Chapter 211 - 210: I’m Still Most Afraid of Death

Chapter 211: Chapter 210: I’m Still Most Afraid of Death

「In the blink of an eye, it was Friday.」

Before eight in the morning, Yu Zhiming arrived at the Neurosurgery Department and, sure enough, saw Doctor You Weixian waiting for him.

He first followed Doctor You to see the patient.

He was a sixteen-year-old boy, so scrawny that at first glance, he looked to be only thirteen or fourteen.

Doctor You told Yu Zhiming that the boy had already reached puberty, but whenever he fantasized about romantic matters, the excitement would either give him a severe headache or make him pass out.

But fantasizing about such things was like an addiction. Even though his body couldn’t handle it, the boy repeatedly did what was forbidden.

As a result, his health deteriorated.

His family took him to a major hospital for a check-up, where they finally discovered a cranial vascular malformation.

Before, they had just assumed his body was too frail.

Yu Zhiming already knew Doctor You’s surgical plan: create a long, thin bypass from the anterior cerebral artery, run it directly past the curved malformation in the cerebral branch artery, and then graft it onto the vessel.

The difficulty of the surgery lay in the vascular graft at the end of the bypass.

What was required of Yu Zhiming was to perform two precise punctures to accurately locate the grafting points on the vessel.

Doctor You would have to maneuver carefully within the narrow space created by Yu Zhiming’s punctures, performing something akin to a microscopic vascular graft under minimally invasive conditions.

Some brain damage was unavoidable in this process.

But compared to the boy’s future, in Doctor You’s words, it was a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils and was still acceptable.

Compared to Doctor You’s delicate vascular grafting surgery in an extremely confined space, the cerebral punctures Yu Zhiming had to perform were relatively simple.

Within the path planned by Doctor You, he had to avoid blood vessels and perform two punctures straight to the vascular grafting points.

Doctor You then took Yu Zhiming to see one of the neurosurgery operating rooms.

"Dr. Yu, this is Operating Room Five. It’s on the westernmost side of the floor, so it’s the quietest."

"I plan to start the surgery around three or four in the morning, the quietest time. At that point, there won’t be anyone else in the entire surgical area besides our room."

"Dr. Yu, what do you think?"

Yu Zhiming took a moment to sense the quietness of the operating room, then pondered for a moment before meeting Doctor You’s expectant gaze.

He said slowly, "Under open-skull conditions, probing the puncture path... it’s worth a try."

After getting Yu Zhiming’s agreement, Doctor You scheduled the boy’s cerebral vascular bypass surgery for two in the morning on Sunday...

Yu Zhiming left the Neurosurgery Department and hurried back to the Qi Yue Medical Research Center to start preparing for today’s employee wellness check-ups.

As soon as he entered the main office, Zhou Mo came over to greet him.

"Dr. Yu, yesterday, the medical affairs department rejected the unreasonable demands of the deceased’s family and explicitly told them the hospital was not at fault."

"If they have objections, they can file a lawsuit."

Zhou Mo added excitedly, "The police also came yesterday and warned them to pursue their rights through reasonable and legal negotiations."

After a pause, she added with a serious tone, "Even though the police have intervened, we can’t let our guard down."

"Especially you, Dr. Yu. You need to be extra careful."

Yu Zhiming was a bit confused. "Zhou Mo, I wasn’t the deceased’s attending physician. Why do I need to be more careful?"

"Have you heard something through the grapevine?"

Zhou Mo raised an eyebrow. "Dr. Yu, surely you know that apart from the director, you’re the most famous person at our center."

"Your reputation is even bigger than the director’s. You could even be called the face of the center."

"If someone really wanted to cause trouble for our center, the director and you would be the biggest targets."

Yu Zhiming nodded lightly and looked at Qiao Lei, who was standing to the side.

"Qiao Lei, your time to shine has come."

Qiao Lei straightened his back and started flexing his biceps.

"Dr. Yu, for the next few days, I’ll stick to you like glue. I won’t let anyone with ill intentions get near you."

"Dr. Yu, I’ll be your human shield."

Yu Zhiming resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Let’s go. Time to start the check-ups..."

Because he had work scheduled for the evening, Yu Zhiming only took half an hour for lunch and a break before throwing himself back into the check-ups.

He also consciously picked up his pace, and by 5:10 PM, he had finally completed the check-ups for all one hundred and twenty people.

During today’s check-ups, Yu Zhiming’s biggest achievement was discovering new cardiovascular and cerebrovascular issues in fifteen people.

No cases of cancer or suspected cancer were detected...

After finishing the check-ups, Yu Zhiming didn’t have time to rest. He and Qiao Lei rushed over to the General Surgery Department...

Feeling like a spinning top, Yu Zhiming met Doctor Cui, Doctor Wang Jiangyue, and Doctor Wang’s patient and her family in Dr. Cui Zhitan’s office.

Doctor Wang Jiangyue, forty-eight years old, wore her hair in a bun. She was neither fat nor thin and had a warm, maternal look about her.

"Dr. Yu, thank you for coming to help despite your busy schedule."

Doctor Wang expressed her thanks gratefully, but before she could say another word, the patient’s daughter interrupted her.

"Dr. Yu, are you even thirty?"

"Are you an associate chief physician?"

"How many surgeries like my mom’s have you performed? Do you have any failures on your record?"

Yu Zhiming glanced at the girl—who looked to be a college student around twenty, firing off aggressive questions—but didn’t deign to answer. Instead, he frowned and looked at Wang Jiangyue.

"Doctor Wang, wasn’t everything explained clearly? Has an agreement not been reached?"

Wang Jiangyue looked embarrassed and quickly explained, "Dr. Yu, we had already agreed on everything before you arrived."

"It’s just that my classmate’s daughter is overly worried about her mother. Please don’t take offense, Dr. Yu."

Although the patient’s daughter was indignant at Yu Zhiming’s dismissal, she couldn’t bring herself to speak up again in front of a room full of elders, especially her parents.

But the look of doubt on her face grew even more pronounced.

When Wang Jiangyue looked at the patient and her husband, she noticed their faces were now filled with obvious hesitation and anxiety, and her heart sank.

She took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "I’ve already said everything that needed to be said. Now that Dr. Yu is here, if you have any questions, ask them now."

The patient’s husband gave a sheepish laugh. "Doctor Wang, it’s a cancer surgery, after all. One can’t be too careful."

He then turned to Yu Zhiming and said cautiously, "Dr. Yu, you really are young."

"To be so young and so highly regarded by Doctor Cui and Doctor Wang, your medical skills must be absolutely superb."

Yu Zhiming heard the man’s pleasant-sounding words, but he understood he was actually questioning his age and ability.

It was no wonder. At only twenty-six, he looked like a greenhorn who had just graduated with a doctorate from medical school.

It was indeed hard to be convincing.

Especially for a life-or-death cancer surgery. It was only normal for the patient and their family to have second thoughts when the time came.

Yu Zhiming tried to see it from their perspective and suppressed his growing annoyance.

"My personal profile is available on the hospital website and online. I assume you’ve already looked it up?"

"My greatest specialty is visceral examination. I can detect early-stage cancerous changes in organs."

"As for your specific situation..."

Yu Zhiming paused for a moment before saying, "I can determine the extent of the colon tumor’s infiltration and malignancy."

"However, I must state clearly that I cannot give a one-hundred-percent guarantee. There may be omissions or errors."

"Therefore, a liability waiver must be signed."

Hearing this, the patient’s daughter couldn’t help but speak up again. "Dr. Yu, you can’t give a guarantee? So you’re saying..."

"You’re gambling with my mother’s health and life? Experimenting on her?"

Yu Zhiming saw that the expressions on both Doctor Cui’s and Doctor Wang’s faces had soured.

He also noticed that neither the patient nor her husband had any intention of stopping their daughter or clarifying her words.

Yu Zhiming gave a slight smile and nodded. "Indeed. For you, it’s a risk. For us, it’s a trial."

"You can choose the more conservative method: a conventional tumor and bowel resection, plus an ostomy."

At this, Yu Zhiming saw the patient’s face turn a shade paler.

"The safe route versus the riskier one, an ostomy versus no ostomy... it’s rare to have the best of both worlds in this life. You have to make a choice."

Yu Zhiming then added, "I should also make it clear: there’s no guarantee that an ostomy can be avoided."

"It’s also possible that my examination will reveal that an even larger section of the bowel needs to be removed."

Seeing the family of three trapped in a struggle of indecision, Yu Zhiming turned his gaze to Doctor Cui and Wang Jiangyue.

"Doctor Cui, Doctor Wang, why don’t we let them think about it some more? After all, this is no minor surgery."

Wang Jiangyue could tell that Yu Zhiming was trying to back out, so she quickly said to the patient, "We were classmates in elementary and middle school. Would I ever harm you?"

"I’ll give you another half hour to think it over carefully and make a final decision."

Wang Jiangyue then looked at Yu Zhiming, her eyes pleading. "Dr. Yu, Doctor Cui, I have some pre-Qingming Longjing tea in my office. Why don’t we go there and have some?"

Yu Zhiming saw Teacher Cui look over at him as well, so he nodded lightly. "Alright, let’s go have some tea..."

Cui Zhitan, Yu Zhiming, and Qiao Lei followed Wang Jiangyue to her office.

It was a large office shared by two Chief Physicians and one associate chief physician.

There was no helping it; office space at Huashan Hospital was extremely tight.

Only senior Chief Physicians and department heads had their own private offices.

This was especially true for the General Surgery Department, a large and famous department at Huashan Hospital with numerous medical staff, making office space even more scarce.

Wang Jiangyue apologized as she prepared the tea.

"Dr. Yu, I’m truly sorry. Everything was already settled, but I didn’t expect them to hesitate at the last minute."

Yu Zhiming said casually, "Doctor Wang, it’s mainly because I’m too young. I’m not very convincing."

"Especially with cancer surgery, patients are bound to have many concerns."

He rubbed his upper lip. "Say, if I grew a mustache, do you think I’d look more mature and dependable?"

Wang Jiangyue glanced at Yu Zhiming, imagined him with a mustache, and laughed. "A mustache wouldn’t look good on you."

She formally handed a cup of tea to Yu Zhiming.

"Dr. Yu, please have some tea..."

Half an hour later, Wang Jiangyue, Yu Zhiming, and the others returned to Doctor Cui’s office right on time.

The patient, supported by her husband on one side and her daughter on the other, slowly stood up.

"Jiangyue, at the last moment, I realized... more than cleanliness and all the discomfort, what I fear most is death."

"I choose... the conservative surgical plan..."