The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 528 Stress Test

"Dr. Liu, why did you come over?" Father Lin, who was waiting outside the CT room, asked upon seeing Liu Banxia approach.

"There’s some news, but I’m not sure if it’s good or bad. Your son’s legs have regained sensation," Liu Banxia said.

"They have? They really have? Thank God," Father Lin said with a sigh of relief.

"Dr. Liu, isn’t that good news? Why did you say you don’t know whether it’s good or bad?" Mother Lin was rather calm.

"Since the cause of the illness hasn’t been identified yet, I can’t determine if this is an improvement or a relapse. Please don’t worry prematurely. I’m going in to ask your son a few more questions," Liu Banxia said.

"Personally, I think it can be considered good news. At least there’s a new development in his condition, which gives us a direction to follow. Before, we were like blind men feeling an elephant, not knowing what we were dealing with."

"Dr. Liu, please go in quickly then. Thank you," Father Lin said gratefully.

This must be one of the perks of knowing someone influential in the hospital. After all, they had never received such ’special treatment’ before. Did having money make everything go smoothly? Usually, going to the hospital involved a process of paying, queuing, undergoing examinations, and waiting for results.

"Hey there, you came over too. You’ll have to wait a bit longer for the spinal images to be processed," Wu Bo said with a smile.

"There’s a new development, so I couldn’t sit still. Could you please turn on the microphone? I need to say a few words to him," Liu Banxia said.

Wu Bo nodded; this was standard procedure.

"This is Liu Banxia. How are you feeling now?" Liu Banxia asked after the microphone was switched on.

"Hello, Dr. Liu. I feel fine now. I guess I just haven’t been exercising much recently and overdid it when I went running for the first time," the patient said in a cheerful tone.

"Seems like it," Liu Banxia replied with a smile.

This made Liu Yiqing, who had followed him in, and Su Wenhao, who was already there, glance at him in surprise.

"I’m quite curious about your condition. When you fell, did you experience any other sensations? Was it just your legs giving out? Did you black out at all?" Liu Banxia continued.

"Black out? I didn’t really notice. The streetlights in Linyu Villa aren’t very bright. I think I just felt a bit unsteady when I fell, but I didn’t have any other visual disturbances," the patient replied after a moment’s thought.

"I only stay in Linyu Villa occasionally, so I haven’t seen you much. Have you seen those two dogs that pull the little cart? One is an Alaskan Malamute named Tang Dou, and the other is a Border Collie named Tiggie," Liu Banxia asked further.

"Of course, I’ve seen them. Those two dogs are much better behaved than many small dogs. They never jump on people or bark randomly at passersby when they’re outside," the patient said with a laugh.

"Actually, I live at Number 12, but I’m not usually home much. It’s just because it’s the New Year. Otherwise, I probably only go back once a week."

"I haven’t seen your wife here," Liu Banxia remarked.

"Ah... we’re divorced. Sometimes, what you imagine before marriage and the reality afterward are completely different," the patient sighed.

"It wouldn’t matter so much if there were no children, but having children really tugs at your heartstrings," Liu Banxia added.

"I do have a child. I was supposed to pick them up for a couple of days during the New Year. But their maternal grandparents wanted to see them too, so they went there," the patient said helplessly.

"I understand. The New Year holidays must have been tough. Just yesterday, I only had one day off, and both sets of parents were urging me to get our marriage certificate quickly and have the wedding this year," Liu Banxia said.

"That’s wonderful news for you; I’ll have to attend your wedding. I’m not doing so well right now. I don’t even know if I should try to find someone new. Just thinking about it is frustrating," the patient said.

"My goodness, don’t tell me you cheated? Are you seeing your child less and less? You really need to keep in touch. What if your child doesn’t recognize you in the future?" Liu Banxia interjected sharply.

"Dr. Liu, you..."

The patient, agitated, spoke halfway and then his voice trailed off, and the monitor started beeping loudly.

This frightened Wu Bo and the others. Wu Bo was about to turn off the machine, but Liu Banxia waved his hand.

In less than ten seconds, the monitor’s beeping stopped.

"Dr. Liu, that was really uncalled for! What did I ever do to you? I’m done. Get me out of here," the patient’s voice came through.

"My apologies. That was a simple stress test. Unfortunately, your condition flared up again during the test. Now, try to feel your legs. Is there any sensation?" Liu Banxia asked.

Su Wenhao and Liu Yiqing now looked at him with admiration. No matter what illness their patient had, Teacher Liu always seemed to have a plan.

"It feels like my legs have gone numb again," the patient said after a moment of silence.

"Let’s add an enhanced CT of the head. It’s likely a minor stroke or vascular stenosis," Liu Banxia said.

"When you fell while running, you actually lost consciousness. It was very brief, so you didn’t realize it, and we overlooked it during the initial admission."

"I apologize. Because an enhanced CT requires a contrast agent, I didn’t order this exam for you at first. As a result, you had the head and spine scans unnecessarily. Next time, we should be able to get a definitive diagnosis."

"This is a very minor condition. Some thrombolytic drugs should take care of it. Don’t worry, this episode was actually a good thing; it served as a warning."

"Dr. Liu, I don’t know which of your statements are true and which are false anymore. Am I really okay? It’s not a terminal illness, is it? Please just tell me straight," the patient said.

"It’s really not a terminal illness. If it were, would I dare to perform such a test on you? Your fainting spell was very short. Relax, I’m still waiting for you to attend my wedding," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"Alright, I’ll trust you one more time. If you really cure me, I’ll buy you a drink," the patient said.

"I’m holding you to that drink. I have to go attend to other matters now," Liu Banxia said.

Now he was truly relieved; waiting for the results was all that remained.

When he stepped outside, the patient’s parents surrounded him again. He told them the important points and reiterated that an enhanced CT scan was necessary for a definitive diagnosis.

Even though receiving the contrast agent wasn’t comfortable, it had to be done.

"Boss, how’s the patient?" Liu Banxia asked Shi Lei when he returned to the main hall.

"Fortunately, treatment was administered promptly, and he was sent to the hospital in time. Otherwise, it would have been really dangerous," Shi Lei said.

"Xu Yino mentioned this patient had been to our hospital before, and you supposedly scared him off by ordering a CT scan? Quite the feat, huh?"

Liu Banxia gave him a helpless look. "Why have you become so mischievous? The CT scan was ordered out of concern that there might be fragile blood vessels within his abscess."

"And him, to save money on a CT scan, he dared to operate on himself. His blood vessels must have been very fragile, right? After such a long surgery, the repair must have been quite challenging."

Shi Lei nodded. "The patient probably doesn’t maintain a very healthy diet normally, plus he overindulged in rich food during the New Year."

"Anyone’s blood vessels would become fragile after being encased in so much pus for that long. If it were you, you could probably eat pork trotters for every meal and digest them just fine."

"See? You’re dragging me into it again," Liu Banxia said innocently.

"For a normal person, an abscess isn’t a big deal. With some dietary changes, it would likely be absorbed in a while. But he just had to make things worse. When he realized it wasn’t improving, he still didn’t trust the hospital and tried to drain it himself."

"Alright, the CT results for that patient of yours are out. Let’s see how our predictions hold up. Regardless of whether he’s embarrassed or not, he’s getting an enema."

Liu Yiqing turned her head and saw that, indeed, the patient she had admitted was being wheeled back by the nurses.

After taking the CT films, she glanced at Liu Banxia, who gestured for her to look first.

"Teacher Liu, the patient’s colon is mostly filled with feces and is distended with gas. There’s severe fecal retention. Could it be caused by Hirschsprung’s disease?" Liu Yiqing asked after a careful examination.

Liu Banxia took the films and examined them closely with Shi Lei. "What are the next medical orders?"

Ding! Consultation completed.

You’ve gained 20 experience points.

"Fasting, enemas, and laxative therapy. However, to prevent recurrence or the development of enterocolitis, I believe surgical intervention is the best course of action," Liu Yiqing said after thinking for a moment.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Go ahead, sign your name, and I’ll co-sign. Explain the situation thoroughly to the patient. If surgery is an option, he should have it. If surgery isn’t possible, he’ll still need to change his diet and establish a regular bowel habit."

Liu Yiqing nodded cheerfully, took the films, and hurried over to the patient on the examination bed to explain his condition.

"This patient is actually one of the better ones. If he’d eaten a couple more meals, I reckon his internal organs would have undergone a major rearrangement," Liu Banxia commented.

"The incidence of adult-onset Hirschsprung’s disease is quite low; he really drew the short straw," Shi Lei said.

"It can’t be helped. That’s modern life for you. Where can you find a healthy diet these days? Regardless of income level, takeout is mainstream," Liu Banxia said.

"We’re a bit better off here; Zhou Qiang’s cafeteria does a decent job. But even so, I see many patients’ families ordering takeout."

"Although the cafeteria meals are a bit pricey, the portions are generous. Two dishes are plenty for three people, though one dish might be a stretch for two. Besides, how much can a patient eat anyway?"

"Takeout is convenient, tasty, and offers a wide variety of flavors. Our cafeteria can’t compete with that," Shi Lei said with a laugh.

This is an undeniable fact: this craving for delicious food is slowly destroying people’s health. Eating it occasionally is fine, but relying on it as a primary food source is truly a problem.

Takeout is cheap. The merchants make money, the delivery riders make money, and the platform makes money. Where does this profit come from? They must be cutting corners on production costs.

Liu Banxia stretched lazily. Now there was only one patient left, and his condition was likely just as he’d predicted.