At the ICU, the doctors started regulating the body temperature and acid-base balance of the patient who was just sent in. At the same time, they had to replenish his bodily fluids and regulate the electrolytes in his body.
In a smaller hospital, a patient who just went through prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) probably needed the care of all the staff members in the ICU. Even in Yun Hua Hospital, he would also need a lot of staff members from the ICU tending to him.
At least half the staff members in the ICU were busy tending to the patient.
After resting for a moment, Ling Ran took the elevator upstairs as he massaged his hands. He was about to take a look at the situation inside the ICU.
Doctor Zhou stared at Ling Ran. He contemplated for a moment before immediately catching up to Ling Ran.
“Are you going to the ICU?” Doctor Zhou entered the elevator. He knew that his guess was correct when he saw the elevator button that was lit.
Ling Ran nodded and continued massaging his wrist. “I wonder how he is now.”
The previous patients he performed CPR on suffered hit with a myocardial infarction in the hospital. They received immediate medical attention. Therefore, the prognosis was naturally excellent.
However, it would not be this easy for this patient, who had just undergone prolonged CPR to recover.
Doctor Ling gazed at Ling Ran’s wrists and asked, “Pain in the wrist?”
“A little. I pulled a muscle, and there’s also a bit of contusion.” Even though Ling Ran had basically replenished his energy and stamina after consuming a bottle of Energy Serum, he could only rely on himself to recover from these external injuries. Even his Master Level Osteopathic Manipulation Skill could only relief the pain a little.
After a doctor carried out CPR for more than an hour, every single muscle in his body would definitely ache.
“I’ll introduce you to this analgesic cream later. It’s pretty effective.” After Doctor Zhou said that, he glanced at Ling Ran and said, “Prolonged CPR is not only very challenging for the patient, but also for the doctor.”
Ling Ran nodded in agreement.
*Ding.*
The elevator stopped. Doctor Zhou moved aside to let Ling Ran exit the elevator first before walking behind him. “Ling Ran, don’t be in a hurry to go over first.”
Ling Ran stopped and looked at Doctor Zhou.
He was used to this kind of tone. Usually, if a girl were to speak to him like this, she was probably going to confess to him. However, ever since he left elementary school, there were very few girls who were brave enough to confess to him.
And when a guy talked to him in this kind of tone, it was usually because he was about to announce his ownership over a girl. Ling Ran was also very used to this kind of situation, and knew how to deal with it very well.
Ling Ran looked at Doctor Zhou with a curious gaze.
Doctor Zhou had not seen this kind of expression and gaze on Ling Ran before.
He cleared his throat a few times a little diffidently and said, “I kind of left something out just now. Prolonged CPR is also a challenge for the patients’ family members.”
“Hmm?”
“Hey, let’s talk over there.” Doctor Zhou gestured for them to go over to one side of the corridor. They faced the large glass of the ICU. Doctor Zhou looked at the sides before he said, “I don’t want to talk about the principles of life right now. Let’s talk about what’s going to happen next.”
“Sure.”
Doctor Zhou said as he looked in the direction of the ICU, “After going through more than one hour of CPR today, this patient might recover, but his condition might also worsen, and he might go into a vegetative state, understand?”
Ling Ran nodded a little. Doctor Zhou had stated all of the possibilities, and he had no choice but to agree.
“If he goes into a vegetative state, it would be a psychological torture for all his family members.” Doctor Zhou summarized it in one sentence and said, “Let’s assume he recovers well, how long do you think that he would need to stay in the ICU?”
“It’s hard to tell. In the best case scenario, he’ll probably be there for around two weeks. It might also take a month or two. We will be able to get a better picture after we see if the patient is able to urinate tomorrow…” Ling Ran started analyzing.
Doctor Zhou waved and said, “Let’s not talk about this first. If he were to stay in the ICU for a month, the medical bills would at least be from 300,000 or 400,000 RMB. If he takes a turn for the worst, the medical bills might even total up to 500,000 or 600,000 RMB.”
Ling Ran stared blankly at Doctor Ling. He did not have a great idea about money, and could not see the gravity of what Doctor Zhou was implying.
This time, Doctor Zhou was able to fathom Ling Ran’s expression. He sighed in resignation and said, “400,000 RMB is about three years of your salary. You wouldn’t be able to save this much money in three years… I mean, if you don’t bring freelance surgeries into the picture, that is. You know, you carry out surgeries all day, and even go to other hospitals during the weekends to operate on patients. Don’t you find it tiring?”
“No.”
“Alright, forget that I said that.” Doctor Zhou lowered his voice again and said, “Whatever it is, I’m just reminding you that the patient’s family members might not be grateful toward you. The longer the patient needs to stay in the ICU, the more challenging it would be for his family members.”
“Oh,” Ling Ran said calmly.
“You’re okay with that?” Doctor Zhou threw a question at Ling Ran.
Ling Ran said nothing.
“Let’s go to the ICU and take a look, then.” Even though Doctor Zhou still had a lot that he wanted to say, he had no way of conveying those opinions to Ling Ran.
From what he knew, the family members of those who died in this construction accident as well as those who got injured would be receiving quite a large sum of money as compensation. The company would be footing all the hospital bills. However, if this patient were to stay in the ICU for two months or longer, as time went by, the construction company might not be willing to pay for his hospital bills anymore.
If he were to recover after staying in the ICU for a few months, even though the process would be very challenging, it would still be something to celebrate. However, it he was not able to recover completely or even passed away after hundreds of thousands of RMB was spent…
Doctor Zhou did not know what kind of person this patient and his family members were. However, as a doctor, he knew that all kinds of people existed in this world.
“His pupils have shrunk.” Ling Ran’s voice rose again. He sounded like he was in high spirits.
Doctor Zhou could not help but smile. He tilted his head and walked over to Ling Ran and the patient.
“Doctor Ling, you were the one who performed CPR on this patient, weren’t you?” This was the first time the attending physician from the ICU ever met Ling Ran. He could not help but size up Ling Ran. He wanted to compliment Ling Ran on his good looks, but thought better about it because it would make the atmosphere awkward.
“Yea, I was the one,” Ling Ran answered and took the medical record that was hung in front of the bed while he was at it. He read through it.
“We are mainly protecting his organs and restoring his circulatory system right now,” the attending physician explained. He did not look like he wanted to elaborate on the matter.
Doctor Zhou gently tugged Ling Ran and said in a hushed tone, “We are in other people’s department right now.”
Ling Ran said nothing. He turned and took a torchlight before waving it at the patient’s pupils to see if they shrunk even more.
“You can consider administering hyperbaric oxygen therapy.” As Ling Ran possessed Perfect Level Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, he was also familiar with the follow-up treatments and post-resuscitation care involved. Of course, there was no set formula when it came to post-resuscitation efforts, and a doctor would still need to rely on his experience and plenty of information to make decisions.
The attending physician from the ICU chuckled a few times and said, “We’ll consider it. By the way, isn’t it very busy over at the Emergency Medical Center today? So many people have been called over there. How did you guys find time to come here?”
“A batch of patients were sent to the provincial hospital just now, so we get to rest for a little while.” Doctor Zhou turned and said to Ling Ran, “Let’s head back. All the staff members of the ICU are very experienced. Doctor An, you have also performed prolonged CPR before, haven’t you?”
Ling Ran was surprised. “Was it a success?”
Even though Doctor An looked slightly more pleased when he heard what Doctor Zhou said, his expression immediately turned dark again upon hearing Ling Ran’s words.
“The ICU is a little crowded right now. If you guys have no more business here, do leave first.” Doctor An did not even bother to hide the fact that he wanted Ling Ran and Doctor Zhou out of the ICU.
Ling Ran had no choice but to walk behind Doctor Zhou as they exited the ICU.
At this moment, a middle-aged doctor rushed into the ICU and said, “About the patient who just received prolonged CPR…”
As he spoke, he went toward the hospital bed and said after examining the patient for a little while, “Prepare to administer hyperbaric oxygen therapy.”
Doctor Zhou suddenly felt like laughing out loud. He immediately lowered his head and walked away, grabbing Ling Ran by the arm as he did so.
