he headed to the ICU to check on Yang Lili. In most cities, the general (first) hospitals are usually community-based, offering all types of medical and surgical cases. The Secondary Hospital focuses on infectious diseases, including tuberculosis and hepatitis B.
Chapter 364 - Completed In A Daze
When he entered the ICU, he could sense that the atmosphere was drastically different from yesterday.
Even the nurse's pace of changing drips was much more relaxed. Chief Qian was laughing and talking to Su Yun.
"How's Yang Lili?" Zheng Ren walked in and asked.
"We've removed her tube. Do you want to speak to her?" There was finally a smile of relief on Su Yun's face.
"That's fine. I'll not waste any more time here," Zheng Ren chuckled. "There's a TIPS surgery waiting for me."
"I'm not staying here either. I'll follow you to surgery," Su Yun said as he stood up.
Yang Lili had passed the critical stage. The removal of her tube was a sign that her condition was improving. The remaining steps were just to slowly recover.
Su Yun had not much use, even if he stayed behind.
"Have you been performing interventional surgeries alone recently?" Su Yun asked.
"I did it with Lil Fugui," Zheng Ren answered.
"No wonder. I was thinking why you looked so disinterested when I said that I'm going back to perform surgery with you. Out with the old, in with the new, huh?" Su Yun nagged at Zheng Ren while he flirted with the ICU nurses, "He used to call me 'sweetie'. Now that he's got Lil Fugui, I'm Madam Bull."
"..."
Though Su Yun acted in a plaintive tone, as if he was a desperate housewife, Zheng Ren knew that he was joking
Zheng Ren checked Yang Lili's labs from that morning silently before greeting Chief Qian. He left the ICU right after.
"Any progress with Little Yiren these few days?" Su Yun the chatterbox just could not stop talking for a minute.
"Same old. Always an emergency whenever we go out for a meal or a movie," Zheng Ren said frustratedly.
Emergency department…chief resident…was not a job for the mundane.
"Don't worry," Su Yun waved and said, "If you want to date in the future, I can take over your surgeries. They're just simple procedures. The only question is—do you dare go for it?"
Why did he sound like he was up to no good?
"You'll spend your whole life in regret if you let her go. Don't worry about Little Yiren's parents. If you love her, you'll accept the consequence, regardless of the outcome.
"Many years later, when you look back on this, you won't have any regrets, even if it didn't work out. The worst situation is that you caved in even before meeting Little Yiren's parents."
Su Yun urged Zheng Ren.
Zheng Ren remained silent on the way, digesting what Su Yun had said. Even though he was naggy and his views were…so-so, the things he said were not unreasonable.
All of these were like experience points. Take the small actions in the movie theater, for example. Without Su Yun's help, Zheng Ren would have nailed all the unforgivable mistakes.
Even when Su Yun had told him about the landmines, Zheng Ren's first attempt was nowhere near perfect.
He should listen to him. Zheng Ren remembered every word Su Yun said, planning to give it a good thought in his free time.
"Any new progress with the TIPS surgeries, boss?" Su Yun changed the topic so fast that no one could keep up with his train of thought.
They said that smart people were more likely to have non-linear thinking. That information had yet to be verified.
"Yes," Zheng Ren answered truthfully. "I started researching the diagnostic and surgical methods. Then, I confirmed with Professor Rudolf Wagner that we can solve the issue with a hepatic diffusion-weighted MRI."
"Hmm? Are you in your right mind?" Su Yun did not understand what Zheng Ren said because DW-MRI was not used for TIPS surgery.
Nevertheless, if both Zheng Ren and Professor Rudolf Wagner agreed, they must have had their reasons. He just needed to sit back and watch.
Su Yun's mind churned rapidly, not about the surgery, but about which journal to publish and which reviewer to contact.
This time, both of them were quiet on their way to the emergency operating room. Su Yun was thinking about writing the TIPS surgery paper while Zheng Ren contemplated on what Su Yun had said.
The patient had been sent to the operating room. Zheng Ren put up the scans on the film viewer and checked in with the patient. After ensuring that everything was good to go, he started preparing for surgery.
Director Zhang followed and stood in the operating room. He was stunned.
Zheng Ren had a foreigner assisting him?
This Chief Zheng was someone of repute.
Professor Rudolf Wagner was busy prepping for surgery. When they were about to begin, Director Zhang approached Chief Xia and asked, "Old Xia, who's the foreigner? Why do you guys have a foreign doctor?"
"Chief Zheng said that he's Professor Rudolf Wagner from Heidelberg University. Who knows why he's here in Sea City, but let me tell you, Old Zhang: that professor can speak Mandarin fluently. His Northeastern accent is slicker than mine. You'll need to be wary when you talk about him. Don't think that he doesn't understand Mandarin," Chief Xia said with a chuckle.
This important reminder came just in time.
Director Zhang made a mental note and retracted into a corner. He took out his phone and typed in the search engine for Heidelberg University and Professor Rudolf Wagner.
A few years ago, the Secondary Hospital's director, Director Ren, led an exchange team to Heidelberg University. At that time, Director Zhang did not have the chance to go since he was not appointe
d as the supervisory deputy director for clinical work.
Director Zhang was aware that the university and hospital were the world's top institutions. He was searching for the professor's information.
Not long after, he was completely dumbfounded.
Initially, he still had doubts, but it all disappeared when he saw the professor's name mentioned in the introduction of Heidelberg University.
Furthermore, even Baidu Baike had the professor's picture and biography. Director Zhang was completely blown away.
All of it was true!
This was the only thought Director Zhang had.
Regarding his professionalism, Baidu Baike also mentioned Professor Rudolf Wagner being the world's best interventional professor; enough said.
What was a person like him doing in Sea City?
F*cking hell!
Something must be wrong. Director Zhang was in a daze and only regained his senses when Zheng Ren came out from the operating room.
"Very fast stent removal surgery," Chief Xia praised, even though he did not know how to perform the surgery, nor the challenges the surgeon might encounter.
What? The surgery was finished?
Director Zhang was struck by another thunderbolt.
Chief Xia did not study TIPS surgery because there was no need for a department chief of internal medicine to do that.
Director Zhang, on the other hand, was the director of clinical operations. He had ambition and goals to launch the first TIPS surgery at the Secondary Hospital.
This was also in line with the vision of the Secondary Hospital's Director, Ren Haitao.
Usually, it would not be difficult if all of them were working toward the same goal, but TIPS surgery was really different from other surgical methods.
If they manage to establish TIPS surgery with the help of other professors, he could happily retire.
That was why he knew so much about TIPS surgery.
The current trend was to place two stents in the shunt without removing them because the bleeding would be inevitable if the stent was removed from the liver.
The Surgeon's Studio c1-799 Page 172
