The medical staff watching from the sidelines heard the characteristic beep of the monitor, but this particular beep was spectacular to their ears. They instantly became excited.
This was a conditioned reflex after working in the field for many years.
The family members were naturally slower in response.
This was the first time most of the patient’s family members witnessed doctors resuscitating a patient. It might be the first time some witnessed CPR, or this might also be the first time some of them saw a monitor. Therefore, they were unable to differentiate which sound was normal or which sound was abnormal.
Even when a nurse excitedly shouted the phrase “sinus rhythm”, the patient’s family members still looked very confused.
“Si… is it good or bad?”
“They said sinus, so it might not be good… I can’t tell, what’s sinus again?”
“He looks so pale…”
“Shhh…”
A group of relatives craned their necks while they made assumptions in low whispers.
Only the patient’s son had his eyes widened, but there was no focus in his eyes.
“Send the patient into the operating theater, keep observing his carbon dioxide content. Make sure that the targeted temperature management in cerebral protection is maintained well at a low temperature…” Ling Ran cast a glance at the monitor while he gave instructions. Then, he took off his gloves.
The result of performing chest compressions in frenzy was nonstop sweating and extreme exhaustion.
Ling Ran took out a bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer from his pocket while he was at it. He slowly rubbed his palms with sanitizer while he wrote down medical advice.
His orders were usually simple, and he did not include the specific dosage of medicine to be used.
This was because Ling Ran wanted Yu Yuan to adjust the dosage of the medicine in real-time. After all, everyone responded differently to every medicine. It was not the most appropriate action for Ling Ran to prescribe a standard medicine dosage.
The most appropriate dosage for a patient would usually require the doctor to perform unlimited trials on the patient and adjust the dosage according to his or her response.
Although Yu Yuan’s practical skills were weak, her medical knowledge was rock-solid. Of course, the most important factor in this was that Ling Ran had already stated the direction for the administration of drugs clearly.
The resident doctor could decide the dosage of the medicine and what sort of drugs were to be used from the prescribed list of drugs on the patient in what sort of situation by himself.
Yu Yuan quickly agreed to the task before she started to think about giving out instructions.
Ling Ran stood by the side and listened to her. He inwardly nodded when he saw that Yu Yuan had her own train of thought.
The most important aim of CPR was for the heart to recover the ability to perform autonomous regulation of cardiac rhythm. The next step, which was to wait for the patient to regain his or her consciousness, was not something that could be done within a short period of time using strong medication. The doctors will need to prescribe medication carefully over an extended period, and luck was also the most important factor in this!
At the very least, up until this moment, sudden cardiac death was still one of the major factors for human death. The doctors could not save all of them, but they would already thank their lucky stars if they could save 10% of them.
The patient’s family members stared for a while before someone realized what happened.
“Does this mean his life is saved?”
“Is he really alive?”
“I told you. He will be alright since he’s in the hospital already.”
Bing’zi was stunned for a while. He called out to his father before he rushed to the front and almost climbed up the gurney.
Lu Wenbin turned around and held him. “What are you planning to do? The patient might die if you touch him.”
Bing’zi struggled even more when he heard this.
Zuo Cidian coughed before he said, “Doctor Lu, don’t phrase your words that way.”
After he finished speaking, he patted Bing’zi’s shoulder and shouted loudly, “If you touch his finger, he will probably die, understand?”
The patient’s son was so scared that he shook with fear. Then, he did not struggle anymore.
“When people encounter major accidents, they will lose their heads,” Zuo Cidian said in the manner of someone who had experienced many things, “Doctors in big hospitals like you do not experience many things. When I was still in the town hospital, some family members become crazy when they see the patient. They do not know who they should listen to, and they do not have any idea what to do. Some men will even smoke until they vomit.”
“I… I’m not…” The patient’s son took a deep breath before he stood on his toes and looked to the direction where the patient was pushed. “I still haven’t taken a look at my father. At least let me see him and know what’s going on.”
“Myocardial infarction, he isn’t out of danger yet.” Zuo Cidian looked at him before he said, “We can’t let you see him now.”
Zuo Cidian saved his breath and stopped short just of saying, “You won’t understand.”
“But… now… what’s the situation now?” Bing’zi continued asking.
At this moment, Ling Ran walked over and said, “Autonomous regulation of cardiac rhythm has been restored to the patient’s heart. Next, the surgeon will perform a surgery to ensure that the blood vessel is cleared. After that, if the patient can regain his consciousness, we will perform recovery treatment.”
“But what if he cannot regain his consciousness?” Bing’zi felt fear in his heart.
“There’s a risk of the patient falling into a vegetative state, which means brain death…” Zuo Cidian took over the conversation again. He said, “I’ve said this before, we performed CPR because the patient’s heart has stopped functioning. Now, all of us have finally saved your father. However, it remains unclear whether he will suffer from any sequelae and what kind of sequelae will appear, do you understand?”
Bing’zi started to look dazed again.
Zuo Cidian finally understood. When this man heard some professional jargon, he will begin to space out. He was the epitome of a person who graduated from a vocational school.
After Zuo Cidian thought for a while, he said, “In short, we hope things will progress in a good way. The family members should also cooperate, understand?”
“I get it!” Bing’zi finally understood.
“You should communicate with your family members as well. If there is any problem, we can discuss it after we finish the surgery.”
“Okay!”
Zuo Cidian paused for a while before he said, “We usually don’t see a patient being saved after receiving CPR for an hour. Sometimes, you won’t even see one in a hospital in years. Your father is really lucky as of right now.”
Bing’zi’s head was slightly clear now, and he quickly said, “Thank you. Thank you… thank you, doctor…”
When Zuo Cidian heard this, he smiled gently and asked Bing’zi to go to his family.
Wei Jiayou came over and listened to them silently by the side.
A patient would have a high chance of regaining consciousness after a normal CPR. He had performed many of such cases.
But Wei Jiayou’s success rate was not higher than any other hospital when it came to prolonged CPR. So, Wei Jiayou did not have experience on what to do after a prolonged CPR.
“There are always talented people everywhere.” Academician Di stood behind Wei Jiayou and sighed in admiration.
Academician Di had encountered many prolonged CPRs before, and he also performed many of them. When he saw what Ling Ran had done, Academician Di was amazed in his heart.
“If it happened at our own hospital, I might have already succeeded,” Wei Jiayou said as an explanation.
Academician Di laughed and said, “It has already happened, just let it go. What you need now is a person who will manage your general affairs for you.”
“What?”
“A secretary who handles your day-to-day work and knows some medical knowledge at the same time.” Academician Di looked at Zuo Cidian’s head.
Wei Jiayou could not hold but burst into laughter, “Why would I need this?”
“At least you can avoid getting hit, right?” As Academician Di spoke, he walked closer to Zuo Cidian and smiled gently, “I heard you mention that you worked in the town hospital before, right?”
“Yes.” Zuo Cidian felt diffident when he faced Academician Di. If he were to say in a self-deprecating manner that resident doctors were like small yellow dogs, then academicians were at least big wild donkeys compared to them.
Academician Di tried to be as polite as possible. He asked, “Are you a doctor at Yun Hua Hospital? It’s quite unusual for someone to come from the town hospital to Yun Hua Hospital.”
“I… was hired through social recruitment. I started all over again.” Zuo Cidian felt even more diffident.
“It’s not easy to start all over again, right?”
“It’s alright.”
“In your opinion, which is the hardest part for you?”
Zuo Cidian did not understand why Academician Di was asking him all this in such great detail. Then, he thought about it and answered softly, “The hardest part… would be the long working hours.”
Academician Di thought about this, and he felt that the hospital he was working, for now, had long working hours as well. Then, he asked again, “Anything else?”
“No holidays.”
Academician Di first asked himself about the definition of a holiday before he put up an appearance as if he understood and nodded. “Anything to add?”
“Low pay.” Zuo Cidian let his mouth run loose. “I need to rent a house when I’m in Yun Hua City, and my expenditure is slightly higher than my income…”
Academician Di sighed. The house rental fees at Shanghai were even higher, but their income was not higher than Yun Hua Hospital.
Academician Di asked himself, ‘Is it so hard to headhunt for a junior resident doctor now? Where are the resident doctors who complained that they did not have any chance to learn many new skills, have no future prospects, and have no chance to perform surgeries? An old resident doctor like him should have more things to complain about, right?’
“What I mean is, do you have any hardships in terms of the clinical perspective.” Academician Di tried to guide the conversation to the topic he wanted again.
Zuo Cidian shook his head. “There is nothing hard on the clinical side. I think it is much better compared to the town hospital.”
“Is it not hard to pick up new surgical skills?”
“Not really.”
Academician Di did not know what to say now. ‘That’s not right.’
He was lucky that Zuo Cidian was skilled in observation. When he realized Academician Di had been rendered speechless, Zuo Cidian tried his best to think again and said in a low voice, “I think there is something that I’m not used to. I’m not used to people calling me Doctor Zuo. I actually prefer people calling me Young Zuo to show that I’m still young… Calling me Doctor Zuo reminds me of my previous leader. Only when he wants to scold me will he use ‘Doctor Zuo’ to begin the conversation.”
