CHAPTER 126: 126 DIFFICULT CHOICES (UPDATE 3/6 FOR LONELINESS AND EMPTINESS)

"I heard you responded to a car accident last night? The patient was sent to the ICU?" Zhou Li casually asked as she started her morning shift.

"Exactly. We didn’t finish until dawn," Liu Banxia said, stretching.

"I wonder if it’s because our Second Affiliated Hospital is planning to upgrade the emergency department, or what, but we’ve had quite a few emergencies in the past half-month," Xu Dan commented.

"You should stop worrying about that and think about what you want to do in the future. It was manageable when we had fewer cases, but last night, two patients came in at once. I even had to drag Doctor Wang over to help," Liu Banxia said.

"Think about whether you want to acquire some new skills. When there aren’t enough surgeons, you can also step up."

"That’s easy for you to say, but we don’t have those kinds of qualifications. We can only assist; otherwise, it would be chaos. If something went wrong, it would be a major incident. Selling us wouldn’t even cover the damages," Zhou Li said helplessly.

"Haha, where there’s a will, there’s a way. At the very least, you can learn more about using surgical instruments, right? In the future, our department will definitely have its own operating room. Where are we going to find that many surgical nurses?" Liu Banxia said, winking.

Zhou Li was taken aback; this indeed seemed like an opportunity. However, it wasn’t a huge deal for her. She was already a senior nurse, and after having her baby, she still had to work hard to advance to the next level.

However, for newcomers like Xu Dan, this was definitely an opportunity. The only drawback was that the difficulty level was slightly higher, and the future work pressure would also be somewhat greater.

Operating room nurses require a relatively higher level of professionalism because they are also a crucial part of the entire surgical procedure.

Comforting patients, conducting checks, verifying instruments, supervising discipline in the operating room, and providing a detailed handover when transferring patients to the ward post-surgery—they even have to clean the operating room afterward.

Although working in the operating room might be more physically exhausting than being a clinical nurse, it’s not mentally draining.

In the future, as the number of beds in the emergency department increases and they have to deal with more patients and their families, their work might become even more tiring than that of the nurses in the inpatient departments.

"Why are you all looking at me?" Xu Dan asked, a bit bewildered.

"Nothing, you’re just a little silly goose," Liu Banxia said, then strolled off to the side with his hands behind his back.

"You really are a silly goose. Think about it carefully: in the future, do you want to be a head nurse, worrying endlessly all day, or do you want to be in the operating room watching surgeries?" Zhou Li added, giving her nose a pinch.

Xu Dan wrinkled her nose. What are they even talking about? I’ve only just started my internship, haven’t I? Why do I need to think so far ahead?

Seeing that there was nothing else to attend to here, Liu Banxia walked towards the Neurosurgery ICU. Although not much time had passed, he was very concerned about this patient.

"Oh, Dr. Zhang, you haven’t finished your shift yet?" Liu Banxia quickly greeted Zhang Xiao when he saw him there.

"I’m on consecutive shifts today, so I came over to take a look. It hasn’t been that long, and her oxygen has already reached 70%. Will you speak with the patient’s family, or shall I?" Zhang Xiao asked.

"I’ll do it. I saw the patient’s son waiting outside. Sigh..." Liu Banxia sighed.

This conversation wasn’t just about informing them of the patient’s condition; it was also about making the patient’s family come to a decision. In other words, how many resources the hospital should commit to rescuing this patient.

This was different from the emergency last night. Back then, no family members were present, so the hospital had to do everything possible to treat the patient. Now that family members were here, they needed to make the decision.

He walked out and found the patient’s son. Upon seeing Liu Banxia approach, the son became very nervous.

"I just went to see your mother. Her ventilator is currently providing 70% oxygen," Liu Banxia said.

"Let me explain. Normally, the oxygen we provide is at 50%. Every increase indicates that the patient’s respiratory function is deteriorating. If we reach 100% and still can’t maintain the patient’s vital signs, we will have to use ECMO, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation."

"This machine essentially acts as an artificial heart and lungs, taking over the patient’s cardiopulmonary functions to maintain their vital signs. It’s been less than three hours, and her oxygen requirement has already reached 70%. Our prognosis is not optimistic."

"Doctor, does my mom still have a chance? Didn’t you say earlier that letting her rest might allow her to recover?" the patient’s son asked anxiously.

"Let’s sit down and talk," Liu Banxia said, guiding him to a seat on the side.

"Recovery is the best outcome we could hope for. The car accident yesterday definitely caused damage to her lungs. And now, her body can’t withstand any more major surgery—neither a thoracotomy nor a craniotomy is feasible. We can only opt for conservative treatment."

"You need to be mentally prepared. Because if we use the ECMO machine, the initial setup cost is very high, around 50,000 yuan. Then, add the costs for cannulation, examinations, lab tests, medications, and other related expenses, which will be roughly another 10,000 yuan."

"This means that on the day the machine is started, the expenses will be over 60,000 yuan. After that, the daily operating cost of the machine will be a little over 1,000 yuan. Considering your mother’s current condition, you need to make preparations."

"Normally, I wouldn’t tell you all this so soon. But telling you in advance gives you time to think it over carefully, so you won’t have regrets later."

This was the difficult part. One could say that the patient’s survival now largely rested in her son’s hands. Such a choice was truly too difficult for him.

Although Liu Banxia spoke very subtly, the patient’s son understood. His already deflated spirit instantly became agitated. He pulled out a cigarette, but a final shred of reason told him this was a hospital, so he put it back.

"Doctor, you were the one who rescued her yesterday. I trust you. Do you think there’s still a significant chance?" the patient’s son asked after a moment of hesitation.

Liu Banxia patted his shoulder. "For every patient, we doctors always hold out the greatest hope. But in matters like these, we cannot offer any suggestions."

"I know this kind of decision is very painful, which is why I told you in advance, to give you time to prepare mentally. There’s no rush right now; it’s not yet time to make the official decision."

If it were the old him, he would undoubtedly have said, We have to at least try. Trying might not succeed, but not trying means there’s definitely no chance.

But now, he was no longer that reckless intern; he had grown into a chief resident. On this issue, he couldn’t give the patient’s family any leading suggestions.

Behind this seemingly indifferent demeanor was, in fact, the greatest respect for the patient and their family.

Liu Banxia knew this was just the beginning. As his medical career accumulated, he would encounter more situations like this. Such choices are difficult because there is simply no right answer.

All Liu Banxia could do now was stay with him and offer some emotional support.