This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

In the hospital room, more than thirty newly admitted pediatric patients were waiting for him to finalize their subsequent treatment plans.

The six-year-old boy, in particular, now required the utmost attention.

As Du Heng examined the child, the family members watched nervously from the side.

They had witnessed the child’s changes over the past two weeks.

The child had transitioned from being nearly paralyzed and appearing to have severe cognitive impairments to understanding simple instructions and making simple movements with his hands and feet. Their hearts were already completely filled with joy.

They were even looking forward to their child becoming like a normal child: one who could laugh and play happily, go to school, and have his own life.

”President Du...” As Du Heng finished the examination, the two family members eagerly approached him.

But Du Heng simply shook his head gently. ”You two, let’s go to my office to talk.”

In the hospital room, Du Heng didn’t say another word, instead leading the two of them directly to the doctor’s office.

After they were seated, under the parents’ anxious gazes, Du Heng spoke slowly, ”After more than a week of treatment and observation, I can now share some good news with you both.”

The two parents immediately sat up straight, looking at Du Heng with excitement.

”Your child’s intellectual development is normal.”

Intelligence... normal?

The couple was suddenly stunned. They looked at each other, their eyes filled with bewilderment and incomprehension.

Before the couple could ask, Du Heng continued, ”I know what you want to ask. Please don’t worry; listen to me, I’ll explain it slowly.

Your child’s intelligence is normal, but his central nervous system is damaged; it’s incomplete.

This incomplete central nervous system causes the child to have language and sensory impairments, abnormal muscle tone, abnormal nerve reflexes, and other symptoms.

These symptoms prevent your child from expressing his true thoughts; neither his words nor his actions can convey them.

Moreover, due to these various impairments, when the child tries to express his thoughts, he becomes increasingly unable to control himself. He makes many strange movements and odd sounds, which makes him appear even more abnormal.”

As Du Heng spoke, he felt a pang of pity. For a child to have normal intelligence but be abnormal in every other aspect is incredibly painful. He knows everything but simply cannot express it. Moreover, due to abnormal muscle tone and nerve reflexes, he can’t control his facial expressions or muscle movements. When he tries to express something, his posture becomes abnormal, and his facial muscles contort, sometimes even appearing ferocious. This, in turn, makes people think he’s having an episode, that he’s a fool, or intellectually disabled. In such a situation, without the love and understanding of his family and those around him, from the moment he becomes self-aware, it could be the beginning of him losing his mind. To put it bluntly, it might almost be better if he were truly intellectually disabled. Although he wouldn’t understand anything, at least he himself would be at peace.

Du Heng’s words made the couple reflect on their past behavior towards their child. A wave of remorse washed over them; they couldn’t imagine the harm their actions might have inflicted on a child with normal intelligence.

Du Heng reassured them, ”Please don’t get too agitated. We only reached this diagnosis after the child showed some recovery, when he became able to respond to what we doctors said and follow simple commands. Before he started recovering, it wasn’t just you; even we doctors couldn’t have made this determination.”

The couple supported and comforted each other, their emotions gradually calming. Then, full of hope, they asked, ”President Du, since our child’s intelligence is normal, does that mean he can recover to the level of a normal child?”

This question left Du Heng momentarily silent.

”Because the child’s central nervous system is damaged, what we can do now is try our best to repair this damage and minimize its effects. However, the possibility of a complete recovery is slim.”

Although this was a harsh truth, Du Heng decided to be frank.

”Moreover, prolonged abnormal muscle tone has put a significant strain on the child’s meridians, even causing them to change. This is another significant reason why recovery is so difficult.”

The couple’s spirits dampened slightly, but they remained resolute and asked, ”President Du, just tell us, to what extent can our child ultimately recover? Please speak freely; we can handle it. We had already given up and were psychologically prepared for him to live like this for the rest of his life. But now there’s hope for recovery, a chance for his condition to be better than before. For us, that’s already the greatest blessing.”

Seeing that their emotions were relatively stable, Du Heng took a deep breath and said, ”Our treatment plan involves continuously using Decoction medicine to repair the damaged central nervous system, along with acupuncture and massage to help his meridians recover and keep both meridians and muscles active.

Multiple interventions will be used to correct and restore his abnormal muscle tone and reflexes.

Later, professional rehabilitation institutions will get involved. As parents, you’ll also need to actively participate in Rehabilitation Training to help his motor system recover.

Based on this treatment approach and his recovery progress over the past week or so, we project that the child should eventually be able to walk independently and communicate verbally.

However, he might still experience some lack of coordination, unclear speech, uncontrolled facial muscle convulsions, and sudden limb tremors.”

Du Heng paused briefly, then looked at the couple and continued, ”This is merely the best-case scenario based on the current situation. If any unforeseen complications occur during the treatment, the outcome might not be as promising.

Moreover, there’s another crucial point to note.

The treatment period is very long; it might take two years, five years, or even ten years.

Throughout this treatment period, he must continuously take the Decoction medicine and receive various auxiliary treatments. Crucially, the Rehabilitation Training in the later stages must be consistently maintained.”

Du Heng spoke at length, yet a glimmer of hope rekindled in the couple’s eyes.

The degree of recovery Du Heng described was the very state they had dreamed of.

Although he wouldn’t become completely normal, and though there might be various potential long-term effects, being able to live independently and communicate verbally would be a world of difference from his current state.

If their child could truly become as Du Heng described, then even if they were to pass away, they wouldn’t have to worry about his future.

If he could truly become as Du Heng described, they would willingly commit to two, five, even ten years—or a lifetime—of treatment and accompany him through Rehabilitation Training.

”Thank you, President Du! Thank you so much! I’ll kowtow to you!” the child’s mother exclaimed, her voice trembling with emotion as she started to slide from her chair.

This was exactly what Du Heng dreaded; he was genuinely developing a phobia of people kowtowing to him.

Seeing the mother about to slip to the ground, Du Heng darted forward and quickly pulled both parents up. ”I understand how you feel, but please, don’t do this. I really can’t bear it.”

After soothing the couple, Du Heng quickly ushered them out. ”For now, just focus on caring for your child. When you have time, give him massages to relax his muscles and improve circulation; this will help his recovery.

Hmm... How about this: I’ll have Doctor Ma find you later. She can teach you how to perform the massage and explain any important points.

Alright, go back and take care of your child now.”

He added with a gentle smile, ”Oh, and one more thing. Now that you know his intelligence is normal, be mindful of what you say around him. Even if he can’t express himself, he can understand you.”

The couple nodded repeatedly and left the office, expressing their profound gratitude.