This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Du Heng apologized and quickly left the office.

「...」

Director Cha looked at the inspection sheet in his hand, a deep sense of unease washing over him. Although he was the Director of the Respiratory Department, he could still understand the tests ordered by the Nephrology Department. Now, he held the inspection sheet in silence.

In just two days, the child’s various indicators had changed dramatically. The blood creatinine level, in particular, terrified him.

Normally, a person’s blood creatinine is around 0.3mg/dL. A level more than one and a half times higher is considered dangerous, often termed ’acute kidney injury’ by nephrologists and known as ’kidney failure’ by the public. But this child’s level wasn’t just one and a half times higher; it was nearly five times the normal amount.

Recalling what had happened two days ago, Director Cha couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat. Ding Yuxue had asked him to examine the child specifically for a kidney problem, but he hadn’t found anything. Two days later, the patient had an acute kidney injury. The responsibility for this could be significant or minor, depending entirely on how Ding Yuxue, the party involved, chose to handle it.

Director Cha’s gut clenched involuntarily. As adrenaline surged, his brain began to race, processing information faster than usual.

Quickly, he thought of a key point. If this criterion wasn’t met, the child’s problem couldn’t be definitively diagnosed as ’acute kidney injury’; it might just be an infection caused by pneumonia. And that key point was whether the patient had urinated within the last seven hours.

When Ding Yuxue heard this question, she was first taken aback, then briefly lost in confusion. She didn’t know if her child had gone to the toilet or urinated; she had never paid attention to it. After a period of somewhat frantic yet prolonged thought, Ding Yuxue dimly realized that her son hadn’t seemed to go to the bathroom since Friday.

Three days? she thought, horrified.

Director Cha’s faint hope was shattered.

There’s no escaping it, he thought grimly. It’s ’acute kidney injury.’ So, what now? Of course, send him to the Nephrology Department. As Director of the Respiratory Department, I’m really not a specialist in this condition.

Ding Yuxue panicked, her mind going blank. In that moment, she forgot she was a Chinese Medicine teacher, forgot she was practically a healthcare worker herself. She could only follow Director Cha’s arrangements, step by step.

When they arrived at the Nephrology Department and the doctors began to inquire about the child’s condition, Ding Yuxue finally came back to her senses. She began to hope and pray that her child didn’t have a kidney injury, just an infection caused by pneumonia.

However, things didn’t go as she wished. After the nephrologists finished their inquiries, the assessment remained unchanged.

The nephrologists began to treat the child methodically. Ding Yuxue once again tried to call her husband, but unfortunately, his phone was still unreachable, just as it had been that morning.

Edema, fever, coma, difficulty breathing—Ding Yuxue found it hard to accept this reality, but she had no choice but to force herself to be strong.

Thus, more than thirty minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Seeing her child’s condition stabilize, Ding Yuxue’s heart gradually calmed.

But just as she let out a breath of relief, preparing to call her husband again, the monitor beside her son’s bed blared with a piercing alarm.

Ding Yuxue trembled all over. Turning, she saw her son, still unconscious, begin to vomit involuntarily. The filth, due to his supine position, flowed back into his throat, blocking his airway.

Ding Yuxue was frantic again, but the nephrologists didn’t panic. They quickly resolved the blocked airway.

However, a new problem immediately arose: the child’s heart rate soared to 160. Although the airway was clear, his breathing difficulty was now more severe than before. Moreover, with each of the child’s breaths, a sound like tearing silk could be heard from his chest cavity.

However, these initial problems didn’t stump the nephrologists. As a Class A hospital in the Capital, a hospital serving a city with a population in the tens of millions, and one located next to a university, their experience was extensive.

Yet, an hour and a half later, all the nephrologists involved in treating the child, including the Director of the Nephrology Department, looked at each other in dismay, speechless.

It’s a deadlock, the Director of Nephrology thought. If we use medication to target the kidney injury, the child’s heart rate will become irregular, and breathing will become difficult. But if we don’t use medication, the harm from the kidney injury will just keep increasing.

After the nephrologists exchanged glances, the Director of the Nephrology Department finally stood up and led Ding Yuxue to his office.

”...Professor Ding, this is the situation,” the Director of Nephrology said grimly once they were in his office, informing her of the child’s actual condition without omitting a single detail. ”My recommendation is to put the child on dialysis, the sooner, the better.”

Upon hearing this, Ding Yuxue almost fell off her chair.

Dialysis? Has it really become this serious?

But she didn’t have much time to dwell on it; Ding Yuxue immediately rejected the proposal.

Dialysis could indeed solve the child’s current problem, and its benefits would be immediate.

But my child is still so young! she despaired. Once dialysis starts, his kidneys will inevitably suffer irreversible damage. If kidney atrophy or necrosis occurs, his life will be ruined. Moreover, the risk of cerebral hemorrhage and digestive tract hemorrhage is also very high. I can’t ignore these. Unless it’s the absolute last resort, when all other options are exhausted, I won’t choose dialysis.

But did she have any other choice?

Yes!

A jolt went through Ding Yuxue. She finally remembered—she herself was a Chinese Medicine professor! She could seek treatment from traditional Chinese medicine!

Upon hearing Ding Yuxue’s request, the Director of the Nephrology Department acted without delay, immediately calling to invite experts from the Chinese Medicine Department for a consultation.

Soon, after discussion among several traditional Chinese medicine experts, the child’s diagnosis was determined: Qi and Yin Deficiency of the Spleen and Kidney!

The treatment method was quickly established as well: nourishing qi and yin. This would be supplemented by acupuncture therapy, using points such as CV-12, KI-13, and ST-36 to replenish qi and blood, and selecting points like CV-04, CV-03, and BL-23 to promote urination.

The treatment plan was meticulous and comprehensive. Ding Yuxue, as a Chinese Medicine professor, fully endorsed the diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, they quickly began treatment according to this method.

For a time, medicine was dispensed, and acupuncture needles were inserted; everyone worked methodically.

Half an hour later, the excessively high heart rate began to decrease, and a thick, yellow liquid slowly started to flow from the catheter.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, and some even wore triumphant smiles.

Similarly, Ding Yuxue felt a surge of excitement.

But she was still constantly calling her husband. At this moment, she desperately needed someone to lean on.

BEEEEEEP—

Suddenly, the monitor, which had been on the verge of returning to normal, emitted a long, uninterrupted wail, nearly scaring the wits out of everyone in the hospital room.

Looking back, they saw the heart rate indicator on the monitor had flatlined.

Cardiac arrest!

****!

The Director of the Nephrology Department flew into action, instantly rushing to the child’s side to begin emergency resuscitation.

Meanwhile, the TCM doctor, though trembling, swiftly removed the needles from the child’s body.

Three minutes later, the Director of the Nephrology Department wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood before Ding Yuxue, his expression grave.

”Professor Ding, are you still going to hesitate?”

This time, Ding Yuxue was truly panicked.

Do I really have to choose dialysis now?

Are there really no other options left?

I’m such a fool! she berated herself. Why didn’t I believe Du Heng back then? Why did I have to treat Du Heng as such a despicable villain?