MTL - Wildfire-Chapter 17

This place is not as dense as Tibet with eye disease patients. One is that the geographical environment is not so susceptible to eye diseases. In addition, due to ethnic cultural differences and relatively closed communication with the outside world, many traditional Tibetans are not used to relying on technology and doctors for treatment. So this time the overall pressure was not as great as last time, and the doctors were able to take a breather. Although there were many patients, they couldn't even find time to eat like last time.

Tao Xiaodong seldom took Tao Huainan to occasions with so many people, for fear that he would be nervous, or that he might be overwhelmed. So this time Tao Xiaodong took Tao Huainan wherever he went, holding his hand all the time. If you need to hold something or do something, let Tao Huainan grab his clothes and never let go, and let Tao Xiaodong feel that he is next to or behind him at all times, otherwise he will always be distracted to see him.

So except for the first day, Tao Xiaodong really didn’t wear any shirts. The shirts were hard to grasp, and the hem had to be tucked into the trousers, unlike ordinary T-shirts where Tao Huainan could leave a side. After tearing clothes from morning till night, every piece of Tao Xiaodong's clothes became deformed.

In the evening, before Tao Xiaodong undressed to take a shower, he looked at his clothes and smiled for a long time. Tao Huainan had already finished washing, and was sitting on his own bed and wiping his hair. Tao Xiaodong said: "Brother, I didn't bring a few clothes, so be gentle."

Talking about Tao Huainan's injustice, he retorted in the direction of his brother: "It's not that I have heavy hands. Sometimes you turn around suddenly, or you suddenly speed up, and I dare not let go. I can only hold on. Then You did it yourself, don't rely on me."

What Tao Huainan said was the truth, his hands were not heavy, they were very light, and he only held one side, but Tao Xiaodong always moved suddenly, and was often stretched off, and Tao Huainan could only hold one more piece later.

Tao Xiaodong said, "Otherwise you'll pull my waistband tomorrow."

Tao Huainan widened his eyes in horror, and looked in this direction blankly: "With your unpredictable movement trajectory, I must not tear off your pants? Besides, how old am I, do you think it looks good if I grab your waistband?" ?”

Tao Xiaodong laughed for a long time, and rubbed the clothes he took off after taking a shower, picked up Tao Huainan's clothes, and said, "I think you still have complaints about me?"

Tao Huainan curled his lips, turned his head to one side, and continued to wipe his hair.

The two brothers went out together for several days, Tao Xiaodong thought he had done his best, but he still felt that Tao Huainan made him feel a little embarrassed, his lips were dry, his forehead was blue, and he sneezed several times in the morning.

When Tao Xiaodong went in to take a shower, Tao Huainan's cell phone rang. He touched it and followed the voice prompt to click on WeChat. It was Chi Cheng's voice.

"Have you eaten tonight?"

Tao Huainan immediately replied, "I've eaten and finished my bath."

Chi Cheng's voice sounded calm, without emotion: "Have you applied sunscreen?"

Tao Huainan pursed his lips and replied, "You didn't bring it to me."

Chi Cheng: "I brought it for you, it's in your bag, you don't know how to touch it yourself? Why don't you remember to do it if I don't tell you?"

He looked a little fierce like this, Tao Huainan picked at the bed sheet with his fingers, and fell silent.

In fact, Chi Cheng has never been a mild-tempered person. From picking him up to now, he has always given the impression that he is a very cold boy. He is better at home, but he is not gentle.

Tao Huainan didn't speak, but Chi Cheng sent another message after a while, and his tone didn't improve: "Did you fall?"

Tao Xiaodong came out of the shower, just in time to hear Tao Huainan complaining: "I fell several times, brother won't hold me, there is something in front of me that he stepped over by himself and forgot about me, and he still thinks I'm tearing his clothes out of shape."

Tao Xiaodong laughed softly, still feeling that it was a mistake not to bring Chi Cheng out.

No wonder Tao Huainan complained, Tao Xiaodong really didn't take good care of him, he spent too little time alone with Tao Huainan these years. Tao Huainan usually stays with Chi Cheng no matter what they do, Tao Huainan grew up in Chi Cheng's hands, the two children really grew up holding hands.

Tao Xiaodong listened to the two of them chatting, sitting next to them and listening to it with great enjoyment. There was a knock on the door, Tao Xiaodong stood up and opened the door, and there was Tang Suoyan at the door. He had just come from the hospital and hadn't even changed his clothes.

Tao Xiaodong has finished taking a shower, and he is wearing short sleeves and big shorts for sleeping. The contrast between the two is quite obvious. Tao Xiaodong called "Brother Yan" and asked him, "What's wrong?"

Tang Suoyan handed him several packs of snacks in his hand, all of which were pistachios and walnuts, and said, "Given by the nurse, let Xiaonan pass the time."

Tao Xiaodong took it and said "OK".

Tang Suoyan looked at him and asked, "Going to rest?"

"Ah," Tao Xiaodong said with a smile, "I heard that Xiao Nan told his little brother that I fell down."

Tang Suoyan nodded and said to him: "You are not wronged."

"Not wronged," Tao Xiaodong turned to look at his brother, "I'm slapped in the face."

Tang Suoyan said: "Tomorrow, I have to leave late. Why don't you two wait for me in the morning?"

"Okay," Tao Xiaodong definitely didn't have to say, "wait for you, just call me when you're done."

This trip, Tang Suoyan has been with the two brothers, and they are used to it. Sometimes if someone had something to ask Tao Xiaodong and couldn't find it, he would ask Tang Suoyan. Tang Suoyan was in the hospital during the day, how could he know, at most he would call him and ask. After a long time, other people got used to it, and if they couldn't find Mr. Tao, they asked Mr. Tang.

The next day, the hospital team got up early and left to go to the next county. The journey took about four hours, and a long part of it was a mountain road. Tang Suoyan promised a parent the day before, saying that the child would come back tomorrow morning and wanted to show the child's eyes, but the child said that there were things blocking the eyes.

Tang Suoyan agreed, and he was the only one waiting here the next morning. Anyway, everything was cleaned up, Tao Xiaodong and Tao Huainan had nothing to do, so they waited together at the county hospital. Then the patient came, a ten-year-old boy.

The boy was a little shy, and kept shrinking behind his father. Tang Suoyan waved to him and said, "Come here."

The boy moved over, Tang Suoyan asked him to sit opposite, and asked him gently: "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"There are things blocking both sides, and sometimes I can't see clearly, like fog." The boy's voice was very low, and he felt a sense of fear of the doctor.

Tang Suoyan showed him his eyes and asked him, "What else?"

The little boy looked nervous under the ophthalmoscope and dared not speak. Tang Suoyan asked him again, and the boy said slowly: "I can't see clearly at night."

His father didn't seem to know about this, and asked him why he hadn't said it. Tang Suoyan asked the father: "Is there anyone with poor eyesight in the family?"

The other party said, "My father is blind."

Tang Suoyan didn't say anything after that, he observed his eyes silently, then glanced at Tao Xiaodong, and asked him if he wanted to take Tao Huainan out.

Tao Xiaodong understood immediately, and shook his head at him, indicating that it was all right.

Except for the boy and his father, the other three knew what was wrong with him. I wasn't sure at first, but the look Tang Suoyan exchanged with Tao Xiaodong made it clear.

Tao Xiaodong secretly sighed inwardly.

Tao Huainan was holding a thermos cup to drink water, his long eyelashes covered his downcast eyes, so others couldn't see that there was something wrong with his eyes.

Tang Suoyan will not tell them directly here. His diagnosis is based on experience, which can be confirmed by looking at the fundus of the eye, but feedback to patients depends on checklists and data. Tang Suoyan could only ask them to go to the city hospital for further examination.

He only said suspected or preliminary diagnosis, and the father listened to Tang Suoyan calmly at first, as if he still didn't know what this strange term represented.

Retinitis pigmentosa is an easily diagnosed but incurable disease. Tao Huainan lost his eyesight because of this disease, and countless people became blind because of it.

Tao Huainan quietly listened to what Tang Suoyan said to the boy and his father. The father became a little scared when he heard it, and even asked directly: "Doctor... can this disease be cured? Will it make you blind?"

Tang Suoyan was silent for a moment, then said, "It can slow down."

"It can't be cured?" Father's voice trembled, "Is it impossible to do surgery? Is there no way?"

"Not for the time being," Tang Suoyan affirmed again, "There will be in the future."

Now it is said that it will be a cake in the future, and the family members know it well, but there is still some hope.

Tao Xiaodong glanced at Tao Huainan, he was still drinking hot water calmly, Tao Xiaodong reached out and patted his head.

In fact, as an ophthalmologist, Tang Suoyan has seen too many diseases. There are too many things that can be cured, things that cannot be cured, and things that others can't cure. Today, it may be because Tao Huainan is right in front of him, or it may be because of these eye diseases that they can't do anything about, but it still makes people feel helpless from the bottom of their hearts.

Tao Huainan was not as sensitive as they thought. He had been blind for so many years, and he was already numb. So after getting in the car, both his brother and Dr. Tang were a little silent, as long as he looked normal, teasing this and that, teasing him to make himself sleepy.

After not hearing him speak for a long time, Tang Suoyan glanced back, Tao Xiaodong said, "Sleeping."

Tang Suo said, "If you're tired, go to sleep."

"I'm not tired." Tao Xiaodong moistened his throat with a drink of water.

There were no cars on the road, and it was noon, so it was very hot outside. Tao Xiaodong was a little afraid that the driver would be sleepy, so he found something to talk to him about. The driver was a local, and his Mandarin sounded a bit difficult. Tao Xiaodong often misheard and said in other directions, and was corrected by the driver. Tang Suoyan laughed from time to time when he heard their strenuous chat.

Tao Xiaodong said to him, "Stop laughing, get some sleep, you still have work to do in the afternoon."

Tang Suo said, "It's okay."

It was useful for Tao Xiaodong to chat with the driver. The driver was not sleepy at all, but they still couldn't get to the place smoothly. The driver said to himself that the car was getting heavier and heavier, but Tao Xiaodong didn't take it seriously.

After a while, the car stopped moving at all, and the driver pulled over.

Tang Suoyan asked, "What's wrong?"

The driver unfastened his seat belt: "There may be an air leak."

Tao Xiaodong went down with him, and the right front wheel was deflated, and the left front wheel was obviously out of air. It must not be able to drive, Tao Xiaodong asked the driver: "Is there a spare tire in the car?"

The driver shook his head: "It was changed last time."

Tao Xiaodong was stunned, he couldn't go at all.

Tang Suoyan also came down and asked, "What's wrong?"

Tao Xiaodong frowned and said, "The tire is tied."

If they were following the convoy, they could go with other cars. Now the others are probably already here. They have no other choice but to call for repairs, so they can only wait.

It was almost halfway through their drive, and there was no such a section of mountain road as the village and the shop behind.

If the car is not turned on and the air conditioner is turned on, no one can stay in it, and people can be suffocated to death at this temperature. The driver kept talking on the phone, and Tao Xiaodong opened all four doors to let the wind into the car. Tao Huainan was still sleeping, so it wasn't too hot with the wind blowing.

Tao Xiaodong went to the trunk to get his suitcase, and covered the two inner car doors with his own clothes, creating a small shadow.

"Brother Yan," Tao Xiaodong called Tang Suoyan, "come and sit down."

At noon, people were roasting everywhere, and both of them were sweating for a while. At this time, don't think it's a good idea to sit on the ground, the two men are crowded and sitting under the shadow, Tao Huainan is sleeping in the car, and the two outside the car are forced to watch the scenery speechlessly and helplessly.

Half an hour later, Tao Xiaodong turned around and took out the bottle of water he had just drank from the car. Before drinking, I asked Tang Suoyan, "Where's your water?"

Tang Suo said, "I didn't take it, I forgot."

Tao Xiaodong turned around and asked the driver beside him, "Is there any water in the car?"

The driver said, "I still have half a jug."

Tao Xiaodong was speechless again: "Mineral water, no?"

The driver shook his head.

Tao Xiaodong was too suffocating for the big brother driver, and after suffocating, he looked at Tang Suoyan: "I just drank it, if you don't like it..."

Before he finished speaking, Tang Suoyan had already unscrewed it and drank it.

When swallowing with his head up, his Adam's apple slides up and down, and the sweaty part of his neck gradually becomes apparent from top to bottom, before completely disappearing into the collar of his shirt.