“What now?” Director Zhu asked urgently. Today seemed to be riddled with incidents.
Hearing that trouble had surfaced again, Gao-Yuan instinctively followed. He couldn’t resist taking an interest in critical or severe cases, whether they were assigned to him or not.
Seeing him leave, the others also headed out of the room.
The nurse led Director Zhu to another area, where a family had brought in a patient on a wooden board.
Upon seeing the patient, Director Zhu exclaimed, “Eh? Grandpa Hao? Wasn’t he transferred to the provincial hospital?”
The eldest son of the Hao family sighed and said, “Director Zhu, sorry to trouble you again.”
Director Zhu immediately responded, “Not at all. What happened? Has there been no improvement after all this time?”
The eldest son gave a wry smile. “No, nothing. To be honest, my father’s condition has been critical for days now. We’ve already prepared his coffin and burial clothes at home…”
Director Zhu nodded heavily. He had been aware of Grandpa Hao’s critical state when he was transferred. At the time, he had suspected there was little hope for survival, and it seemed his fears had come true. He said solemnly, “Alas, human effort has its limits. You’ve done your best. What brings you back here today?”
The younger sons exchanged glances before looking at a woman in the family.
The eldest son explained, “This is my sister. She’s just returned from out of town for the funeral…”
Hao Meiling interrupted angrily, “Father’s not dead yet! What funeral?”
Her elder brother, exasperated, said, “Our sister is a journalist. She’s been away on assignment and didn’t know how serious our father’s condition was. Now that she’s back and sees him like this, she can’t accept it. She insists we bring him to the hospital for another attempt at treatment.”
“So we thought, why not try? It’s our filial duty, after all. Director Zhu, could you examine him again? Maybe find a room for him, prescribe some medicine, or set up an IV. At the very least, we’d like to say we did all we could, with no regrets.”
Director Zhu understood. Such cases weren’t uncommon. He nodded and said, “Alright, bring him into this examination room.”
Hao Meiling stepped forward and firmly addressed Director Zhu, “Director Zhu, right? Hello, I’m Hao Meiling. Even though my father’s condition is dire, I ask that you give it your all. Use the best medicine and consult with the top specialists. Can you do that?”
Hearing her mention “top specialists,” Director Zhu involuntarily glanced toward Gao-Yuan.
Hao Meiling followed his gaze and saw a clean-cut young man. Seeing nothing particularly extraordinary about him, she turned back and said, “Director Zhu? Director Zhu…”
Director Zhu quickly snapped back to attention and reassured her, “Don’t worry. We’ll do everything we can.”
The other Hao siblings merely sighed. This youngest sister was always the most headstrong. In their hearts, they felt it was unnecessary and futile. They had already notified their relatives and friends. But since their accomplished youngest sister refused to give up, they had no choice but to support her efforts one last time.
Hearing Director Zhu’s assurance, Hao Meiling finally nodded. “Alright.”
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The patient was moved into a ward, and the Hao family members, along with the doctors, entered as well.
Hao Meiling, seeing the room packed with people, asked curiously, “Why are there so many here? Who are all these people?”
Director Zhu explained, “These are some of our city’s finest traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. They’re here for a conference at the hospital. Since they’re here, I thought it would be good to have them consult on your father’s case and offer their input for the best possible treatment plan.”
“Excellent, excellent,” Hao Meiling said repeatedly, her anxiety easing somewhat. What she feared most was the doctors seeing her father as a lost cause and not giving their full effort. From what she could see, the hospital was treating this seriously.
Director Zhu nodded. As a seasoned doctor, he had plenty of experience handling such situations.
The doctors and practitioners began assessing the patient’s condition, but their expressions quickly grew grim. The patient’s face was ashen, his lips and fingertips cyanotic, and his breathing was exceedingly faint.
Even without taking the pulse or checking the tongue, it was apparent at a glance—this was a case that seemed beyond saving.
“Dr. Gao?” Wang Hanzhang called out to Gao-Yuan.
Gao-Yuan had been observing the patient closely. Now that the patient was placed on the bed, he ignored the call and approached to examine him personally.
The crowd was stunned. He’s stepping in again?
Seeing Gao-Yuan take action, Dr. Han Dai refused to be left behind and hurriedly followed him.
The Hao siblings, seeing Gao-Yuan step up for the diagnosis, showed no particular reaction.
However, Hao Meiling glanced at him and then turned to ask Director Zhu, “Director Zhu, aren’t you going to examine him yourself?”
Director Zhu replied, “Let the traditional medicine practitioners take the lead first. In the meantime, we’ll provide oxygen and check his blood pressure. Could someone bring me a stethoscope?”
Hao Meiling wanted to say something, but seeing that the doctors weren’t idle, she swallowed her words. Looking back and forth between Gao-Yuan and her father, her expression grew more anxious.
Gao-Yuan examined the patient and asked, “Is it rheumatic heart disease?”
None of the Hao siblings immediately answered.
“Hmm?” Gao-Yuan turned to them.
Finally, the eldest son said, “Yes, yes. It’s rheumatic heart disease.”
“How long has he been sick?”
“Twelve years. The last two years have been especially bad. His whole body swells up. Look, his belly is bigger than a pregnant woman’s. His legs are so swollen that if you press them, they leave dents. He can’t walk or even move.”
“We’ve tried everything—local hospitals, city hospitals, even the provincial hospital. They diagnosed it as heart failure, stage III, with atrial fibrillation. Then he ended up like this. Even the provincial hospital couldn’t help and discharged him.”
Director Zhu listened with his stethoscope and confirmed, “Yes, there’s fibrillation.”
Gao-Yuan observed the patient, noting his semi-conscious state, neither fully awake nor entirely asleep.
“Grandpa Hao, Grandpa Hao,” Gao-Yuan gently tapped the patient’s shoulder.
“Ugh…” Grandpa Hao responded weakly, still capable of making a sound.
Gao-Yuan touched the thick cotton blanket covering the patient and asked, “Has he always been covered in heavy quilts?”
The eldest son replied, “He has no internal heat. He’s constantly cold, even in the summer. He always wears padded clothing.”
The doctors thought back to the earlier case of the woman overdressed for summer. This man’s condition seemed even more severe—wearing padded clothes in midsummer.
Gao-Yuan lifted the quilt, revealing a distended abdomen, thin chest, and profuse cold sweat. The patient’s breathing was laboured, his hands and feet icy cold. Gao-Yuan silently confirmed the signs of extreme Yang deficiency.
When Gao-Yuan pressed on the patient’s abdomen, he immediately felt a pulsating sensation.
“Hmm?” Gao-Yuan removed his hand and observed the unusual movement of the patient’s abdomen. The pulse was so strong it visibly moved the clothing. Pressing again, he felt the abnormal, vigorous pulsation.
The moment he applied pressure, Grandpa Hao shakily pointed to his lower abdomen and murmured faintly, "Cold... cold... here... cold...”
“What?” Gao-Yuan leaned in closer, unable to catch the words.
“Father, what are you saying?” Hao Meiling hurried to his side.
Grandpa Hao, semi-conscious, struggled to speak. His breath was cold, and he pointed upward, mumbling, "Cold... cold... rising... rising up...”
“What?” Hao Meiling still couldn’t hear clearly.
Gao-Yuan, with his hand on the lower abdomen, felt a chilling sensation rising from the Guanyuan acupoint. Turning to look at Grandpa Hao, he suddenly saw the old man’s eyes roll back as he slipped away.
“Father!” Hao Meiling screamed in panic.
The eldest son sighed and said, “It’s time to prepare for the funeral.”