Ling Ran got off work on time. He returned home for dinner and prepared to start operating on patients again.
For the past few days, Ling Ran had been alternating between working in the hospital for two days and taking a day off. He would be away for the hospital for two or three days a week, and during these off days, he would either be working in his family clinic or going for freelance surgeries.
This was normal for ordinary senior doctors, especially those who were rather renowned. Not only could they earn some extra income by performing freelance surgeries on their off days, but they could also put in some practice so that their skills would not get rusty.
Ling Ran agreed with this way of life. When it came to hepatectomy, which was the surgery he most commonly performed, he was able to reach a new level courtesy of his own efforts. As for other surgeries such as finger replantation surgery, Achilles tendon repair, splenectomy, and orchiectomy, there were very few ways for him to level those skills up.
Compared with other surgical methods, Ling Ran was relatively skilled at Achilles tendon repair surgery. Hence, by continuing to bring in patients with damaged Achilles tendons to Lower Groove Clinic, Ling Ran was able to continuously improve his skills.
“Doctor Ling, you’re back.” Miao Tansheng was the first one who headed out to welcome Ling Ran when he heard the engine of Ling Ran’s Volkswagen Jetta.
“Yeah. Have you gotten the patient ready yet?” The first thing Ling Ran asked Miao Tansheng about when he saw him was the surgery that would be carried out soon.
“About that… Doctor Ling, do you want to have some soup first? Madam Tao made a huge pot of okra soup today and treated all of us to it…”
Ling Ran stopped in his tracks. He knew very well that Miao Tansheng was beating around the bush. Back when he was in school, there were often girls who beat around the bush and talk about irrelevant things before revealing their true intention by giving him gifts or even love letters.
It only took one glance at Miao Tansheng for Ling Ran to know that Miao Tansheng was hiding something from him.
“Just get straight to the point.” Ling Ran was a straightforward person. “Be brief,” he said.
Miao Tansheng looked rather exasperated as he said, “In short, the patient ran away.”
“Ran away?” Ling Ran did not expect things to turn out this way. He asked, “Isn’t the patient a sixteen-year-old teenage girl?”
“Yes.”
“Does this count as running away from home?” Ling Ran did not expect Miao Tansheng to give an answer to this question. He continued, “Has the patient been found yet? Did you guys make a police report?”
“Yes.” Miao Tansheng shrugged and sighed. “But that’s the problem.”
“Yeah?”
“Now, the patient’s family members are saying that they intend to consult doctors from other hospitals to get a second opinion.” After Miao Tansheng told Ling Ran everything, he felt a little more relaxed. He added in an obsequious manner, “I reckon that the patient wants a small incision and a strong Achilles tendon at the same time.”
Ling Ran did not comment on this. He merely asked, “Did you explain things to them?”
Miao Tansheng explained anxiously, “Yes, over the phone. Because I was only able to communicate with them over the phone. I’ve also warned them that they should not consult doctors the same way they go shopping and that they could not just keep making comparisons between different doctors. But they insisted upon it. They were pretty polite, but they refused to send their daughter over for surgery.”
“It’s okay if she doesn’t want to receive surgery.” After listening to what Miao Tansheng said, Ling Ran understood what was going on. He whipped out his phone and said, “If there’re no more patients arranged for tonight, I’ll start gaming.”
“Sure… About this… are you angry?” Miao Tansheng shut his eyes, and he was prepared to receive a scolding.
If the patient chickened out two days before the surgery, he could have arranged for another patient to receive surgery tonight.
However, because the patient only opted out right before the surgery, there was nothing that Miao Tansheng could do.
Ling Ran shook his head. “It’s normal for patients to change their minds. Aside from this, it’s also very risky for this sixteen-year-old to undergo surgery with a large incision. She might not have made a wrong choice by opting out of it.”
“Huh? It’s very risky?”
“Yeah. The patient’s Achilles tendon is relatively short, and her bones and muscles aren’t exactly well-positioned either. Hence, she’s certainly not a very talented dancer. It would be quite risky for her to attempt to reach great heights when it comes to dancing.” As Ling Ran spoke, he tapped on the icon for Kings of Glory on his phone. He then continued, “It might be a more suitable choice for her to opt for minimally invasive Achilles tendon repair so that scarring can be minimized. She can then develop a new hobby.”
Miao Tansheng widened his eyes. “I’m surprised that you didn’t say this to the patient’s family members when you meet them.”
“Talent is not directly proportional to achievements.” Ling Ran shook his head. “A person being untalented doesn’t mean that she can’t achieve great things. The patient obviously suffered from this injury because the quality of her Achilles tendon isn’t the best. It’s relatively short, and it is not very strong either. It might precisely because she isn’t talented enough that she practiced so hard until her Achilles tendon ruptured.”
Miao Tansheng muttered to himself, “For some reason, what you have just said makes a lot of sense. I…”
Ling Ran had already lowered his head, and he was focusing on the game he was playing again.
It was a sunny day with a gentle breeze blowing two days later.
Ling Ran had just arrived at the hospital, and he was enjoying porridge with sixteen side dishes that Tian Qi sent over. This was when the screen of his phone lit up.
“The king asked me to patrol the mountains…”
The voice of the singer was loud and clear, and he immediately lost the mood to eat.
“Hello.” Ling Ran had no choice but to put down his chopsticks and answer the call.
“Doctor Ling, I’m Wang Chuanwen.” Wang Chuanwen chuckled as though he was very close with Ling Ran.
Truth be told, Wang Chuanwen and Ling Ran knew each other quite well. Ever since Wang Chuanwen donated a sum of money to the Emergency Medical Center of Yun Hua Hospital, he showed up a lot to supervise the construction progress of the ICU. On the one hand, it was because he did not want the money he donated to go to waste. On the other hand, he was also trying to proactively form a good relationship with the doctors, especially with Ling Ran.
His efforts seemed to be bearing fruit. At the very least, Ling Ran had gotten a lot more used to seeing him.
“What’s the matter?” Ling Ran looked at his porridge as he held his cell phone.
“I have a friend. His daughter is sixteen this year and ruptured her Achilles tendon while dancing. If I’m not mistaken, he had sought treatment from you earlier, but they ended up chickening out…” Wang Chuanwen chuckled a few times and continued, “Now, he wants you to operate on his daughter again, but he’s a little embarrassed about it. As he’s worried that you would not want to take her daughter in anymore, he asked me for help.”
“Is this friend of yours President Pei?” Ling Ran asked.
“Yes. I see that you remember him.”
“Of course. The patient ran away just when I was about to operate on her.” Ling Ran found this patient very creative, and this was why he remembered the incident so well.
Wang Chuanwen immediately regretted calling Ling Ran. He immediately said, “Ah, I didn’t know that something like this happened. Why didn’t President Pei tell me what exactly happened? If I knew, I wouldn’t have helped him out…”
“How’s the patient doing?” Ling Ran cut Wang Chuanwen off.
Wang Chuanwen hesitated for a moment and said, “His daughter isn’t doing too well, and her foot is swollen. She wants minimally invasive Achilles tendon repair, but she wants to be able to continue dancing too. None of the hospitals dared to promise her that.”
“I don’t do minimally invasive Achilles tendon repair surgery,” Ling Ran quickly replied. There were many doctors who knew how to do that, and to Ling Ran, this was not challenging enough.
Wang Chuanwen quickly said, “No, they want to receive the kind of surgery you’re providing…”
“Send her to Yun Hua Hospital first.”
“So, you’re agreeing to it?”
“Yes.” Ling Ran had never been the kind of person who went back on his word.
A sense of satisfaction filled Wang Chuanwen’s heart when he heard what Ling Ran said. He suddenly felt that donating money to the Emergency Medical Center of Yun Hua Hospital was the best decision that he had ever made in his life.
