Chapter 126: Zombies in Doomsday?
The sky gradually brightened.
Sea City General Hospital welcomed another hectic day as usual. The sadness, anxiety, exasperation and helplessness of the previous night had been nothing but an interlude. No one remembered it except the few who had been involved directly.
After Old Chief Physician Pan arrived at his office, Zheng Ren approached him and recounted the events of last night.
Old Chief Physician Pan had acclimatized to social change after being demobilized for more than thirty years. Apart from the fire that still burned within him, his attitude was not much different from that of an ordinary senior consultant.
Zheng Ren’s report made him think for a long time.
He failed to come up with a better solution, and so the only option was to take it one step at a time.
There were no problems with the method Zheng Ren had chosen. Old Chief Physician Pan was worldly enough to understand that it was effective, but should only be used as a last resort.
Perturbed, Old Chief Physician Pan also gave Elder San a phone call.
He cut straight to the point when the call connected.
Since Zheng Ren had called Elder San an hour ago, it would be hypocritical for Old Chief Physician Pan to start the conversation politely. Moreover, from his seemingly close relationship with Elder San, there was no need for formalities in the first place.
A hearty laughter could be heard from the other end. Elder San was an elegant man with a soft voice, so Zheng Ren had no clue about the ongoing conversation between him and Old Chief Physician Pan.
After chatting for a while, Old Chief Physician Pan hung up with a smile.
“It’s done.” Old Chief Physician Pan smiled. “The young man wants a promotion in a small newspaper office. Elder San already had a discussion with related personnel.”
“Okay.” Zheng Ren nodded, stupefied.
“Besides, we have evidence, so they can’t cause trouble anymore. Don’t worry.” Old Chief Physician Pan comforted Zheng Ren.
Zheng Ren did not care about evidence. Would it be useful in solving medical disputes?
He remained unhappy even though the damage was minimized.
The Snake and The Farmer, a story originated from Fables of Aesop, was a constant reminder that such a situation would always exist in the world, and sometimes, like a mirror, he had a feeling that the farmer was basically a reflection of himself.
Goodwill let Zheng Ren choose not to be the snake.
However, he was reluctant to be the farmer as well.
A blacklist system to boycott unreasonable troublemakers so that they could not consult a doctor under the normal healthcare insurance system had been advocated in the medical field for a long time.
However, that was merely a wishful thinking among doctors whose hearts were consumed by indignation. Zheng Ren guaranteed that once this system was officially implemented, the medical world would be instantly submerged in the public’s saliva.
It was enough for him, an ordinary surgeon, to perform his job well, and as for other issues… There was nothing he could do about them.
After seeing Zheng Ren’s slightly gloomy mood, Old Chief Physician Pan tapped his shoulder and smiled. “You really can’t hide your emotions. Relax, this is just a small issue.”
Zheng Ren responded with a bitter smile.
“Let’s go for a ward round.” Old Chief Physician Pan knew that any consolation would be ineffective at this moment. It was better to maintain a regular work schedule and allow time to heal the wound in Zheng Ren’s heart.
They took the doctors on duty and began the ward round. The patients’ conditions in the emergency observation unit were relatively mild, and at least one-third of them were victims waiting for compensation from other parties or had been involved in fistfights and traffic collisions.
Judging by their conditions, they should have been discharged long ago.
However, various malingering cases were encountered daily, and they would not voluntarily leave the hospital before receiving their compensation.
Naturally, the doctors were unwilling to attract grievances and would choose to let them be.
On the bright side, possible complications such as delayed traumatic intracranial hemorrhage could be prevented.
Averagely, two to three patients would suffer from delayed traumatic intracranial hemorrhage in the observation unit each year.
There were lots of patients in the observation unit now, but most of them merely suffered from minor diseases.
Old Chief Physician Pan and Zheng Ren quickly examined around twenty to thirty patients who had been admitted for observation.
Just when they were about to go to the emergency wards, several people darted over in the corridor of the emergency department.
“Doctor, doctor!” shouted a young man anxiously at the front of the group.
On his back lay a woman, whose arms were stiff with her fingers curled and locked into a claw-like posture as if she was holding onto something.
Zheng Ren’s heart sank immediately as the patient’s condition seemed very serious.
“This way!” He quickly led the family member, who was carrying the patient, into the resuscitation room.
It took a great deal of time for the family member to transfer the patient from his back to the bed.
The patient had a weird posture where there was a backward arching of the spine, just like a bow, due to persistent spasm of the back musculature, a condition clinically described as opisthotonus.
She had generalized muscle spasm, which caused her hands to gently wave before her as if trying to grasp something. That coupled with the constant humming from her mouth made her look especially gruesome and horrifying.
“Ah…” The nurse in charge, a newbie less than twenty years old, was frightened by the patient’s condition.
In her viewpoint, the patient’s posture was very similar to horror films such as Resident Evil, World War Z and The Walking Dead.
This was a zombie…
If the nurse was bitten by her, would she become a walking dead?
Was it possible that…
This was the end of the world?
Petrified, the nurse accidentally dropped the mercury sphygmomanometer on the floor with a loud bang, causing it to break and the mercury to spill all across the floor.
The family member was also dazed. Was this really a terminal illness?
Since the doctor in the township health center could not diagnose her as well.
Even though they had suspected that this was probably an incurable disease, there was a glimmer of hope that Sea City General Hospital would be more experienced to diagnose and treat this condition.
However,
The junior nurse was scared as soon as she witnessed the patient’s condition.
The young man was startled, and his eyes were full of sorrow.
Another woman in her fifties, who followed them into the room and saw this scene, slumped down onto the ground and began to wail.
The loud bang when the mercury sphygmomanometer fell onto the ground aggravated the patient’s muscle spasm.
Saliva started flowing out of the patient’s mouth and the humming intensified when the woman began crying.
Zheng Ren quickly stood between the nurse and the patient and said seriously, “You, tidy up the area and find your superior to check her blood pressure. Remember, all mercury must be found.”
Then, he gave the family members a solemn gaze and said, “All unrelated members, please leave the room now, the patient cannot be disturbed by loud noise!”
The young man, who had carried the patient into the room just now, had tears of fear welling up in his eyes. After a few seconds of hesitation, he asked softly, “Doctor, can you save her?”
“I can’t guarantee,” Zheng Ren replied seriously, “But there is still a chance. You’ll stay here and the rest will leave. Now!”
Now!
Immediately!
Pronto!
This was not a funeral home, and definitely not a time for mourning yet!
Zheng Ren failed to notice that he had developed a tough attitude, an imposing manner that was increasingly similar to Old Chief Physician Pan.
Old Chief Physician Pan frowned and said, “This is tetanus, and the mortality rate can go as high as fifty percent. One family member will stay and the rest will leave the room.”
A fifty-percent chance of survival.
Otherwise, death ensued.
The young man was bewildered upon hearing his words.
Even so, his judgment remained unaffected. At least the doctors in Sea City General Hospital mentioned that there was still hope for survival.
He quickly pushed others out of the room, regaining its usual silence.
“Zheng Ren, have you treated this disease?” asked Old Chief Physician Pan curiously when he noticed Zheng Ren’s calm demeanor.
Even Old Chief Physician Pan had not encountered Clostridium tetani infection for decades. How was this man able to keep his composure?