This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Du Heng recalled his encounter with Director Jia the previous day and then said, ”Well, since both of you have mentioned it, I can help take a look. But I have to ask, Qinqin, can you make the decision for Director Jia to receive treatment?

There’s no problem on my end. This morning, I just signed a Youth Chinese Medicine Practitioner Exchange Agreement with the local Health Department. I can contact them to arrange for someone to accompany me.

However, the patient’s family must consent. It would also be better to have a formal invitation. After all, I’m not a local doctor, so it would be somewhat inappropriate for me to show up unannounced.”

Li Qin nodded vigorously. ”I’ll go back and discuss it with Director Jia’s wife now. She will definitely agree.”

When Li Qin was about to leave, Du Heng reached out to stop her. After a moment’s thought, he said, ”How about this: I’ll come with you first and take a look, as a friend. If I can treat him, then let the family and the hospital communicate, and I’ll treat him through the proper procedures.

If I can’t treat him, let’s just pretend this never happened, and there’s no need for all the trouble.

Alternatively, if I can treat him but the hospital here objects, you could discuss with Director Jia about being discharged and going to Jinzhou. What do you think?”

Li Qin thought for a moment. ”That’s fine too. Shall we go now?”

”Let’s go.”

However, just before leaving, Wu Shengnan decided not to go, instead staying to continue taking care of Kang Zhirong, since the young man was still unable to walk.

Coincidentally, the hospital where Director Jia was receiving treatment was also Luqi Hospital.

This made sense. Nowadays, people tend to flock to well-known hospitals for treatment unless they know a specific doctor, and this was especially true for public figures like Director Jia.

When Du Heng saw Director Jia again, all traces of the public figure’s demeanor had vanished, along with the overbearing attitude he’d displayed while berating others the previous day.

Now, a dejected, middle-aged man lay on the hospital bed, listless and with his head drooping.

Upon entering the ward, Li Qin immediately explained their purpose to Director Jia’s wife and introduced Du Heng.

Director Jia’s wife didn’t hesitate, agreeing as soon as Li Qin finished speaking.

However, Du Heng noticed that her gaze towards Li Qin and himself was not one of trust, but more of desperation, grasping at straws. At least there was a chance it might work, and that would be a win for her.

Du Heng let out a soft chuckle and slowly walked to Director Jia’s side. ”Hello, Director Jia. I’m Du Heng. We met yesterday.”

Director Jia’s mouth was noticeably more crooked than the day before, but there were no other signs of a stroke, such as sagging eyes or a contorted face.

His mouth hung open, and while a faint ”ah” sound escaped, he couldn’t form any coherent words.

Du Heng quickly said, ”Director Jia, don’t try to speak. Just rest.”

Before he could finish speaking, a burp escaped Director Jia’s throat, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

Syncope?

Du Heng was startled.

However, Director Jia’s wife seemed completely unsurprised. Seeing Du Heng about to assist, she said, ”Doctor Du, don’t worry. He’ll come to in a few seconds on his own.”

Du Heng paused and asked, ”Does this happen to Director Jia often?”

”It started yesterday afternoon after he woke up, happening about every two hours,” replied Director Jia’s wife, gently taking her husband’s arm. ”It became more frequent later that night, with episodes occurring roughly every hour.”

”Have the doctors here not treated it?”

”They gave him medication, but it didn’t seem effective. The doctor said he would improve on his own after this phase passed.”

Du Heng took a deep breath.

In just the few minutes they had been talking, Director Jia’s breathing had stabilized, his body had relaxed, and he seemed to be gradually regaining consciousness.

Du Heng gently placed his fingers on Director Jia’s wrist. When Director Jia slowly opened his eyes, Du Heng removed his hand.

Li Qin hurriedly whispered, ”Du, how is it?”

Du Heng nodded slightly. ”It can be treated.”

These few words made the three people present overjoyed.

Director Jia’s wife eagerly asked, ”Doctor Du, the doctors here said my husband had an ischemic stroke. Is that what we call a stroke?”

”You can understand it that way.” Du Heng nodded. ”Director Jia’s condition is diagnosed as an ischemic stroke according to Western medicine, and that diagnosis is correct.

However, I am a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, and my diagnosis is stagnation-fire of the gallbladder meridian.

Although Director Jia’s symptoms are much more severe than typical gallbladder meridian stagnation-fire and could even be classified as a stroke, the root cause remains the same.”

Li Qin quickly said, ”Du, don’t use so many technical terms; we don’t understand. Just tell us how long it will take to cure him. The doctors here say Director Jia needs to take medication for a long time and recover slowly.

As for whether he can regain the ability to speak or move, that depends on his recovery. Even if he does recover, it will take at least three months.

Yesterday afternoon, we also consulted some traditional Chinese medicine experts. They also said that stroke recovery takes three months, and they couldn’t guarantee the final outcome.”

Du Heng looked at the three of them and spoke softly, ”It’s not wrong to treat Director Jia’s illness as a stroke, and it indeed usually takes two to three months to see results with that approach.

However, that kind of treatment is actually a detour. Although it can eventually lead to a cure, it takes more time and may leave lasting complications.

To truly treat it, we must address the root cause.”

With that, Du Heng held up three fingers and confidently asserted, ”I can’t speak for other cases, but with Director Jia’s current condition, three doses of my medicine will have him back to normal.”

Perhaps it was Du Heng’s sheer confidence that made the others feel a little unsure.

Director Jia’s wife, her initial excitement fading, cautiously asked, ”Doctor Du, is what you said true?”

”Of course. I have that much confidence. Besides, Qinqin is my friend, and I wouldn’t make baseless claims in front of her.”

”But... everyone says that strokes are very difficult to treat, and the recovery period is long. Three doses of medicine... is that really...?”

Du Heng smiled faintly, understanding Director Jia’s wife’s doubts.

”To date, I have directly or indirectly treated over a thousand stroke patients. Except for a very few who weren’t successfully treated due to special circumstances, all the others recovered or regained most of their ability to function independently.

Based on these disease records, I believe many conditions diagnosed as strokes aren’t true strokes. Instead, they’re caused by the dysfunction and chaotic operation of the five viscera.

However, during treatment, improper medication or prolonged delays can cause these conditions to develop into actual strokes.”

Du Heng gestured towards Director Jia. ”Director Jia is the first patient I’ve encountered who has just had a stroke. Not enough time has passed for other lesions to develop. Furthermore, he hasn’t taken any medication that would alter the condition’s inherent characteristics. That’s why I’m confident I can treat him directly from the root and achieve quick results.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, ”Honestly, if Director Jia had been ill for a longer period or had already used a large amount of stroke medication, then I too would need one to three months to help him return to normal.”

Li Qin blinked her large eyes a few times, staring at Du Heng as she said, ”If what you’re saying is true, then for most stroke patients who are paralyzed or suffer from hemiplegia, it means they were largely misdiagnosed, right?”

Du Heng shook his head. ”There are misdiagnoses, but the number isn’t large, especially in Grade 3A hospitals, where such misdiagnoses are rare.

The situation I described arises for two reasons. First, doctors’ skill levels vary, as do the effectiveness of their treatment methods.

Second, it’s due to the different philosophical approaches of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. For example, consider Director Jia’s case. Western medicine defines it as an ischemic stroke, while traditional Chinese medicine calls it a stroke. However, I refine this diagnosis further to stagnation-fire of the gallbladder meridian.

Now, think about it. How can Western medicine understand the relationship between cerebral ischemia and the gallbladder meridian? And how could it comprehend stagnation-fire of the gallbladder meridian, or where that ’fire’ is located?

This single issue is enough to sever the connection between traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine.”