This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Listening to the man’s sincere words, tinged with a tremor, Du Heng wanted to say something, but the man was gripping and shaking his hand, making him uncomfortable.

During this brief delay, the woman on the sick bed turned her gaze to her husband. ”Are you trying to die or something? I’m not dead yet; it’s just a broken arm. What are you wailing about? Are you hoping I die right now so you can be happy?”

The man, looking utterly wronged and pitiful, gazed at his wife. ”Honey, you can’t accuse me like this. I would die for you.”

”Then go ahead,” the woman said, rolling her eyes.

Ugh…

The man was dumbfounded. This woman is pragmatic to a fault, with no sense of romance whatsoever!

After rolling her eyes, the woman looked at the stunned man and said, ”Let go. If you don’t let go, how can the doctor examine me?”

”Oh, oh, oh, right.” The man, as if snapping out of a daze, quickly let go of Du Heng’s hands.

Du Heng and Jin Zan exchanged a glance, sharing a helpless smile. The atmosphere in this family was certainly unusual.

Du Heng gently shook his hand and said to Jin Zan, ”Let me see the X-rays.”

Jin Zan nodded and turned to the man. ”Alright, calm down. We’ll know the specifics after Doctor Du finishes his examination. For now, get out the X-rays taken around noon.”

The man, flustered, pulled open the bedside table drawer and took out a large plastic bag from the Inspection Department. ”Doctor Du, Doctor Jin, the X-rays you asked for are all in this bag.”

Du Heng took the bag, removed an X-ray film, and held it up at a forty-five-degree angle to examine it closely. As he looked, his expression grew somber, and his scrutiny intensified.

Jin Zan, who had been watching Du Heng’s eyes, noticed the change in his expression and asked softly, ”What is it?”

”The fracture surface is very uneven, with quite a few bone splinters. The displacement is even more significant than it appeared on the computer.” While examining the X-ray, Du Heng tossed aside the bag he was holding and pointed with his free hand. ”Look here, and here. There are some small fragments. These weren’t very clear on the computer.”

Jin Zan glanced at it; he was already aware of what Du Heng was pointing out. ”So, what’s your opinion? Can we treat this with manual reduction alone?”

Du Heng examined the X-ray from various angles a couple more times before finally putting it down. However, he didn’t answer Jin Zan’s question yet. Frowning, he picked up the bag again, took out the other inspection sheets, and focused on the one related to her pregnancy.

After reviewing all of them, Du Heng put down the papers and said to the woman, ”I need to palpate the fracture site. I’ll try to be gentle, but it will still be a bit painful. You’ll have to bear with it.”

The woman clenched her jaw tightly, the masseter muscles on her cheeks visibly bulging. ”Yes, Doctor Du. Examine me as you need. I can endure it.”

Du Heng glanced at the woman, then, under the man’s worried gaze, began to gently touch the swollen area around her broken bone. This swelling increased the difficulty of the tactile examination, requiring more pressure than the initial check-up right after the injury. Consequently, the woman would experience more pain.

While Du Heng carefully palpated the swollen area with his fingers, he kept a close watch on the woman’s facial expressions. This patient was four months pregnant. Intense pain could undoubtedly cause her physical distress, which would certainly affect her uterus and, consequently, the fetus. Therefore, he had to be exceedingly careful and attentive.

Fortunately, his tactile sense was very keen, and the woman’s pain tolerance surpassed Du Heng’s expectations. The examination was completed smoothly.

Seeing Du Heng straighten up, Jin Zan pressed again, ”Well? Are you confident?”

Du Heng slowly exhaled. ”Manual reduction is possible.”

No sooner had he spoken than the man and the patient’s eyes widened, sheer joy and surprise evident on their faces. However, before they could savor this joy for long, Du Heng’s subsequent ”but” shattered it.

”But,” Du Heng said, looking earnestly at the three of them, ”if we rely solely on manual reduction, the patient will endure immense pain. It will be excruciating.”

The woman, however, was unfazed. She shook her head and said with a firm voice, ”Don’t worry, Doctor Du. I can bear it. As long as my child isn’t harmed, I can endure any amount of pain.”

Du Heng didn’t show appreciation for the woman’s resolute words. Instead, he frowned and gently shook his head. This gesture made the couple’s hearts sink. Only Jin Zan, after a slight frown, seemed to understand Du Heng’s implication.

”Are you worried the pain will affect the fetus?” Jin Zan asked.

Du Heng nodded. ”It’s not a worry; it *will* definitely affect the fetus. The fracture site on the radius bone is very uneven. The bone fragments are much more pronounced than in a typical fracture, and because the displacement is so significant, setting the bone will require a great deal of continuous force. However, the patient’s condition clearly means she cannot be given anesthetics. She would have to endure this pain fully conscious.”

Du Heng turned to the woman and said seriously, ”This level of pain, while perhaps not comparable to Guan Yunchang enduring bone scraping to remove poison, will be far from easy to bear. Even if your spirit can withstand such pain, your body will inevitably react. When this reaction affects your entire body, there’s a ninety percent chance your uterus will experience spasms or similar symptoms due to the intense physiological stress. If the spasms are too severe, the fetus will be in danger.”

Du Heng paused briefly, glancing at the couple. ”So the issue now, without anesthetics, isn’t whether you can mentally endure it, but that your body will certainly react.”

They were all dumbfounded. Not just the couple, but Jin Zan, standing beside them, was also stunned.

All this effort, and it might be for nothing, Jin Zan thought. The stress response to severe pain... such a simple, common problem, and I completely overlooked it.

Jin Zan’s breathing quickened. Du Heng’s words were now crystal clear: even bone setting would require anesthesia. And even the mildest anesthetic could have unknown effects on the fetus.

Jin Zan managed to compose himself. He could see that the couple was at their psychological breaking point. And Jin Zan couldn’t help but blame himself for this; his oversight had led to the current predicament.

Taking a deep breath, Jin Zan looked at Du Heng and asked slowly, ”Do you have any other options?”

Just as Jin Zan was berating himself, feeling troubled, Du Heng actually smiled upon hearing the question. ”Of course. Don’t forget who I am. I’m the Dean of the Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital. Protecting the fetus is my specialty.”

”****!” Jin Zan swore, forgetting his composure, and gave Du Heng a light shove. ”Are you crazy? You speak with such dramatic pauses! You nearly scared me to death, you know that?”

Du Heng looked at the couple, their faces a mixture of worry and dawning hope, and quickly said, ”That really wasn’t intentional. Everything I said earlier was true. And while I was describing the facts, I was also desperately trying to think of a solution. And look, I’ve just figured one out.”

Jin Zan took several deep breaths. ”Is what you’re saying true?”

”Of course,” Du Heng said to the three of them with utmost seriousness. ”Would I dare joke about something like this?”

”Then tell us your method.” Jin Zan’s question was meant to reassure himself as much as the couple.

Du Heng exhaled softly. ”The method is quite simple. First, the patient will take fetus-protecting medicine to preemptively counter the pain’s effect on the uterus. Of course, that alone isn’t enough. We must also reduce the patient’s perception of pain. Otherwise, even with the fetus-protecting medicine, it won’t solve the underlying issue.”

Jin Zan frowned, puzzled. ”Doesn’t that bring us back to the original problem? The patient can’t use anesthetics.”

Jin Zan’s words made the couple, whose faces had just brightened with smiles, stiffen once more.

Du Heng saw their reaction and shot Jin Zan an undisguised glare. ”You also trained in traditional Chinese medicine! But look at yourself now. Is there any trace of a TCM practitioner left in you? You’ve been completely Westernized! All you talk about are anesthetics and anti-inflammatory drugs! Doesn’t traditional Chinese medicine have medications to reduce pain perception without affecting the fetus?”

Facing the aggressive Du Heng, Jin Zan couldn’t help but feel a little sheepish and took a step back, stammering, ”Well, if you know, just say it. I’m primarily focused on surgery these days, so I admit I’ve become a bit rusty with decoctions.”

Du Heng shot Jin Zan another look, one of a father disappointed in an underachieving son, then turned to the woman. ”I’ll prescribe you a Divine Decoction. While it can’t completely replace anesthetics, it will have some effect in reducing your perception of pain. Then, when I perform the bone joining, my technique will be as gentle as possible. However, it’s impossible to eliminate the pain completely. Your body and mind will definitely still be stimulated.”

Seeing the lingering worry in the couple’s eyes, Du Heng continued, ”But don’t worry. In addition to those two methods, I also plan to use acupuncture. If your body has an excessive reaction, I’ll use acupuncture to help alleviate it. With this three-pronged approach, we can largely ensure the safety of both you and the fetus.”

The couple exchanged a look. After hearing Du Heng’s plan, although they didn’t understand the specifics, it sounded very reliable. Relaxed smiles finally appeared on their faces.

However, Du Heng added, ”But there are still risks. If I detect anything adversely affecting the fetus, I will immediately pause the treatment. Protecting the fetus will be the absolute priority. Do you understand and agree to this?”

Before the man could speak, the woman nodded decisively. ”Yes, Doctor Du. We’ll do as you say. No matter what, my child comes first.”

”Alright then. Please sign the treatment agreement with Doctor Jin. I’ll go make the preparations.”