Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Most doctors did not like to treat children. This was because tasks related to pediatrics were complicated, and a doctor needed to be a jack-of-all-trades to be able to treat a child well. Besides, children either had not learned how to talk yet or could not express themselves properly. This made it difficult for doctors to make a diagnosis, and hence, the Pediatrics Department was also known as the Mute Department.
In addition, the family members of children were getting more and more demanding. This was a widely accepted fact.
Of course, the main problem was because even though pediatricians had to work very hard, their income was low. In the field of pediatrics, medicine was rarely prescribed and there were very few surgeries. In most hospitals, the salary of pediatricians was less than half the salary of internists. Even after the healthcare reform, the pediatricians’ salary was still around only half the salary of surgeons.
However, Ling Ran did not really see all this as a problem.
If Ling Ran had a choice, he would prefer that all of his patients did not know how to talk. This way, no patient would try getting chummy with him, pass him notes, give him their phone numbers, and add him on WeChat.
Demanding parents and low income were even less of a problem to Ling Ran.
In this world, certain people suffered when they grew up, certain people were born with a silver spoon, and certain people were born as money magnets.
“What symptoms are the child exhibiting?” Ling Ran stood behind a medical intern and inquired.
The medical intern was about to bandage the child’s wound, and he froze when he heard Ling Ran’s question. When he turned and saw Ling Ran’s face, he got even more anxious.
Medical interns were like the hospital’s pets. Some were cute and obedient, some were funny like doges in memes and some were ugly, stupid and despicable. However, all the medical interns shared a similarity. Just like house pets, they had the sensibility to discern the power structure of a place.
Ling Ran was in charge of more than half of the hospital beds in the Emergency Medical Center, and he was also a man of few words. All the new medical interns were a little fearful every time they encountered Ling Ran. They were even more scared of Ling Ran compared to older chief physicians such as Chief Physician Tao who were friendly.
The medical intern’s fingers trembled. He said in a soft voice, “The patient is three years old, and scraped the skin of his leg when he was out playing. The wound is very small. I’m about to disinfect the wound and bandage it.”
“I see… his entire leg is covered with blood.” Ling Ran put on a pair of gloves as he spoke. He held the child’s leg, took a look at it and decided that the wound did not need to be sutured.
Since no suturing was needed, this case did not really have anything to do with Ling Ran.
Ling Ran cleaned the edges of the child’s wound while he was at it and said, a little puzzled, “Why is there so much blood even though the wound is so small? Did you perform a blood test on him?”
“It’s just a scrap. There’s no need to draw any blood.” This was not the patient’s father’s first time in the hospital, and he knew how troublesome it was to have his child undergo a blood test.
“Looking at it now, the blood isn’t gushing out very quickly. Hm… it’s almost coagulating. I don’t understand why there’s so much blood…” Ling Ran was a little confused.
“You don’t have a child, do you?” The child’s father smiled. “After he scraped his leg, he cried and threw a tantrum because of the pain. This caused the wound to be torn open again after it started healing. It’s very normal.”
Ling Ran hummed in acknowledgment and asked, “How long has it been since he scraped his leg?”
“Around two or three hours ago,” the child’s father said. “I only brought him to the hospital because he kept pestering me to do so. Just bandage the wound up for him. He’ll be fine after getting some rest at home. I know that you guys are very busy, and I don’t want to waste your time.”
“We’re not really that busy.” Ling Ran gestured at the child’s father to sit down and sat opposite him.
Even though the child’s father was a little unwilling, he still sat down with the child on his lap.
Suddenly, the child, who was in a daze, furrowed his eyebrows and started wailing in pain.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry.” The child’s father was totally flustered as he hugged and comforted his child. He rocked his child back and forth and said, “I probably triggered the pain in his leg again. Daddy didn’t do it on purpose. I’m so sorry. Don’t cry…”
Ling Ran coughed a few times as he recalled the right etiquettes which were to be used to deal with patients and which Huo Congjun taught him, and he said politely, “May I know your surname?”
The child’s father was a little taken aback at Ling Ran’s sudden show of politeness. He froze for a moment before quickly coming back to his senses and saying, “My surname is Niu.”
“Mister Niu.” Ling Ran nodded slightly and said, “When you were injured in the past, would such a small wound cause two or three hours of pain?”
Mister Niu froze for a moment. He then said hesitantly, “No, but I was a naughty child who grew up in the village and ran around the fields all the time. Children nowadays are more pampered.”
“Pain serves as a warning for human beings that there is something wrong with their bodies,” Ling Ran said.
“Huh?” Mister Niu did not understand what Ling Ran just said.
Ling Ran cleared his throat a few times as he thought of how to explain things in simpler terms. “What I meant was that, even if your child is really pampered, he shouldn’t be crying over such a small wound for such a long time. This is why I suggest that your child undergo a few more examinations.”
The child’s father was doubtful as he gazed at Ling Ran, and even lowered his head to look at Ling Ran’s name tag. Only then did he say hesitantly, “About this, Doctor Ling, it’s not like I’m unwilling to spend money on this. It’s just that I don’t want my child to endure more pain. Take a blood test as an example. It’s still alright if the blood is successfully drawn on the first attempt, but the last time my child underwent a blood test, the nurse only managed to draw his blood after stabbing the needle into his vein four times. This really made my heart ache… Nowadays, my child cries every time he sees a needle. What do you… what problems do you think there might be with my child right now?”
“I’ll carry out a physical examination first, then.” Ling Ran rose and said, “Place your child on a bed. I’ll take a look.”
Ling Ran had neither worked in the Outpatient Department nor participated in many consultations. He was relatively inexperienced when it came to making diagnoses.
However, Ling Ran did have a strong basic in diagnostics.
Back in university, he had always been at the top of his class in diagnostics. Now that he had obtained Specialist Level Physical Examination Skills, theoretically, he should have no problem diagnosing minor illnesses.
Truth be told, after working for so long in the treatment room and resuscitation room of the Emergency Department, Ling Ran had made quite a lot of diagnoses. It was just that he had not really diagnosed a patient during a consultation before.
When Ling Ran really needed to make a diagnosis, the Master Level MRI Analysis on Four Limbs, Specialist Level Ultrasonography Analysis, and Perfect Level X-ray Scan Analysis he mastered came in pretty handy.
However, parents were obviously a lot more open to physical examination compared to scans.
Ling Ran watched as the child lay on the gurney. He did not follow the usual protocol and carried out the physical examination from head to toe. Instead, he immediately extended his palm, which he had warmed up in his pocket. He lifted the young patient’s shirt, placed his palm on the patient’s belly and pressed it softly a few times.
“Ahh…”
Without hesitation, the child immediately started to wail in a frenzy without giving any consideration to his surroundings.
“Oh my, what-what’s going on?” The child’s father looked like he was about to cry too.
“Let me press it a few more times.” Ling Ran tickled the child’s face with his other hand. He looked like he was tickling a cat.
The child continued crying, albeit less miserably.
Ling Ran took the opportunity to place his palm on the child’s belly and pressed it again.
Even though the child’s attention was focused on Ling Ran, he only hesitated for a few seconds before he started crying in frenzy again.
“Is it very painful? I’ll be done soon, don’t worry.” Instead of removing his palm immediately, Ling Ran pressed the child’s belly a few more times.
Even though he was only at Specialist Level in his physical examination, it was enough for him to diagnose this child.
Besides, his one hundred times of abdominal anatomical dissection experience provided him with plenty of information right now.
Ling Ran was able to come to a tentative conclusion based on the tenderness of the patient’s belly and how miserably he was crying.
However, Mister Niu could no longer bear to see his child cry like that. He tugged at Ling Ran’s sleeve and said, “Doctor, my child’s crying so badly. What are…”
“But he’s not crying because his leg is in pain, is he?” Ling Ran turned to ask Mister Niu before pressing the young patient’s belly a few more times.
The child’s father froze. Even though this was a very simple question that was constructed based on logic, it was not an easy one to answer.
“If it’s not because of pain in the leg, why is he crying, then?” The child’s father immediately became anxious.
“There’s a possibility of intussusception.” Ling Ran did not sugar-coat things. “I’ll fill up an ultrasonography authorization request form for you. Go ahead and get it done right now. You can’t afford to delay this.”
“Oh… alright… okay…” The child’s parents instantly started panicking. “Erm… what’s an intussusception?”
“In simple terms, it means that the child’s intestines are stacked together, and parts of the intestine are folded into the sections immediately ahead of them. This disease is commonly found in infants and children, and it is a dangerous one.” When Ling Ran saw how confused the child’s father was, he explained things in very simple terms.
“Is it very dangerous?” The child’s father gulp. Even though he wanted the examination to be carried out as soon as possible, he could not help but ask, “But how did it happen all of a sudden?”
“A child’s intestine is only around six or seven meters, and their abdominal cavity is small. Hence, it’s very easy for their intestines to be folded into the wrong space. This is especially prevalent in children who just started consuming solid food. Usually, children who suffer from intussusception are below the age of two, and the probability of it occurring in three-year-olds is slightly lower. That’s why… proceed with the ultrasonography first.”
“Okay, alright.” After Mister Niu took a few steps forward with his child in his arms, he stopped again. He turned and said hesitantly, “Do you think that this happened because we like to play the swinging game?”
“What do you mean by the swinging game?”
“It’s like, my son likes it when I hold onto his legs and swing him around in the air.” As the child’s father spoke, he flashed an embarrassed smile. “Every time I swung him around in the air, he would laugh happily.”
After the child’s father said that, he gazed at Ling Ran with widened eyes. “Could that be the reason?”
Ling Ran was speechless. His father used to do that to him when he was young too…
