Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 137 - 92: Vegetative Person (3)

"Take me to see him."

Murphy didn’t ask any more questions and led Chen Yu to the hospital room.

As they walked, he explained the patient’s condition to Chen Yu.

"He’s just a child?" Chen Yu frowned.

Murphy nodded. "A very pitiable child. He’s only eight years old and loves sports. He was in a car accident that damaged his brainstem. He never woke up after surgery and was transferred to our rehabilitation department six months ago. His mother has never given up on him, but there’s only so much we can do."

At this point, Murphy asked tentatively, "Dr. Chen, why do you need a case like this?"

Chen Yu was an orthopedic surgeon; he couldn’t treat brain injuries.

Chen Yu had already prepared an explanation on the way over. "I’m preparing to launch a research project to study the effects of rehabilitation therapies—like acupuncture and massage, which you’re familiar with—on a patient’s recovery. A long-term, bedridden patient with muscle atrophy like Carl would be of great research value."

Murphy understood and didn’t ask any further questions.

The two arrived at the hospital room.

As it happened, Carl’s mother was there. She was a single mom.

Her name was Jennifer Tilly. She was in her thirties, with beautiful, chestnut-colored curly hair and an elegant demeanor.

Chen Yu noticed her attire; she was wearing a very expensive brand.

Murphy had mentioned she was in sales, and her income must be quite high.

Even with insurance, a stay this long would be unsustainable for an average family.

When she saw Chen Yu and Murphy enter, she quickly wiped the corners of her eyes. She then stood up, greeted them with a smile, and asked who Chen Yu was.

"This is Dr. Chen, an orthopedic specialist. He wanted to come and see Carl," Murphy explained.

Chen Yu stepped forward, and his Eye of All-Seeing scanned Carl’s head.

He was a beautiful child, but after lying in bed for six months, he was visibly emaciated.

Chen Yu could see some damage to the brainstem. It was extremely subtle; on the whole, it looked as if there was nothing wrong.

But it was damaged, nonetheless.

And even if Chen Yu could see where the problem was, he had no way to fix it.

"I’m currently conducting a research project." Chen Yu shook Jennifer’s hand. It was ice-cold.

Chen Yu explained the situation in detail.

Jennifer’s eyes lit up with recognition. She asked in surprise, "Aren’t you that doctor who was on TV? The one who operated on Penny?"

Chen Yu nodded.

"Then I agree," Jennifer said, nodding almost immediately.

She had exhausted all her options and had nowhere else to turn, to say nothing of the fact that Chen Yu was a top-tier doctor.

Seeing her excitement, Chen Yu, though sympathetic, reminded her that he was only there for rehabilitation—to maintain Carl’s muscle activity and physical condition. It wasn’t a treatment, and he couldn’t make Carl wake up.

"It’s okay. I understand." Jennifer sat down and gently held Carl’s stick-thin hand. "You know," she murmured, "I can feel him slipping away from me. He’s been lying here for so long... I think he must be in so much pain. I just want to make him a little more comfortable." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Since that was the case, Chen Yu said no more and asked Murphy to retrieve his silver needles.

’Being bedridden for a long time slows blood flow, which is a major cause of muscle atrophy. Stimulating the body with acupuncture can improve circulation, which is beneficial.’

’Most importantly, it would count as rehabilitation experience.’

Chen Yu immediately got to work, starting to massage Carl’s body.

’My rehabilitation experience is at zero right now. I’ll use Carl to grind a full round of experience and see what happens.’

’There’s Hardaway, Ronaldo, and soon Redondo will be here. Then there’s Olajuwon in the Summer.’

’In the foreseeable future, I’ll be treating even more patients.’

’My need for effective rehabilitation methods is just too great.’

’Carl is just a child, so at least it saves me some effort.’

As Chen Yu was performing the massage, Murphy returned with the silver needles and took the initiative to disinfect them for him.

Seeing the steel needles, Jennifer’s expression changed drastically. She hurriedly asked what he was going to do.

"It’s a form of treatment. Don’t worry, it won’t cause any harm to his body, and it isn’t painful. I can even try it on you first in a moment. Your neck has been giving you a lot of pain, hasn’t it?" Chen Yu glanced at Jennifer’s neck.

Murphy quickly chimed in, explaining that when Hardaway was in the hospital, Chen Yu had given him the same treatment every day.

Jennifer looked skeptically at the steel needles of varying lengths, but it was true that her neck hurt.

After twenty minutes, Chen Yu had massaged Carl’s entire body and earned 6 experience points.

’Limbs, torso, head... one full-body massage yields 6 experience points at most.’

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but after the massage, Chen Yu felt that Carl’s breathing had become much more regular.

"Come on, let me take a look at your neck." Chen Yu walked over, lifted Jennifer’s long hair, and began inserting the needles.

He removed the needles a moment later.

"How does that feel? You should be able to turn your neck now," Chen Yu asked.

Jennifer nodded in disbelief, her gaze falling back to the steel needles in Chen Yu’s hand. She had only felt a very slight sting.

"Thank you. I’m fine now." Jennifer moved aside, gesturing for Chen Yu to continue.

Chen Yu stepped forward, considered for a moment, and then began to apply the needles.

He selected the Renzhong, Neiguan, and Shenmen acupoints, among others, to activate the brainstem network.

The other needles were primarily aimed at invigorating blood circulation in various parts of the body.

’Acupuncture doesn’t give experience per needle. Instead, you get one experience point for each targeted treatment session.’

’For example, treating the leg by stimulating a series of acupoints counts as one treatment.’

’Treating the arm at the same time would grant another point of experience.’

’Theoretically, I could get a lot of experience by needling someone’s entire body.’

’But as much as I want the experience, I won’t overdo the treatment. It has to actually be effective.’

Even so, Carl’s body was soon covered in silver needles, and Jennifer couldn’t bear to look.

"Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt. And look at the monitor," Chen Yu said, pointing to the machine. "His heart rate has fluctuated up slightly. That means the acupuncture is working. His blood is flowing faster, which is beneficial for someone who has been bedridden for so long."

’Although this small fluctuation in his heart rate was basically useless, it at least proved that my treatment was having an effect.’

Jennifer nodded quickly, and the worry in her eyes lessened considerably.

After removing the needles, Chen Yu got to work again, continuing the massage.

"I’m on duty today. To test the effects, I’ll give him a massage every hour. We’ll see how it goes," Chen Yu said. He had decided to stay and grind out this round of experience as quickly as possible to see if his idea was viable.

But even as he said it, Chen Yu knew perfectly well that this kind of massage wouldn’t help Carl wake up at all. It would only prevent his body from atrophying further.