In Huaxi Hospital, the experienced emergency department doctors stood in the courtyard and triaged the injured that were brought in by bus after bus.
Xie Ning stood beside the doctor and busied himself in silence.
At first, he helped carry the patients and escorted them to the ward and operating theater.
As more and more volunteers joined in, middle-aged and old people like Xie Ning were pushed aside by the young men.
People were so anxious that their eyes turned red. They did not care about respecting the old and caring for the young.
Xie Ning stood in front of a wall, holding a pen and paper from the emergency department. He handed them out to the survivors and family seekers.
Behind him was an ordinary wall. Not long ago, an old man who had been rescued from the disaster area was looking for a pen and paper with tears in his eyes.
After writing down the last location and appearance of the missing family member, the old man cried silently.
Perhaps this would be a final farewell for him.
Xie Ning saw that the old man’s words were messy and unclear. After asking the old man’s family member’s specific appearance and characteristics, he wrote a new one and silently pasted the missing person notice on the wall.
Once there was one, there would be another.
Soon, a long line of missing people notices was pasted along the wall.
As the wind blew, the white paper rustled as if it was crying.
The seemingly simple task quickly consumed Xie Ning’s energy. During this period of time, he started smoking again. It seemed that the spicy stimulation of the tobacco made him feel more…alive.
For the rest of the time, he did not even need to sleep. He busied himself day and night.
The sound of the ambulance was no longer so ear-piercing. Instead, it seemed somewhat pleasant. After all, the continuous arrival of ambulances meant that a large number of injured people had been rescued and sent over.
With the help of Huaxi Hospital, most of the injured people could receive timely and appropriate treatment.
The doctors in Huaxi were the same as the Imperial Capital Hospital. The emergency surgical force that had stayed at home during the earthquake was pulled away by car.
After that, they canceled their leave. All the doctors were called back and began to busy themselves day and night.
Another car full of patients was sent over and Xie Ning watched from afar. Although he was tired to the point of numbness, he still habitually analyzed the patient’s severity from some small movements and tried to figure out whether it was worth rescuing them.
However, Xie Ning saw that the gray-haired chief of the Huaxi emergency department did not look right this time.
The department chief of the emergency department looked at the patients. He was a little surprised and did not immediately perform triage as usual.
It was very strange. Xie Ning found a place to put up the missing person notice in his hand. He tried his best not to affect the other missing person notices in its surroundings. After that, he leaned over.
“Where was this surgery done?” The old department chief of the emergency department asked in surprise when he saw the incision and accessories on the patient’s abdomen.
A doctor got off the car and reported the patient’s specific situation.
“It was a patient who was picked up by a helicopter. It was said that he was injured on an isolated island that could not be entered. The doctor who went to the frontline did an emergency surgery. He wrote down the patient’s diagnosis, treatment, and future recommendations before attaching them to the patient.”
The old chief frowned. The area in front of him was like an isolated island. Could one perform level-three or level-four surgery in such a desolate state?
There should be no such thing. This was the first batch of postoperative patients who had received level-three or level-four surgery.
Other than that, there were only simple orthopedic splints and simple wound debridement and suturing.
However, time was tight. Although the patient’s blood type had already been determined, he began to transfuse blood. However, seeing that his condition was not stable, he needed to be sent to the appropriate department immediately to confirm the diagnosis and carry out subsequent treatment.
The old chief saw that the patient had layers of adhesive tape stuck to a strong plastic bag. He tore off a patient’s adhesive tape, took out the paper inside, and looked at it carefully.
It was a piece of wet tissue. The handwriting on it was a little blurry but everything could be read clearly enough.
Hemorrhagic shock, hepatic rupture, and hepatic rupture had already been sewn up under local anesthesia. The surgeon wrote down his own recommendations at the back—blood transfusion and a second laparotomy in the general surgery department. Wound debridement was to be done before being sent to the ICU for anti-shock treatment.
This was the suggestion of the first line personnel. The department chief of the emergency department would not refuse.
After that, the handling of this batch of people would be much simpler. They could just send them directly to the general surgery department.
Although more than ten seriously injured people were on their last breaths, they had still managed to make it to Huaxi alive.
As long as they made it to Huaxi, even if they wanted to die, it would not be so easy. The emergency department’s department chief was confident about this.
However, his expression was strange and filled with disbelief.
After all the patients had been triaged and the doctors under him escorted the patients to the corresponding departments, the old chief frowned.
“Chief, what’s wrong?” Xie Ning asked as he passed him a cigarette.
“Ningzi, why don’t you go and rest for a while?” the old chief asked.
He did not know what Xie Ning’s name was and Xie Ning had not told him either. He only said that it was fine to call him Ningzi. As for the junior doctors, it was enough to call him Brother Ning or Uncle Ning.
There was no need to get to know each other. In a few days, the earthquake relief work would be over. They would be far away from each other and completely forgotten the other’s existence.
“I’m not tired.” Xie Ning also lit up a cigarette. Taking advantage of the short break, he slowly relaxed. “Those patients just now looked different from the others.”
“Yeah. They had surgery at the frontline. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have lasted until now.” The old chief took a deep puff of the cigarette before saying in confusion, “But the paper said that the local anesthetist performed the surgery. I believe in the previous conditions, but as for surgery… The local anesthetist cut the spleen and sew the liver? I’ve never seen it before.”
“Who cares? As long as people come to us alive, that’s enough,” Xie Ning was carefree and said that with a smile.
What he said made sense. Now was not the time to delve into academic issues.
The old chief smiled, took a few puffs of his cigarette, and then put it out.
There were not many patients sent over, but it was said that the main force had already entered. One could foresee that in the next few days and nights, there would be a huge peak period waiting for him.
It was not only Huaxi but also the provincial and municipal hospitals as well.
There was a huge flow of patients and many who needed surgery. It was likely that the doctors in the in-patient department would not be able to handle it.
Who knew, they might need to scrub their hands and perform the surgery themselves.
He took the opportunity to find a place to nap for a while.
He really did not know when he would be able to sleep again.
“Ningzi, you do your work first. I’ll find a place to nap for a while,” the old chief said.
Xie Ning watched as the old chief called one of his capable doctors to wait for the triage before leaving. He put out his cigarette and went back to work.
Some people were lucky enough to leave their names and physical features on the wall. Xie Ning’s brain was like a computer. The match only lasted for an instant.
The people who got separated met again and hugged each other to celebrate. Xie Ning was happy for them from the bottom of his heart.
However, most people could not wait for the results. Their loved ones had already said goodbye to them forever.
Only the paper brushing on the missing people’s walls was being blown around by the wind, leaving behind care and sacrifice in this world.
Not long after, a group of young men in suits arrived in Huaxi. Xie Ning took them away and rushed to the frontline as they had originally planned.
