“What is the patient suffering from?” Asked Professor Shao Shan.

A team of experts from Magic City University Hospital had been recruited to determine the chief cause of a patient’s widespread pain. Unfortunately, after five weeks, none of the specialists could figure out the root of the problem.

If it was a regular patient, the patient would continue to live through the pain until the technology was advanced enough to determine the cause. However, the patient in the VIP ward wasn’t a regular patient, she was Chen Weili, the wife of Chen Toubo.

Chen Toubo had many jobs, but his role as chairman of Telecommune, was the most prominent. Telecommune was one of the government-owned network channels that provided shows, varieties and news across the nation. Chen Toubo's other identity was the first son of Chen Lingbo, the state councilor in charge of the General Office affairs. Chen Lingbo was a public figure and was amongst the top 10 most influential people in China.

"Tell me about the case, any progress on the root cause of the widespread pain?" Professor Shao Shan asked the team of specialists inside his office. He had been pulled into the case at the last minute after none of the other professors could figure out the root cause.

“Professor, we are unsure,” the associate professor responded. “Ms. Chen arrived at the ER after a car accident in Imperial City and was immediately treated for a ruptured spleen. However, three weeks after the surgery, the pain persisted. After six months of treatment by different specialists in Imperial City, Mr. Chen had decided to move his wife to Magic City for consultation.”

“How are the tests?” Professor Shao Shan flipped through all the previous tests Ms. Chen had received while treated at Imperial City. Magic City University Hospital also performed similar tests to make sure there weren't any faulty tests.

“We have ruled out hypothyroidism, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and malignancy,” another associate professor responded.

Professor Shao Shan investigated the chest x-rays, but did not see anything particularly off. “Could it be fibromyalgia?”

The other professors were not certain. Fibromyalgia was difficult to diagnose, and was usually determined only after all the other illnesses were ruled out. “They thought it might be spleen cancer, but the tests came back negative.”

“Could it be something mental?” Professor Shao Shan proposed.

“Err… We have asked the neurology department to look at the case, but they haven’t figured out anything.”

“Psychiatric department?”

“Uh… We have not asked them yet,” the other attending nervously responded.

No one wanted to be the one to ask Chen Toubo about sending his wife to the psychiatric ward. Being evaluated for psychiatric disorders was still frowned upon in society, and made it difficult for doctors to discuss mental illnesses with patients.

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“Where is Mr. Chen?” Professor Shao Shan asked.

“With the director.”

****

In the director’s office, Chen Toubo was not happy that the hospital had not been able to find the source of his wife's illness.

“Mr. Chen, please understand, we have our best people investigating Ms. Chen’s case,” the director pleaded.

Chen Toubo’s reach was far beyond just telecommunications. He could find ways to cut fundings to many of the programs that existed in the hospital. The Imperial City Hospital already had already suffered after programs were pulled due to what Chen Toubo considered as inadequate ER response and poor surgical abilities.

“There are many leading experts in other hospitals,” Chen Toubo remarked. “I do not have time to waste while my wife is still in pain.”

“Please be assured, she’s in the best hands. While we find the root cause, I will have our team of pain management experts handle her case.”

“I will give you another week,” Chen Toubo responded. “The government did not spend millions of dollars to fund hospitals that can’t even find the cause of a simple illness. How many people have been neglected so far?’

Chen Toubo after his discussion, leaving the director with a migraine. Undiagnosed illnesses were actually quite common, but since many were not fatal, they were often neglected. Most people learned to live with it, and the majority of time, the illness went away of its own. Unfortunately, the director didn’t have time and immediately called Professor Shao Shan for an update.

“Director, it’s me,” Professor Shao Shan knocked on the director's office after seeing Chen Toubo leave with his entourage of bodyguards and secretaries.

The director recognized Professor Shao Shan’s voice and set down the phone in his hand. He then prepared his desk before allowing him to enter. Professor Shao Shan entered the room, both stood up and greeted one another. The director did not like Professor Shao Shan, but he couldn't deny that the man was brilliant. If he could pin the failure on him, he would.

“Professor Shao Shan, you have looked into Ms. Chen’s charts?” asked the director. “Are you able to find anything?”

“I doubt it is related to the cardiovascular system,” said Professor Shao Shan. “It is likely neuro.”

“Then it isn’t something within your area of expertise.”

“Unfortunately, no.”

The director sighed. He figured it wasn’t going to be simple, but he knew that when he placed Professor Shao Shan in charge of the diagnostic team. "In the meanwhile, any information from the genetics department?"

"They are still analyzing the data."

There were many rare diseases that could only be identified using genome sequence, RNA analysis, and analyzing precursor molecules. However, those types of tests were not common in hospitals. Even if the data was collected, knowing how to read and analyze the data was extremely difficult.

“Who’s handling Ms. Chen's pain management?” the director asked.

“Dr. Emre is handling it,” said Professor Shao Shan. “But can I suggest using Huifu-01 intravenously to handle her pain?”

The director thought about it. Professor Shao Shan had been recommending Huifu-01 for pain management and inflammation to many patients. The results had been extraordinary with very minimal side effects. However, as it was a new TCM drug that was still undergoing clinical trial and had a direct connection to Professor Shao Shan, he needed permission from the director to use the drug to avoid conflict of interest.

The director nodded. “That’s the medicine created by Dr. Li?”

“Ah, yes, he’s coming to the Oncology Hospital for a seminar this weekend.”

“Do you think his experience in interventional radiology will help locate the source of Ms. Chen’s pain?” The director had obviously seen the footage of Minister Yue’s surgery. As much as he disliked requesting assistance from other doctors, the young doctor had performed miracles.

“I am not sure, but Dr. Li has other abilities,” said Professor Shao Shan. “I can ask for his assistance.”