Tang Feiwan returned to the resuscitation room with a grin, only to see Lin Ye consulting with the surgery associate director and orthopedic director. She quickly suppressed her smile and got back to work. She waited for the two directors to leave to prepare for surgery, then walked to Lin Ye.
Lin Ye handed the ward physician’s notes back and saw her coming. She asked directly, “What’s the situation?”
“The only one outside is the patient’s girlfriend, Cao Yangqiao.” Tang Feiwan skipped the breakup reason and focused on the key points. “Cao Yangqiao asked to break up on Wednesday. Dong Guo didn’t agree, and they argued for three days. This morning, he went to her rented apartment, made a scene, tried to force a reconciliation, and even threatened suicide. She didn’t agree, and that led to the jump.”
Gu Yan muttered, “What a nutjob. The girl should run.”
Lin Ye raised her willow-like brows. “Dong Guo’s parents?”
“They’re rushing to the airport in the next city now. Should arrive this afternoon.” Tang Feiwan played the call recording on speaker. “His parents have been informed that the patient needs surgery, and they verbally consented.”
After listening to the brief recording, Lin Ye, considering Dong Guo’s injuries, frowned. “No, we need to explain more clearly.” She continued, “Do you have his parents’ phone number?”
“Yes, here.” Tang Feiwan showed her.
Lin Ye took the phone, walked back to the office, and called Dong Guo’s parents on the office line. Two rings in, the other side answered.
“Hello,” Dong Guo’s father said.
Lin Ye introduced herself: “Hello, this is Lin Ye, associate chief physician in the emergency department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shujiang University. Are you Dong Guo’s family?”
“Ah, I’m his father.” Twenty minutes earlier, after hanging up, Dong Guo’s father had immediately contacted relatives. Now Dong Guo’s maternal uncle was driving, with Dong Guo’s mother and his paternal uncle, a group of four, rushing to the airport in the nearby city.
“I’ll explain Dong Guo’s injuries in detail. Please listen carefully.”
Dong Guo’s father gave a heavy “mm.”
“Dong Guo fell from the third floor. Fortunately, he didn’t hit his head, but he has multiple fractures and abdominal organ bleeding. We’ll first perform a life-saving surgery to open the abdomen, stop the bleeding, and repair the damage. If successful, once the patient’s condition improves, we’ll do the orthopedic surgery. Understand?”
“I understand. You must save him!” Dong Guo’s father begged, without a single word of thanks.
Lin Ye communicated clearly and calmly: “Also, we’ll have Dong Guo’s girlfriend, Cao Yangqiao, sign on your behalf. Is that acceptable?”
With a life at stake, Dong Guo’s father agreed to everything. “Fine, fine. Save him first.”
“We’ll need you to write an authorization letter, entrusting Cao Yangqiao to sign the surgical consent on your behalf. You can fax a copy to our emergency department.”
Dong Guo’s father grew impatient. “Why is your hospital so troublesome?”
“If you don’t authorize it, Cao Yangqiao won’t dare sign, because signing carries legal responsibility.” Lin Ye turned to Cao Yangqiao standing beside her. “Are you willing to sign?”
Cao Yangqiao swallowed. “As long as Uncle authorizes it, I’ll sign.” After two years together, there was some affection. Saving his life was the priority.
Dong Guo’s father gritted his teeth. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
After a few back-and-forths, Lin Ye hung up. She had another doctor take Cao Yangqiao to the consult room, then looked up at Tang Feiwan and said sternly, “Doctor Tang, doctor-patient relationships aren’t as simple as you think. Our emergency department has learned many hard lessons.” She understood that Tang Feiwan had been abroad for a long time and didn’t know the domestic situation.
Tang Feiwan looked into her poetic eyes, dazed for a moment, then nodded solemnly. “Understood, Director Lin.” She observed Lin Ye’s series of actions and, though bewildered, memorized them.
Why does she look so silly? I never noticed before. The word “cute” involuntarily flashed through Lin Ye’s mind. She frowned and quickly shook off the strange thought, adding with a stern face, “We also need to report to the medical affairs office.”
“Okay.” Tang Feiwan’s lips curved upward, smiling at the serious Lin Ye. “Director Lin, I’ll get to work.” With that, she heard Lin Ye, who had already looked away, give a faint “mm,” and only then did she walk out.
Because of this incident, handoff was delayed. After handoff, there were still rounds. Tang Feiwan prayed for fewer critical patients today.
But the opposite happened. She was swamped. At noon, she ate half a piece of bread. It was nearly 6 p.m. before she caught her breath. During the handoff wait, she chewed the other half and overheard nurses outside.
“Trouble. Another family like this.”
“They’re being unreasonable. If surgery hadn’t removed the spleen in time, Dong Guo might have died on the table.”
Sigh. “Director Lin is negotiating. Hope it doesn’t blow up.”
Didn’t the surgery succeed? He’s in the EICU under close monitoring. Why are they here causing trouble? Tang Feiwan swallowed the last bite of bread, tossed the wrapper into the trash can, and followed the arguing voices.
Not far from the EICU, three or four family members stood on one side, and four medical staff in white coats on the other. Security flanked Lin Ye. She stood in the middle, the smallest in stature but not in presence. “Family, we obtained signed consent in advance and explained the possible risks. During surgery, the surgeon opened the abdomen and found the spleen severely ruptured, impossible to repair. It had to be removed immediately.”
Dong Guo’s father snapped, “When did you say anything about removing the spleen? Can you just remove that thing?”
Dong Guo’s uncle chimed in, “Yeah! We searched online. If they remove the spleen, his immune function and blood-forming function will decline.”
“During the surgery, we fulfilled our duty to inform and tried to contact the family to decide. But you were all on a plane, and calls didn’t go through. Cao Yangqiao, through Dong Guo’s friends, contacted his older sister, Dong Ping, who is in graduate school. Dong Ping gave the go-ahead.”
The attending physician beside Lin Ye explained, “Moreover, as Director Lin has repeatedly stressed, the initial impact of removing the spleen is slightly greater, but later, as the body’s compensatory and regulatory capacities kick in, the effects on the body will gradually diminish.”
Dong Guo’s father raised his voice. “Doctors always say that, bullying us because we don’t understand.”
Dong Guo’s uncle pulled out his phone. “Let’s file a complaint. No point arguing with them.”
Lin Ye had been so cautious, yet some family members were still unreasonable. Tang Feiwan was furious and about to step in when Sun Qinhe called from behind: “Doctor Tang, Dong Guo in Bed 3 has dropped his blood pressure.”
Tang Feiwan turned to the head nurse, paused for two seconds, and broke into a run.
Sun Qinhe stepped forward, bypassed security, and whispered in Lin Ye’s ear, “The patient in Bed 3 has a rapid blood pressure drop. Old Li is resuscitating him. He probably won’t last much longer. Doctor Tang has rushed over too.”
Bed 3, Dong Guo…
Lin Ye interrupted the argument between Dong Guo’s uncle and the ward physician. “Dong Guo’s condition is critical. Prepare yourselves.”
Dong Guo’s father’s face flushed red. “Surgery was successful and now there’s a problem? It must be because you removed his spleen!”
Lin Ye didn’t bother arguing. She had someone notify the medical affairs office, gave a few instructions, and rushed to the EICU with Sun Qinhe.
In the EICU, Tang Feiwan was defibrillating Dong Guo and performing chest compressions. Lin Ye watched them work in a tense but orderly manner, not interfering. It was only when Tang Feiwan shook her head and straightened, and the monitor line went flat, that she took out her penlight and went over to examine.
The resident sighed. “It’s over. Tonight’s going to be a mess.”
“Go call the family. Two people is enough.” Lin Ye pressed her lips. “If they’re emotional, let the patient’s mother in first. Tell them this is the ICU and other patients need rest. No shouting.”
Five minutes later, Dong Guo’s mother changed into a visitor’s gown and entered. Guided by a nurse, she went straight to Bed 3, collapsed onto the body, and wailed. After a while, the woman looked up and said through sobs, “Don’t go out there. My husband is very agitated right now. He has violent tendencies.”
Lin Ye offered a few words of comfort, then said, “Our medical affairs staff is already talking to him.”
The resident added, “Ma’am, someone will take Dong Guo out soon. You’ll need to handle the subsequent procedures.”
The woman’s eyes were brimming with tears. “Thank you.”
At past 10 p.m., after handing over work, Tang Feiwan finally got off work. She took the elevator to B1. Two nurses from another elevator were whispering, “I heard that Dong Guo’s father beat up his girlfriend. Luckily, someone was nearby, so Cao Yangqiao got away.”
Tsk. “Wasn’t he arrested?”
“Cao Yangqiao didn’t report it because the injuries weren’t serious.”
Tang Feiwan unconsciously clenched her fists. She turned the corner and saw, ten meters ahead, a man in dark clothes following Lin Ye, a four-legged stool clutched in his hand.
The young nurse also saw it and cried out, “Isn’t that Director Lin? Who’s behind her? What’s he doing with that stool?” Before she finished, Tang Feiwan was already sprinting. She had run sprints in school and had explosive power. In the blink of an eye, she reached the man’s right side. Just as his right hand suddenly shot up, Tang Feiwan shouted Lin Ye’s name and shoved the woman in front of her away.
The next second, the metal stool slammed squarely into her back.
