CHAPTER 161: 161 EPILEPTIC GIRL

Just as Liang Xiaolin had suspected, Qing Kewa had completely transformed into Liu Banxia’s little shadow. Apart from when she was sleeping or using the restroom, she almost invariably followed wherever Liu Banxia went.

While having a beauty constantly trailing him could be quite thrilling, Qing Kewa sticking to him like glue was also a burden for Liu Banxia.

The workload in the Emergency Department had been relatively light these past few days. Perhaps Heaven, knowing the department was on the brink of major changes, had decided to grant them a period of rest and recuperation.

The Emergency Department had displayed a banner with a friendly message for individuals with HIV, advising them to disclose their status and assuring them of confidentiality and that they would not be denied medical assistance.

Liu Banxia still shuddered whenever he recalled the events of that night. Category B infectious diseases were indeed extremely dangerous.

"Sister Li, have you finished looking at the house?" Liu Banxia asked Zhou Li after completing his paperwork.

"I have, and the house is really lovely," Zhou Li replied joyfully.

"And Brother Liu said he’ll only charge for labor for the renovations, and materials will be at wholesale prices. My goodness, that will save me so much money!"

"Haha, it sounds like you’ve saved a significant amount; otherwise, you wouldn’t be this ecstatic," Liu Banxia said with a laugh.

"I’m starting my leave tonight. Are you free? If so, come to a barbecue stall owned by one of my patients for some skewers. I’ve been promising to go for ages. It’ll be easier for me to pay if there’s a group of us."

"Sounds good. Who else is coming?" Zhou Li asked.

"Well, my boss will be covering my shift. Other than that, it’ll be you, Liang Xiaolin, Qing Kewa, plus Qiaoqiao and Wang Xiaoyan," Liu Banxia replied after a moment’s thought.

"Those two have also been wanting to treat me to a meal, so we can just combine everything. My schedule is incredibly tight lately. Tomorrow, I have to go to Jinshui District. Even if it’s just one procedure, one procedure still means income."

Zhou Li smiled at him. "Tsk, tsk. I don’t think I should go, it might be awkward with me there. I don’t want to be a third wheel."

"Sister Li, why would you be a third wheel?" Qing Kewa asked curiously, trying to adapt to local customs.

"Children shouldn’t ask too many questions," Liu Banxia said sternly.

Qing Kewa blinked, once again struck by the complexity of the Chinese language.

Truthfully, Liu Banxia was also somewhat troubled. He had been in Binhai for three years but had very few men he could genuinely call close friends, and most of them were at the Second Hospital.

Liu Haibing was a relatively new friend, but if you invited him for a meal, he would undoubtedly insist on paying. The others were all doctors who, after a long day’s work, were desperate to rest. Who had that much spare time to go out सामाजिकizing?

Anyway, he had made up his mind. He would use tonight and tomorrow night to collect on all the meals people had promised him. If he didn’t proactively arrange it, they’d keep remembering they owed him and pester him about it.

Wang Mingxing, that cheeky kid, was constantly sending messages, one after another. His spirits were quite high. He should be ready for chemotherapy after a few more days of recovery.

"Seriously though, I probably shouldn’t mix with you young folks. I don’t know if Old Wang will be able to get off work on time. We need to enjoy some quality time as a couple," Zhou Li said with a laugh.

"Well... alright then. Sister Li, what’s going on with Sister Wang? I thought her issues had been resolved. She’s seemed troubled recently," Liu Banxia asked.

"It seems Sister Wang’s mother-in-law’s health has deteriorated. She’s been staying at the nursing home with her lately but isn’t very satisfied with the place," Zhou Li explained.

"She wanted to bring her mother-in-law home to care for her, but everyone’s so busy with work. They’d need a caregiver, but there’s no spare room at home. That’s what’s been worrying her. Life isn’t easy for anyone."

Liu Banxia nodded. That makes sense. No wonder Sister Wang has been so down lately. She and her mother-in-law have always had a good relationship; they both endured hard times together in the past.

"Dr. Liu, my cousin’s classmate had an epileptic seizure just before an exam finished. They’re on their way here now," Xu Dan said, approaching him.

DING! Task Published: Xu Dan’s Request

Open Task: Intern nurse Xu Dan requests the host to diagnose her cousin’s classmate. Task rewards will be issued based on the diagnostic results.

"Your cousin? Oh, right. Let’s wait and see what the situation is first," Liu Banxia replied.

He vaguely remembered her cousin, the one who had accompanied the young man with the kidney stone. More importantly, she was Director Xiao’s own daughter, which was why she had left a strong impression.

Today’s task is a bit strange too, he thought. Usually, tasks like this are issued only after I’ve seen the patient.

After about ten minutes, four people walked in. Liu Banxia couldn’t help but chuckle; he had just been thinking about the young man with the kidney stone, and now, here he was.

"Dr. Liu, hello!" Qiu Mingyuan greeted him, practically bouncing with energy.

"Looks like you’re truly recovered now. Given up on sugary drinks? Who’s the patient? Everyone looks quite normal to me," Liu Banxia asked.

"This is our homeroom teacher, Teacher Song. This is Han Miao. She recovered not long after we got in the car," Qiu Mingyuan introduced them with his usual forwardness.

"Hello, Teacher Song. I almost mistook you for one of their classmates," Liu Banxia greeted her, then observed Han Miao more closely.

From what he could see, apart from looking a little fatigued, she didn’t exhibit any obvious symptoms.

"Alright, I’ll first conduct a physical examination, including auscultation, then order a blood test and schedule a brain CT scan. Let’s see what the initial situation is. If necessary, we can arrange for other departments to consult," Liu Banxia said.

Epileptic seizures, colloquially known as "sheep’s horn wind," are mostly triggered by brain lesions. However, there’s also a condition called primary epilepsy, which isn’t associated with brain lesions or damage. It typically manifests during adolescence and can have a genetic component.

The cause of this type of epilepsy is not yet fully understood by current medical science, but its prognosis is generally quite good. Based on his observations, Liu Banxia thought it was highly likely this child had this type.

A brief inquiry revealed this was the patient’s second seizure. The first had occurred the night before last at home, lasting a minute or two, after which she had recovered.

"Teacher Song, how are this child’s grades usually? Is it possible that the upcoming exams are causing her significant stress?" Liu Banxia asked while Xu Dan took the patient for the CT scan.

"Han Miao has consistently ranked in the top five in her class. She has a very cheerful personality; final exams wouldn’t cause her any stress," Teacher Song said.

"What about her family situation? Could there be any recent stress from her personal life?" Liu Banxia inquired further.

"Honestly, I’m not very clear on that. Both of her parents work out of town, and she lives with her grandmother," Teacher Song replied after thinking for a moment.

"Alright, I’ll ask that energetic boy later. I gather he’s not the most disciplined student in your class, but since he came along, they must have a good relationship," Liu Banxia said.

Hearing this, Teacher Song chuckled. "Qiu Mingyuan doesn’t have any of that so-called ’rich second-generation’ arrogance; he actually performs very well in class. It’s just that he had kidney stones previously, and the doctor told him to jump around more often, so he’s been like this ever since."

"Oh, so I’m the culprit then. I only told him to hop a few times when climbing stairs; I didn’t tell him to keep bouncing around like this," Liu Banxia said, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"Oh, so you’re that Dr. Liu," Teacher Song said in surprise.

"Seems like my reputation isn’t too shabby," Liu Banxia joked.

"Several students in my class say you’re very formidable. A few of them are even planning to apply to Binhai Medical College for their college entrance exams next year," Teacher Song said with a laugh.

The two chatted casually. Nearby, Liang Xiaolin glanced their way, biting her lip.

She felt Liu Banxia was neglecting his duties. He was supposed to be attending to his patient; how could he just start chatting with the teacher simply because she was pretty and had an intellectual air about her? Were these appropriate topics for casual conversation? Did he even ask if she was married? What if it led to a complicated situation? He already had Qiaoqiao, who could even accompany him on shifts; why couldn’t he be more careful?

"Qing Kewa, Dr. Liu isn’t too busy right now. If you have any questions, this is a good time to ask him," Liang Xiaolin nudged Qing Kewa.

Qing Kewa blinked. "I don’t have any questions at the moment. Shouldn’t we wait for the scan results to know if there’s a problem?"

"Um... true," Liang Xiaolin answered, feeling a pang of guilt.

Zhou Li, standing behind them, was struggling to suppress her laughter. She had to, or she might burst out loud.

Those two girls, one so innocent, the other so guileless, always trailing Liu Banxia around. However, she did worry that if they continued like this, it might genuinely lead to problems one day. After all, Liang Xiaolin was Chen Xuehai’s girlfriend. Even though she might not realize it now, Liu Banxia probably already held a place in her subconscious. Even if she, Zhou Li, tried to look out for Banxia, it would be difficult to manage if things escalated in the future. And Qing Kewa? Who knew what her lifestyle was like back in her country? This rookie, Liu Banxia, might actually cause an international incident one day. Then there was that girl Qiaoqiao, always around. One might even say Banxia’s luck with women was quite strong lately. The crucial thing was that the guy himself was still completely oblivious, spending his days either laughing or reading books. It was quite vexing. Although her relationship with Banxia was good, she couldn’t speak to him directly about such matters. If she tried to hint at it, he was so clueless he wouldn’t understand. It was truly frustrating.

After waiting a while longer, Xu Dan returned with the young people. The physical films weren’t ready yet, but the result from the machine was already clear: the scan itself showed everything was normal.

"Have you felt uncomfortable anywhere else in the past few days?" Liu Banxia asked after some thought.

Han Miao shook her head. "No, I’ve felt perfectly fine."

"She fell during her morning run the day before yesterday. Does that count as discomfort?" Qiu Mingyuan interjected.

"That only resulted in a grazed knee," Xiao Yue retorted, glaring at him.

Despite the glare, Qiu Mingyuan didn’t seem to mind; he was probably used to being "disciplined."

"Perhaps we should also do an electroencephalogram (EEG) and an electrocardiogram (ECG)," Liu Banxia suggested after some thought.

"Your initial findings are all normal so far: blood pressure is normal, the CT scan is normal, and your body temperature is also normal. If we still can’t find anything after these additional tests, a contrast-enhanced head CT scan might be necessary."

Although he was inclined towards a diagnosis of primary epilepsy syndrome, further tests were necessary. Only if no underlying cause could be found could it be attributed to this. "Primary," after all, meant the cause was unknown.

Han Miao nodded. "I..."

Just as she uttered the word "I," her eyes rolled upward, and her body convulsed to one side as she collapsed, experiencing another epileptic seizure.