top student at medical school

Chapter 214 Accidents and Coincidences

"My maternal grandmother is eighty-four years old, which is not very old."

"Even with diabetes, if blood sugar is well controlled, one can tolerate surgery. However, the doctor in town is right."

“The blood supply to the lower third of the tibia is already poor. My grandmother is old, so the wound is more difficult to heal after surgery. People our age recover much slower than other areas.”

"Oh, the county people's hospital has invited an expert from the Minzu University Hospital, right? They're considering manual reduction followed by closed fixation with Kirschner wires. That works too," Fang Ziye said during a phone call with his father.

A fracture of the middle and lower third of the tibia is more troublesome, but ultimately better than a comminuted fracture.

After getting off the bus, Fang Ziye hurried to the location of the town's bus station. The bus departs every half hour, but it may not leave on time.

But nowadays, there's not much that can be done.

Even if Fang Ziye had a driver's license, there was no car for him to drive, as his family couldn't afford to have multiple vehicles.

All we can do is wait.

Luo Tingzhu read from Fang Ziye's message that Fang Ziye's grandmother was injured and seemed quite sensitive: "Senior Brother Fang, after the elderly are injured, you must pay attention to protection, especially the problem of venous thrombosis and the heart rate."

"Okay, after my grandmother has undergone temporary fixation with Kirschner wires and external fixation with plaster cast, I will explain some precautions to my uncles."

“After all, I specialize in trauma surgery,” Fang Ziye replied.

"Then be careful on the road. Actually, the technology at the county hospital is quite good now. Treating routine fractures isn't a problem; the main issue is other complications from fractures," Luo Tingzhu said reassuringly.

Then she said, "Before my grandmother passed away, she had some difficulty walking, but she didn't have any underlying medical conditions."

"In retrospect, I suspected that the heart attack might have been caused by arrhythmia or a blood clot."

"But at that time, many of my fellow citizens did not have any basic common sense about this."

Fang Ziye frowned as he read the message from Luo Tingzhu.

His understanding of Luo Tingzhu's grandmother was limited to the fact that she had some difficulty walking. Luo Tingzhu had not talked to him about anything else, including her grandmother's funeral.

When Grandma Luo Tingzhu passed away, she wasn't particularly old, only in her seventies.

"Can you take me to see Grandma next year during the Qingming Festival?" Fang Ziye sat on the bus, put his backpack on the shelf of the rural bus, and started typing with his hands free.

Unintentionally, Fang Ziye had already placed himself in a role that wasn't so distant from Luo Tingzhu.

"You want to go? It's quite a long journey and the place is very remote." Luo Tingzhu didn't give a direct answer.

Fang Ziye simply snapped a picture of the mountains across the way for her: "Does it look familiar?"

Chongqing is located in a mountainous area, but the mountains and rivers of Ba County are no less rugged than those of Chongqing.

Luo Tingzhu laughed, understanding Fang Ziye's meaning: "It feels like home."

"This is where I lived after elementary school. If I were younger, say before fourth grade, I would have lived in my hometown village, which was located near the top of a mountain and was even more remote than here. If I wanted to go to the market, I would have to..."

"My maternal grandmother's house is a full 30 miles away from my home, a mountain road. I remember it took two uphill and two downhill, and then going around several ditches to get there."

"Later, when I went to my maternal grandmother's house, I could take a bus directly to her village, and then climb a hill to get there."

"But when I was little..."

When Fang Ziye shared this with Luo Tingzhu, Luo Tingzhu said, "Actually, I don't have much of an impression of my maternal grandmother. I remember my mother and father divorced when I was very young, and I almost lost contact with my maternal grandmother and uncles. They might not even recognize me now..."

"Senior brother, it's alright."

"I have some good news for you. I've finally published an article with an impact factor of 15. It's already in the journal, and I'm the first author." Before going to sleep, Luo Tingzhu comforted Fang Ziye with these words, then told him what she most wanted to say before going to bed.

Fang Ziye fell into deep thought...

Before high school, he would visit his maternal grandmother's house every year around the Lunar New Year and during holidays.

After high school, I could only go to my maternal grandmother's house during the Chinese New Year. I would stay for a few days, eating at my uncle's house and my maternal grandmother's house in turn.

During my three years of university, I would visit relatives once a year for the New Year, staying for a day or two before returning.

After starting his internship, Fang Ziye was too busy to visit his maternal grandmother's house for the past few years...

The one time I visited my maternal grandmother's house was very clearly during the summer vacation after I graduated from undergraduate studies. I stayed for three days before I was summoned away by the graduate school admission notice from Wuhan University.

That year, the academic schedule for professional graduate students was arranged from June 24th to July 31st, and then the rotation program for standardized residency training officially began on August 1st.

Fang Ziye only had one week between graduating from his undergraduate studies and leaving for Wuhan University to take theoretical courses.

……

When Fang Ziye finally arrived at Ba County People's Hospital with his backpack, both of his uncles were there, but his aunt had to leave temporarily because she needed to go home to cook while taking care of her grandson and granddaughter.

However, my aunt said that she would bring some food over after cooking at home, so that everyone could eat together.

My second uncle is a very honest farmer. He only went to primary school and has been working hard in the fields ever since. Now he is almost sixty years old. He is skinny and not tall, only about 1.6 meters tall, and has thick lips.

When he saw Fang Ziye, a kind smile appeared on his tired face: "Ziye, you've come."

The other one is my fourth uncle. He is a bit taller, about 1.7 meters, and he also runs a small shop in the village. His income is decent, similar to that of Fang Ziye's family.

His face didn't show many signs of outdoor labor, but his hair was already half white, and his hands were rough and covered with black grime from years of work and the erosion of oil stains.

He's more educated, with a junior high school diploma, so he learned a trade and does all the signing and consultation work at the hospital. That's when he walked in.

"Dr. Liu isn't finished yet, and we don't know what's going on over there." Halfway through the conversation, the uncle saw Fang Ziye and dropped the previous topic.

"Hey, Ziye. I heard you're on duty? Did you ask for leave?"

"Hmm." Fang Ziye nodded to him, then walked towards his grandmother, who was already half asleep.

Grandpa was older and slightly hunched over. Upon seeing Fang Ziye, he affectionately called out, "Little Ye'er."

Xiao Ye'er was Fang Ziye's childhood nickname. His uncles and cousins ​​used to call him that, but after Fang Ziye went to university, his uncles basically stopped using that nickname and started calling him Ziye. His cousins ​​also changed their way of addressing him, either calling him Ziye or calling him Brother Ziye.

However, there are no taboos regarding how the elderly address children.

My maternal grandparents currently have only two daughters and two sons: my eldest aunt, second uncle, and fourth uncle. My mother is the fifth child in her family.

There was originally a third uncle, but he didn't survive. "Grandma, don't worry, it's not a big problem. The technology is very good now, and surgery may not be necessary. Just take good care of yourself, and if the pain gets too bad, we'll tell the doctor."

Fang Ziye comforted his grandmother, then looked at his fourth uncle and asked, "Uncle, what did the doctors here say?"

The fourth uncle then said to his younger sister and second brother, without using any titles, "Director Dong from the department said that Director Liu Wu from Minzu University Hospital came here specifically for that old lady over there, because her condition is not good."

"Surgery is not an option, but the fracture still needs to be treated. The only option is palliative manual reduction of the fracture. If the reduction is not done properly, then it's not a proper reduction."

"They've gone to the control room now. But it was supposed to be a half-hour trip, but it's been over an hour and they still haven't come out. I don't know what the situation is."

"Anyway, Mom will wait until Director Liu Wu finishes the manual repositioning before she comes over to check on things."

"Ziye, are you familiar with this Director Liu Wu?" Fourth Uncle asked Fang Ziye after explaining.

Fang Ziye shook his head: "I was at Enshi Central Hospital. Minzu University Hospital is another hospital, and I haven't had any contact with them."

Fang Ziye's mother quickly said, "Fourth brother, Ziye is still a student. He is studying at Enshi Central Hospital, so he doesn't have many connections. Your brother-in-law and I asked him right away."

Master's students are still students, so it's understandable that they don't have connections.

"I was just asking. Given Mom's current condition, the doctor in town said it's best not to have surgery," the fourth uncle replied with a smile, without pressing Fang Ziye for more information.

The relationship between relatives is actually quite good, but even the best relationship can't be completely harmonious.

Next, Fang Ziye looked at his grandmother's X-ray and found that it was a relatively simple A2.2 type fracture of the middle and lower tibia. Although there was displacement, it was not very difficult to treat.

"Ziye, can you handle this situation?" Fourth Uncle asked casually.

Fang Ziye shook his head: "Uncle, this is not Enshi Central Hospital. I don't have a license to practice medicine. Given Grandma's condition, it wouldn't be worthwhile to go to Enshi Central Hospital again."

"Besides, it would be fine if it were someone else, but this is my grandmother. I'm a little nervous and don't dare to do it."

Fang Ziye explained it very clearly.

Many people say that maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother are not the same thing, but only Fang Ziye knows how good his maternal grandmother was to him. She was not his paternal grandmother, but she was better than his paternal grandmother.

It's not that my grandmother is bad, but my maternal grandmother is just as good as my paternal grandmother. From childhood, she has never lacked food, toys, or pocket money. Even now, when I go to my maternal grandmother's house, I am always treated to good food and drinks, and she treats me like a little child!
It's not that Fang Ziye wants to be a "little tyrant," it's just that his maternal grandparents were farming when he was young, and now they no longer farm. All Fang Ziye can do is light the fire, cook, wash dishes, and scrub pots. As for actually cooking, his maternal grandmother really looks down on her cooking skills...

"You can't bring yourself to do it, huh?"

"Mom, your grandson dotes on you," the fourth uncle explained with a smile.

Grandma's feet didn't seem to hurt anymore. When she saw Fang Ziye, she grabbed his hand and explained, "Your cousins ​​aren't as good at studying as you. They're all working away from home and don't have time to come back."

"You, actually..."

Upon hearing this, Fang Ziye felt a lump in his throat.

"Grandma, let's not talk about this, get some rest! You're overthinking things." Fang Ziye quickly patted her hand to comfort her.

My maternal grandmother has an old-fashioned way of thinking. She might be afraid that her cousins ​​are being unreasonable, since even her grandson came back, but her grandchildren didn't.

Just then, a man in a white coat walked in.

Holding a medical record in his hand: "Are you a family member of Zhou Ermei?"

Fang Ziye looked bewildered, but his uncles and grandfather quickly stood up and nodded: "Is Director Liu available?"

However, Zhou Ermei is probably his maternal grandmother's name. It's just that Fang Ziye never knew his grandmother's name; it was actually quite simple and casual.

"Well, the other patient's fracture can only be left as is; it wasn't treated properly."

"Director Liu Wu asked me to tell you that your manual reduction technique might not be satisfactory. Are you still willing to try? If it's not reduced properly, surgery may still be necessary." The doctor in the white coat held the medical record in his hand and spoke very casually.

"If you agree, we'll arrange for you to go to the operating room now. If you don't agree, we can start considering surgery right away."

The man in the white coat was probably in his thirties, a calm and collected person, and definitely a seasoned veteran at the county hospital. He spoke without any nervousness.

Everything is a personal choice.

Clearly, after he said that, his uncle and even his parents frowned, clearly affected by his words.

"Let's try manual reduction first. That's what the hospitals in the township recommend. Director Liu from Minzu University Hospital also made a rare trip here."

"Director Liu must be quite skilled, and he has done this kind of repositioning before, which is why he was recommended."

"Compared to another patient, my grandmother's fracture should be slightly simpler, right?" Fang Ziye first offered advice and then asked.

The doctor in the white coat glanced at Fang Ziye, nodded, and gave him a heads-up: "It will indeed be a bit simpler, but don't have too high expectations, lest you be seriously disappointed."

My fourth uncle, acting as a representative, nodded in agreement.

We can't leave it untreated. Even without surgery, manual repositioning is still extremely necessary.

The cost of manual reduction is not high; the fee was paid when I was admitted to the hospital, so no additional treatment was needed.

Then, the doctor in the white coat instructed Fang Ziye and the others to push Grandma's hospital bed to the door of the operating room and wait.

As soon as the group arrived, the door to the control room was opened.

A middle-aged man in his forties wearing a white coat saw and recognized Fang Ziye the moment he stepped outside.

His feet trembled slightly, and he narrowed his eyes. At this moment, Fang Ziye was not wearing a mask or hat, so it was definitely not a fake.

"Dr. Fang, what are you doing here? Did Director Dong invite you too?" The middle-aged man straightened his posture and spoke with a slightly nervous tone.

"I'm a family member. This is my grandmother who is injured. I would like to trouble you, Director Liu, to perform a manual reduction and treat her," Fang Ziye quickly explained.

He didn't actually know Liu Wu.

Liu Wu's upper body trembled, and the skin around his eyes twitched incessantly: "Dr. Fang, you must be joking?"

Then, suddenly, Liu Wu seemed to remember something.

He immediately turned around and said, "Director Dong, Director Dong, please come out for a moment."

(End of this chapter)