While it was early in the morning, the Emergency Medical Center basked in gentle sunlight and reflected bright light.
The Emergency Department doctors who had worked hard for an entire night wore crinkled white coats. In their pockets were papers which came from who-knows-where. They had serious eye bags, dark circles, and their fingers were dyed with various colors. They look like migrant workers huddling together at the entrance, but they earned even less.
The fresh flowers in the flower baskets given by the guests had already withered. The only flora that could still show their liveliness were the devil’s ivy, spider plants, evergreen shrubs, and so on, and they could be seen everywhere.
Like curious little monkeys, a few new Boston ivys climbed up a corner of the wall and only had time to stretch their heads out of the window of the first floor before they were broken off by a terrifying man who came out of nowhere. They hung limp in the air with the bodies broken.
Huo Congjun chewed on a few terminal buds of the vines as his gaze was fixated forward with a solemn look. He waited until Ling Ran came out of the Emergency Medical Care before he spat out the buds and shouted, “Ling Ran, bring this along with you.”
As he spoke, Huo Congjun shoved a plastic pill box together with a few boxes of medicine to Ling Ran.
“Lamivudine…” Ling Ran saw the box of medicine at the very top and was quite speechless, “Department Director Huo…”
“I know, I know. When you’re performing surgeries, you would be fully protected, and the probability of occupational exposure would not be high, but there’s no harm in being prepared.” Huo Congjun gave meaningful advice. “You are going to another hospital to perform surgeries. It would not be the same as performing surgery in our own hospital. It would be hard to predict the facilities in their operating theater or the conditions of their doctors and nurses.”
“I will be bringing my own assistants and scrub nurses.” Ling Ran looked at Huo Congjun with a strange look. “It’s what you have requested.”
Huo Congjun said proudly, “If the Third People’s Hospital of Yun Hua City does not agree, I would have refused to let you go as well. The scrub nurses delivers the tools, and the assistants work with you during the operation. These are the people who could most likely hurt you. It’s only natural that you have to bring your own people.”
“So…”
“So, I’m saying that there’s no harm in being prepared,” Huo Congjun said, “Even if the chances of occupational exposure to infectious diseases is not high, we still have to be careful, wouldn’t you say so as well?”
Ling Ran was unable to refute this statement. He slowly nodded.
“Hold on to the medicine, if you feel that something’s wrong, take the medicine. Don’t be afraid of the side effects. Compared with contracting AIDS, the side effects of antiretroviral medicines is not severe at all,” Huo Congjun said. The worry in his heart did not decrease at all. If he himself were to be the person who would be operating on the patient, Huo Congjun would not be afraid regardless of whether the patient had AIDS or not.
Over the past two decades, Huo Congjun had performed too many surgeries on patients with infectious diseases. When a doctor worked in the Emergency Department, they would often have to perform many surgeries on patients with infectious diseases without protective clothing. This was especially so during even earlier times when Huo Congjun had just started practising medicine. The concept of surgical protection had not been clear. Almost every surgeon went into every surgery without protection, one could only rely on his own luck to see whether or not he would be infected.
However, Huo Congjun was in a panic when Ling Ran was about to go to the Third People’s Hospital of Yun Hua City to perform surgeries.
He had seen Ling Ran performing surgery for a patient with AIDS, and his precautionary measures were perfect, and his maneuvers and his state of mind was also good.
However, what if something happened?
Huo Congjun advised Ling Ran earnestly, “You take the medicine. The package for the antiretroviral medicines says that the medication must be taken seventy-two hours within the timeframe of exposure, but the best time is still within two hours. Once occupational exposure to HIV occurs, don’t hesitate to take medicine immediately.”
“Okay.” This was the only reply Ling Ran could give.
“The medicine should be carried with you at all times.” Huo Congjun felt that Ling Ran was not paying enough attention to the matter and continue. “Lamivudine is not easy to buy, you should not expect people from the Third People’s Hospital of Yun Hua City to give you the medicine. Firstly, this medicine is quite expensive. They are not necessarily willing to spend such a sum on you, and furthermore…”
Huo Congjun hesitated for a moment and whispered, “If an occupational exposure really does occur, the people in the Third People’s Hospital of Yun Hua City will not hesitate to take action. But when it hasn’t happened and you have doubts in your heart, you should take the medicine. Don’t wait for the people in the hospital to agree to your request. Most of them will not agree to it, and who would want to admit that occupational exposure has occurred in their operating theater? In short, the medicine is in your hands, you have the right to take it whenever you want, understand?”
“Understood.” Ling Ran finally understood.
“Take a photo in front of the center, then. Make Yun Hua Emergency Medical Center proud.” Huo Congjun smiled heartily, plucked a small terminal bud of Devil’s ivy while he was at it, put it into his mouth, chewed, and spit it out.
Ling Ran came to the front of the Emergency Medical Center and stood under the board. He took a photo with Yu Yuan, Zuo Cidian, and Wang Jia with the red banner behind him.
On the banner were a huge row of yellow characters: Yun Hua Emergency Medical Center supports the first team we send to the Third People’s Hospital of Yun Hua City.
After waiting for Ling Ran and the others to take the photo, Department Director Lei and the other cadres from the Medical Affairs Department also squeezed into the photo.
The freelance surgery this time was different from the ones Wang Haiyang got for Ling Ran because of his personal connections. This was a formal out-of-hospital consultation formed through formal channels between both the Medical Affair Department of Yun Hua Hospital and the Medical Affair Department of the Third People’s Hospital of Yun Hua City.
In the modern age, doctors and hospital departments were actually not willing to do formal out-of-hospital consultations. They were not just long and complicated, but would also waste lots of time, and the documentation and paperwork exchanges afterwards were even more annoying.
Many hospitals did not have any records saying they performed any sort of out-of-hospital consultations over the year, and when they thought, it was impossible for them to perform out-of-hospital consultations.
In reality, doctors who performed freelan surgeries would fly around the country to do freelance surgeries on the weekend, up to the point that the hospital director of a certain hospital in the capital had to go to the capital’s airport to seize a certain doctor. The doctor himself had been a freelance surgeon for two or three years, and with the money he earned from the freelance surgeries, he could fly with using the gold membership card of an airline, buy a car, buy a house, and live the life of a European or American doctor. This pursuit of a better life was not something a mere hospital director could stop.
Only formal out-of-hospital consultations were not regarded fondly by doctors, hospitals, and patients too.
Because everyone found it troublesome. The doctors would feel that it did not pay well, the patients were not willing for there to be any delay in seeking treatment for their illness, and even hospitals would rather face higher risks in hiring freelance surgeons instead. If the freelance surgeon failed, the hospital had to pay tens of millions worth of reimbursement. But, they already had to pay the same for formal out-of-hospital consultations, so why would they want to cause themselves such trouble?
Only hospitals such as infectious diseases hospitals were willing to organize out-of-hospital consultations.
And only doctors like Ling Ran would not care about the money he earned.
The Third People’s Hospital knew what sort of patients they handled. Later, the associate hospital director of the Third People’s Hospital went to pick Ling Ran and his group up from Yun Hua Hospital. He was considered quite sincere.
They went by car.
The doctors and nurses at Yun Hua Emergency Medical Center waved and said goodbye. The scene was sad and sorrowful.
The associate hospital director of the Third People’s Hospital looked at the rearview mirror in resignation before he said to Ling Ran while he was at the back seat, “Actually, the safety of our surgeries can still be guaranteed. After so many years, the probability of our operating theaters being infected are lower than normal hospitals.”
Ling Ran nodded.
“Many of our patients have been plagued by injuries or illnesses related to the knee joint for many years. Some people occasionally encounter doctors who are willing to perform surgery for them. Their ward mates would then be very envious.” The associate hospital director turned to look at Ling Ran and earnestly said, “Doctor Ling, it is great that you are willing to relieve the patients from their pain.”
The Third People’s Hospital did not have their own Orthopedics Department as their own facility.
Surgeries such as knee arthroscopic meniscoplasty was an easy and small operation for orthopedist. It was, however, not so easy for doctors who did not specialize in this field.
Ling Ran continued to nod and said, “I can only do meniscus reconstruction.”
“That would be enough.” The associate hospital director continued smiling. He did not expect Ling Ran to be able to solve all the problems by himself, anyway.
Not long after, the signboard of the Third People’s Hospital of Yun Hua City appeared at the fork.
As a well-known infectious diseases hospital in Yun Hua City, the Third People’s Hospital itself was built on a large slope. Even after going through China went through a construction fever that lasted for more than a decade, this hospital building still stood all by its lonesome. There were only a few six or seven-storey buildings built using bricks and cement scattered around by its side.
“We’re almost there.” The associate hospital director who was sitting in the front passenger seat adjusted his clothes. He secretly sighed. It was his first time meeting such a doctor who was so difficult to converse with. No matter what the associate hospital director said, Ling Ran did not give him much of a response. It was too tiring to talk to him.
The group of cars reduced the speed of their vehicles speed and drove into the Third People’s Hospital through its wide opened gates. They went straight to the inpatient building.
After driving a little closer, the team could see a banner in front of the building.
When they drove even closer, they could vaguely see a crowd.
It was a group of patients wearing masks, coats, and hats.
They were standing far away and did not draw close to the cars, neither were they close to the door of the inpatient department. Some people even subconsciously took a few steps back when they saw people get down from the cars.
Everyone stood far away from each other as well. They were not totally isolated from each other, but they gave each other as much space as possible.
Dozens of patients, perhaps even hundreds of patients had their arms folded, or had their hands in their pockets, or had their hands on their waist, or quietly watched Ling Ran and his group of people.
Ling Ran quietly got off the car and walked toward the door of the building.
An old lady suddenly took off her mask, faced Ling Ran, and showed a big smile.
She did not wait for Ling Ran to respond. She just put on her mask again.
Wind blew from behind Ling Ran. Some people could not help but bent down and curled up. Some people naturally stood straight and withstood the wind.
