CHAPTER 199: 199 GLADIATOR LIU BANXIA

For a hospital, conflicts between doctors and patients were all too common. Liu Banxia, however, was somewhat at a disadvantage; even if "injured," he couldn’t step away from the front line.

Instead, he received some well-wishes from the Emergency Department. When Zhou Shuwen heard about the incident after his surgery, he allowed Liu Banxia to rest until the evening shift. This was a rare gesture, especially since his injury wasn’t serious at all.

"Brother, I never imagined being a doctor could be this dangerous," Qiu Huaili remarked with a sigh.

"It’s all too common. Let me put it this way: what if someone tried twice and still couldn’t get the IV needle into your child’s vein? What would you think?" Liu Banxia asked, munching on a banana.

"Absolutely not. We’d have to find someone with the best skills; enduring the pain once is more than enough," Qiu Huaili replied.

"See? That’s exactly it. It’s all out of concern for family that people’s thinking can become a bit extreme at times," Liu Banxia said with a smile.

"But resorting to physical violence is absolutely unacceptable. So this time, I’m going to see this through to the end. Emotionally, their feelings are understandable, but legally, a fair judgment is essential. They want to extort me? Not a chance."

"TSK, TSK. Now you’re all high and mighty again. You’re so skilled in surgery, so quick with your hands, but you still can’t fight?" Qiaoqiao, who was playing with the baby nearby, commented.

"How can those be the same? Actually, after the fight, when I replayed it in my mind, I thought of many moves. But in the heat of the moment, my mind went blank and I couldn’t use any of them," Liu Banxia lamented.

"HAHAHA... Dude, you’re hilarious! You think they’d wait for you to think of your moves? Who fights by the rules in a situation like that?" Qiu Huaili said with a laugh.

"But was that person’s death really caused by fasciitis that developed from a perianal abscess? Can a perianal abscess be that severe?"

"It’s not necessarily that the perianal abscess itself is so severe. Even a small wound, or a mosquito bite, could potentially lead to an infection like that," Liu Banxia explained.

"Many types of bacteria can cause such infections. During treatment, we initially have to use broad-spectrum antibiotics. Only after culturing and identifying the specific bacteria involved can we prescribe targeted medication."

"Moreover, this disease doesn’t show many obvious external signs when the infection begins. It spreads specifically beneath the skin and along the fascia, so you often can’t see anything wrong on the skin’s surface."

"By the time it becomes visibly apparent over a large area of the skin, it’s usually time to prepare for the worst. At that point, the infection has already spread throughout the body, most of the fascial tissue has necrosed, and much of the body’s oxygen has been consumed by these aerobic bacteria."

"At this stage, multiple organ failure sets in. Someone with a stronger constitution might hang on for another day or two. The patient today didn’t make it. Even if an autopsy were performed, this would be the determined cause of death."

"That sounds terrifying! The way you doctors talk, it seems like every disease is fatal. This one leads to death, that one leads to death," Qiaoqiao interrupted impatiently.

"HEHE, that’s because we know how terrifying many diseases can become if left uncontrolled," Liu Banxia replied cheerfully, picking up a bunch of grapes.

"Trust me on this. You might find annual check-ups annoying and a waste of money. But a colonoscopy every three years shouldn’t be a problem, right? They even have painless options now; you just sleep through it, and it’s done."

"Many colorectal cancers develop from intestinal polyps. Initially, it might just be a tiny polyp that can be removed, and that’s the end of it. But if you ignore it, it can slowly develop, and who knows, it might start to turn cancerous."

"Oh? The pathology report for a young patient of mine should be out today. He has a maxillary sinus polyp, in his nasal cavity. It looked a bit problematic. Let me make a quick call."

Having said that, Liu Banxia pulled out his phone and dialed Du Fancheng’s number.

"Dr. Liu, you’ve really made a name for yourself today! Fought with spirit, showed some real backbone. Well done!" Du Fancheng teased as soon as he answered the call.

"Oh my god, has the news spread all the way to your ENT department?" Liu Banxia asked, exasperated.

"More than that! We even pulled some strings to watch the surveillance footage. You really weren’t bad, but your footwork could use some improvement. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have taken so many punches," Du Fancheng remarked.

"We’re getting off topic, way off topic. Have Haohao’s pathology results come out yet?" Liu Banxia asked.

Du Fancheng was silent for a moment. "They’re out. No obvious signs of metastasis. The child is quite young, so our consultation result is to start with radiation therapy. If that’s not effective, then we’ll consider surgery."

"Sigh... I had a feeling back then, and it turned out to be true. It’s a good thing I made that lucky call that day; any further delay would have been really dangerous," Liu Banxia said.

"Yeah, they actually came to the Emergency Department first today, that’s how I heard about your fight. Anyway, a patient just arrived here, so I need to see them," Du Fancheng said before hanging up.

"See? A very cute little boy who can’t express himself very well. So his parents didn’t know his nose was bothering him; they only knew he often had nosebleeds," Liu Banxia said, gesturing with his phone.

"A two-year medical history—that’s a long time. But his parents just thought he was prone to nosebleeds, so they didn’t pay much attention. You can’t say the parents were careless; after all, they don’t have extensive medical knowledge. But that’s how many diseases develop."

"So, if you have time, get a colonoscopy. Once every three years is generally enough to keep an eye out for colorectal cancer. It’s your own body; there’s no harm in being cautious."

"Ugh, why are you always so concerned about my intestines?" Qiaoqiao grumbled.

"HA HA, Qiaoqiao, you’re just too adorable." Wang Jingxian couldn’t help but laugh.

The young woman was very straightforward and spoke her mind without pretense, which was actually quite refreshing.

"It’s not that I’m fixated on your intestines. It’s just that our current lifestyles make it really easy to get this kind of disease," Liu Banxia said helplessly.

"There’s truth to the saying ’disease enters through the mouth.’ You all eat fried foods so often. I believe Wang Jingxian is in good health; she values personal well-being and is very careful."

"Don’t worry, Banxia. Once Old Qiu can take care of himself, I’ll get a colonoscopy too," Wang Jingxian said with a smile.

"It really has been a long time since my last check-up. Three years, perhaps? When I was working at the company, I had one every year, but now that I’m at home, I don’t really think about it."

"Ming Yuan didn’t pay much attention to this sort of thing before; he always drank soft drinks instead of water. Now he’s suffering the consequences and still needs some more time before he can eat a somewhat normal diet."

"Jingxian, how do you take care of your skin? Yanzi and I go for spa treatments often, but our skin isn’t as good as yours," Qiaoqiao asked, moving closer to Wang Jingxian.

"I don’t do much, but I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and less meat every day," Wang Jingxian replied with a smile.

"Sigh, I can’t do that. I crave meat if I go even one day without it," Qiaoqiao lamented with a sigh.

"I’m craving it too. It’s been so long since I’ve had a proper meat dish. I eat chicken every day. Even when Brother Liu rewards me with chicken drumsticks, I can barely be bothered to eat them," Qiu Mingyuan chimed in with his own complaint.

"Who told you to be so unable to control your appetite before? By the way, Qiaoqiao, why are you calling her ’Jingxian’ like she’s your sister? You should be calling her ’Auntie’," Liu Banxia said with a mischievous smile.

"None of your business! So it’s okay for you all to address each other however you want, but we can’t?" Qiaoqiao shot him a glare.

This was something that frustrated her. Chinese people place a lot of importance on seniority. It wasn’t about age, but entirely about where you stood in the generational ranking. She definitely didn’t want to give Liu Banxia the satisfaction of making her call him ’Uncle.’ No way, not even a window of opportunity, let alone a door!

"Let’s all just address each other as we’re comfortable. And don’t go out for dinner tonight, everyone. I brought a lot of wontons I made at home; they’re frozen in the fridge," Wang Jingxian said with a smile.

"Perfect! Need any seasonings? I can grab some from the canteen. But I should warn you, I have a pretty big appetite," Liu Banxia declared gleefully.

"There should still be plenty to eat. Just bring some cilantro if you can. It doesn’t keep well, so I didn’t bring much," Wang Jingxian responded.

"What about Doctor Liang and Qing Kewa? Weren’t they saying earlier they’d join us for dinner?" Qiaoqiao asked.

"Invite them over too. More people, more fun. Even though I can’t eat, I can still enjoy watching you guys eat," Qiu Huaili said with a smile.

"Alright, I’ll message them now and ask them to come over. I’m going to swing by the canteen. Mingyuan, come with me," Liu Banxia said.

And so, it was happily decided: tonight’s dinner gathering would be right here in the hospital room.

After reaching the canteen, he grabbed a few pig’s trotters. He had a huge appetite and worried that Wang Jingxian’s wontons wouldn’t be enough. In the canteen, he was also warmly welcomed and hailed as the "Warrior of the Second Hospital."

This was also because assaults on medical staff had become frequent in recent years. Whenever people heard such reports, their first thought was often that the assaulted doctor must have done something to wrong the patient or their family.

While no one could guarantee such situations never occurred, one couldn’t generalize and assume it was true for every case, right? Frontline staff often had to endure a great deal of unfair treatment during their work.

Nowadays, everyone was also focusing on service quality. If a department received many complaints, the entire department’s performance appraisal for the month would be dragged down.

Liu Banxia’s actions today had truly given everyone a sense of vindication and uplifted spirits; even Qiu Mingyuan, who often tagged along with him, felt a sense of pride by association.

"Brother Liu, I bet if we had eaten in the canteen today, someone would have paid our bill," Qiu Mingyuan remarked on their way back.

"Sigh... It feels good, doesn’t it? But actually, it’s because everyone has been holding things in for too long. Such long working hours every day, and having to endure grievances at work... everyone’s under a lot of pressure," Liu Banxia sighed.

"Isn’t that the truth? I’m starting to worry now too. What are we going to do in the future?" Qiu Mingyuan also became gloomy.

Liu Banxia rolled his eyes. "What are you worried about? How many years do you still have ahead of you? The doctor-patient relationship is bound to have changed by then. Aren’t many people already paying attention to this issue now?"

He also hoped that doctor-patient relationships could become more harmonious in the future, but he knew it would be a very difficult task.