CHAPTER 381: CHAPTER 364 CAUSE OF ILLNESS (1)

"Hurry and tidy up," Li Yuzhu said to the two maids and the nanny.

Miss Rui also said, "Quickly, now, while the old lady is not stirring, clean up immediately."

The three returned to their senses and swiftly busied themselves.

On this side, Li Yuzhu steadied the old lady, distracting her attention.

At the same time, she carefully took the old lady’s pulse and activated the spatial medical equipment to examine her brain.

The brain was somewhat atrophied.

Li Yuzhu asked for paper and pen and wrote a prescription.

"Go fetch the medicine right away. Let me see it before you decoct it, and I’ll also prepare some other medicine." She handed the prescription to Miss Rui.

Miss Rui turned and handed it to the nanny beside her, "Take it to Old Chen to fetch the medicine."

The nanny took the prescription and ran out of the house.

Miss Rui exhaled and asked Li Yuzhu, "Miss Li, will the old lady be a bit calmer after taking the medicine?"

If things continue like this, before the old lady falls ill, they, the people around, will go crazy first.

"This is a chronic illness, a quiet ailment, quietly improving. Besides, as I said, this disease will not completely heal, only alleviate. After all, it’s an old person’s disease; her body’s functions have already weakened and cannot be restored to the state of a young person," Li Yuzhu said.

Miss Rui said, "As long as it improves, if it can be restored to more than half, Mrs. Zhao will surely give a great reward."

Li Yuzhu smiled, "We’ll see."

While chatting idly about domestic matters with Old Mrs. Zhao, she wrote the corresponding rehabilitation treatment plan.

Simply taking medicine won’t achieve effectiveness; it needs to be complemented with exercise and family care.

Alzheimer’s disease mostly starts after the age of sixty-five.

Females have a higher incidence rate than males, lower-educated individuals more so than highly-educated ones, those with a history of brain injuries or vascular diseases have higher rates than those with healthy brains. Those with high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol are more prone to the disease, and those who smoke or drink excessively are more likely to develop it in old age.

There are also genetic factors.

Having someone in your first-degree relatives with the disease increases the personal risk higher than in healthy family members.

For example, if one parent had the disease or if siblings had Alzheimer’s, one must be particularly vigilant.

Though Alzheimer’s is incurable, early intervention treatment can only ease symptoms, it is not impossible to prevent.

Middle-aged individuals with high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol, and those who are overweight, directly affect brain function in old age. Starting from this point, it is necessary to improve the diet and living habits, perform brain exercises to reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s.

Engaging in social activities, thinking-based activities such as playing chess, reading, and writing, helps maintain memory functions and delay brain aging.

This is also why lower-educated individuals have higher incidence rates than higher-educated ones.

Lower-educated people can keep their brains active through labor in youth, but when they can no longer work in old age, with limited knowledge, their brain ceases to think actively, and gradually become what people colloquially call "senile".

The causes of Old Mrs. Zhao’s illness, apart from the unknown genetic factors, were sufficient to make the old lady ill.

Obesity accompanied by high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol, with no need for labor, and financial security, she had two maids and a nanny attending to her closely, along with two others doing chores and laundry for her.

With no financial worries and no concerns for children, she was lazy to think.

Her days were spent lying in idleness, awaiting the end.

Along with her advanced age of seventy, which in the medically and hygienically underdeveloped ancient times, was a rare longevity.

With fewer peers of the same age for heart-to-heart talks, loneliness made her even lazier in communicating with others.

These factors made her the family’s "senile."

If not for Sister-in-law Chai insisting on not letting Old Mrs. Zhao "forget" those around her, Old Mrs. Zhao might have gone senile for two years and passed away.

Early-stage Alzheimer’s is "senility," and when it manifests severely, with incontinence like a newborn needing care, it can lead to a series of complications, such as urinary tract infections, lung infections, bedsores from prolonged bedridden, or other organ diseases, which lead to quick demise.

Her medication can only slightly alleviate Old Mrs. Zhao’s condition, but the brain has already atrophied, she cannot reverse fate, to halt or relieve brain lesions, the only way is brain exercises, additionally, physical exercises to mitigate the harm of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol.

She wrote some methods and handed them to Miss Rui to see.

"While taking medicine, rehabilitation training must be done simultaneously. These are the methods I’ve written; Miss Rui, arrange for the maids attending to the old lady to accompany her in doing these exercises daily at a scheduled time."

Miss Rui seriously looked at the list handed over.

"So complex?" she exclaimed.

Li Yuzhu said, "If you don’t strictly follow what’s written, taking the medicine won’t supplement anything." She smiled, "Where is it complex? This is much simpler than organizing a birthday banquet."

Old Mrs. Zhao was neglected by her daughters-in-law and sons, evident in how the banquet was for outsiders, for receiving cash gifts, for face and money, they can organize complicated, cumbersome banquets whereas treating the old lady’s illness bothers them.

The rehabilitation methods she wrote were not complicated either.

They merely strictly regulated Old Mrs. Zhao’s schedule.

For instance, wake up at dawn (modern time 7 AM), accompanied by a maid to take a walk in the garden for two quarters of an hour (half an hour), then return to the house for breakfast, after resting for a quarter-hour, copy Buddhist scriptures for an hour or practice writing for an hour, and chat about past events for half an hour.

After lunch, nap for half an hour, walk for two quarters afterward, then have a light tea snack, play chess for an hour, or let the old lady count things for an hour, or paint for an hour.

After dinner, walk for two quarters again, then chat to recall the day’s events, do a set of Five Animals Qigong, and then wash and go to bed.

If family members visit, they should recall events together, count amounts of items together, help the old lady recall recent events, to stimulate memory training.

Looking at the list, Miss Rui thought that if it could cure the old lady, she had nothing to say.

She handed the list to the old lady’s nanny, "Nanny, hold on to this and follow Miss Li’s instructions." Fortunately, it’s all simple tasks.

The nanny and the two maids looked at the list, pondering internally, will this be effective?

When the housekeeper brought the medicine, Mrs. Zhao also came in.

"Miss Li, it’s hard on you, rushing to the county town without resting to treat our old lady." She smiled kindly.

Li Yuzhu smiled lightly, "It’s alright." However, truly rare seeing Mrs. Zhao visiting the old lady amid her busy schedule.

Mrs. Zhao saw her indifferent expression, knowing Li Yuzhu was surely mocking her.

It’s not that she didn’t want to come, but the old lady’s temper was annoying. Previously it was scolding, recently even hitting, chasing her to pay back fifty thousand taels of Silver!

But in the presence of outsiders, she couldn’t act out or explain, she awkwardly smiled, and let it pass.

This was the County Magistrate’s relative; she couldn’t offend too much.

"Has the old lady shown any temper just now?" Mrs. Zhao diverted the topic, asking those in the old lady’s room.

"The old lady threw things on the ground earlier, not allowing anyone to pick them up. After Miss Li came and coaxed her a bit, she agreed to let us pick them up." The nanny said, "Today’s room is much tidier than yesterday, Mrs. Zhao."

Mrs. Zhao noticed the room was much cleaner as soon as she entered.

Unexpectedly, this Miss Li not only can treat illnesses but also coax people?

Young in age, but with impressive skills, truly remarkable.

Li Yuzhu looked at the prescription and said, "The medicine was fetched correctly, go decoct a dose immediately."

The housekeeper took the medicine and left.

In addition to Chinese medicine, Li Yuzhu also took out some Western medicine pills to give to the old lady.

The colorful pills were quite strange.

"I’ve never seen this type of medicine before," Mrs. Zhao said, seeing her taking small porcelain bottles from her backpack, pouring some pills into paper packets, surprised.

"Every doctor has their proprietary medicine pills; these are made by a method my mentor taught me, very suitable for treating the old lady’s illness." Li Yuzhu wrapped up the medicine, personally boiled water, and fed the old lady.

Not that she willingly wanted to act as someone’s maid, but at this moment, Old Mrs. Zhao’s temper was quite bad, with a misstep she might flip the pills.

Her medicine was not inexhaustible, all obtained through barter for herbs.

She had to cherish it.

Mrs. Zhao scrutinized Li Yuzhu, "I wonder, who is Miss Li’s mentor, which divine doctor?"

"She was originally a female doctor in the palace, but she no longer serves there, she likes to travel around collecting herbs," Li Yuzhu looked back at Mrs. Zhao and smiled slightly, "She has an eccentric temper and doesn’t see people easily, and is hard to find."

The fictional person she created wasn’t easy to meet!

Mrs. Zhao was a bit disappointed, "Not easy to meet?" She still wanted to know Li Yuzhu’s mentor, thinking finding a mentor would be better than finding a disciple, but who knew she’d have such a bad temper?

Forget it, forget it; a doctor with a bad temper is better not to meet.