CHAPTER 342: 342 RESUME DUTY

Although the holidays had been somewhat dull, they’d been pretty helpful for Liu Banxia and Qiaoqiao’s relationship. Spending every day together, neither of them started feeling annoyed.

Upon their return from a trip, Wang Xiaoyan and Jiaojiao first interrogated Qiaoqiao. Liu Banxia didn’t know what they were talking about as he was focused on preparing dinner for everyone.

Though his cooking couldn’t quite match up to the chefs at Jinbao, he made some proper homemade dishes. Thanks to quality ingredients, his food turned out pretty okay.

At the end of the holiday, Liu Banxia dressed up. He even let Qiaoqiao help him with the tie he usually didn’t like to wear.

After receiving encouragement from Tang Dou, Qiaoqiao took him to the Second Hospital’s emergency center.

He hadn’t thought much of his suspension initially, but after staying at home for a while, no matter how sweet life was, it didn’t feel complete.

He never realized how much he yearned to return to work until he visited the emergency center as a "patient’s family member" and helped diagnose a condition. He had even felt a sense of exhilaration then.

When he walked into the emergency center, he felt a bit frustrated. This bunch of ingrates, why aren’t they welcoming me warmly? Just a nod and a greeting, and that’s it? All those chicken drumsticks I bought them were for nothing?

"Wow, looking very sharp today. Are you going on a blind date or something? I might have to tell Qiaoqiao," Zhou Li said with a smile as she approached.

"Sister Li, why isn’t anyone welcoming me? I’m reinstated, I’m back," Liu Banxia said pitifully.

"Last night, there was a multi-vehicle collision on the highway. Our hospital’s doctors participated in the rescue and are exhausted. They probably don’t have the energy to fuss over you," Zhou Li explained.

"Besides, it’s your fault too. You should have told us in advance. If you don’t tell us, how would we know you’re reinstated today? We’re so busy every day, who has time to keep track of these things?"

"Don’t try to shift the blame onto us. If it were just a few days, we might remember. Actually, we’ve gotten used to you not being here. It seems quite peaceful without you."

Liu Banxia was quite troubled; he knew Zhou Li was just teasing him. But there was nothing he could do. This was Zhou Li, after all; he wouldn’t dare provoke her.

With a gloomy face, he walked into his office, only to freeze in surprise. His white coat was neatly folded on his desk, and beside it was his work ID.

Liu Banxia grinned. So these guys were waiting for me here. There was even a fruit basket and, next to it, a model skeleton – a small gift for him.

Beaming with delight, he put on the white coat, pinned on his ID badge, and hung his stethoscope around his neck. Liu Banxia felt like he was fully recharged.

Seeing him come out, the others, who had been trying to keep a straight face, couldn’t hold it in any longer. The interns, especially, rushed over to him.

"So, you all still have some conscience; you haven’t forgotten me. Later, I’ll review your performance during this period. If it’s up to par, I’ll arrange a surgery for you in the next few days," Liu Banxia said with a wide smile.

This should have been a joyous occasion, but hearing this made the interns break out in a cold sweat. They hadn’t expected Teacher Liu to be thinking about this right after returning. They had been planning to observe a few more surgeries with him to learn more.

"Surprised? You should be happy," Liu Banxia said leisurely. "Are there any inpatients who need special attention? Even if there are, it’s your responsibility. You all have your assigned beds; you have to take charge."

"Teacher Liu, you can’t do this to us," Xu Yino said dejectedly.

"Are you volunteering to be the first for surgery?" Liu Banxia asked with a straight face.

"Hehe, Teacher Liu, it’s your first day back. Please, sit down and rest for a while. Would you like some tea? I’ll go make you a cup," Xu Yino said, quickly putting on a smile.

"Hmm, that’s the right attitude. The rest of you, learn from him," Liu Banxia said. "Alright, dismissed. Focus on your patient admissions. Everyone gets chicken drumsticks for lunch; I’ve already spoken to Manager Zhou."

The interns felt incredibly bitter; this was the same old familiar torment. If they weren’t currently being hassled by Teacher Liu, they were on the path to being hassled by him.

"Now that you’re back, I can finally take a proper day off tomorrow," Shi Lei said as he walked over.

"Hehe, you’ve worked hard, Chief. Don’t worry, you should definitely take your leave when it’s due," Liu Banxia replied, his face immediately breaking into a smile.

Even though he hadn’t been physically present, he was aware of how things were running here. Nominally, it was Shi Lei and Chen Xuehai in charge, but Shi Lei had shouldered most of the work. This was because Chen Xuehai didn’t have much experience in this area. Despite his skills in cardiac surgery, he still needed more training in emergency admissions. China’s medical system is quite different from those abroad; now that Chen Xuehai was back, he had to adapt to the local protocols.

Returning to a familiar place, seeing familiar people, even the sight of Qi Wentai now felt strangely cordial.

Qi Wentai noticed his gaze, hesitated for a moment, then walked over.

"Is something the matter?" Liu Banxia asked with a smile.

"I asked around. Your suspension had nothing to do with Director Qin," Qi Wentai stated.

Liu Banxia nodded. "He is who he is, and you are who you are. Even if there were a connection, it wouldn’t create a conflict with you. Dr. Shi mentioned you’ve been working very hard recently, but you’re still a bit lacking when it comes to training the interns. You need to put in more effort there."

Qi Wentai glanced at him and slipped away to the side.

This was also somewhat awkward. Liu Banxia had said several times that he would keep professional and personal matters separate, but past events couldn’t truly be treated as if they’d never happened. As for Qin Hai, he genuinely didn’t give him much thought anymore. Even if Qin Hai could stir up trouble, what could he possibly achieve? He wasn’t at the Second Hospital anymore, so it was a moot point.

As nine o’clock approached, the waiting hall began to fill with people.

This was a unique aspect of the hospital. Even though the newly opened emergency center hadn’t yet established its own reputation in the community, the Second Hospital’s name carried weight. It was a well-respected institution in Binhai City, so even a new department under its banner was held in high regard by the public.

Moreover, it had been operational for some time, and the dispatch center was now referring more emergency patients. In fact, if it weren’t for his responsibilities as chief resident, Liu Banxia would have been eager to join a few ambulance runs to the scene.

"Dr. Liu, we just received a notification," the emergency center dispatcher called out. "A firefighter will be brought in shortly. He fell unconscious due to excessive smoke inhalation during a rescue operation and was intubated on site."

"I’ll take the admission," Liu Banxia said. "Call a cardiologist too. No, get Dr. Chen Xuehai as well; surgery might be required."

It had been a while since he’d handled such a case, and he felt a bit hesitant in his judgment. Skill comes from diligence and is lost through idleness, and he had been spending all his time being lovey-dovey with Qiaoqiao recently.

Word traveled fast. For this patient who hadn’t even arrived yet, both cardiology and cardiac surgery were giving the case high priority. Chen Xuehai came over, and Meng Qingfan, an Associate Chief Physician from cardiology, also emerged.

"Also, prepare for more admissions. There might be burn patients coming in later," Liu Banxia added after nodding to the two physicians.

It wasn’t yet clear how many patients would be matched to their center, but considering the firefighter’s condition, the fire was likely substantial, and there might be many injured.

「A few minutes passed quickly, and the firefighter’s comrades arrived with him.」

"Liang Xiaolin, keep the accompanying personnel calm. What’s the patient’s condition?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Blood pressure is a bit low, heart rate is stable. Lung sounds aren’t good; suspecting hemorrhage," the paramedic reported.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Take him to Resuscitation Room 1. Prepare two units of O-positive blood. Connect oxygen to ensure supply, attach the ECG monitor, run blood tests, and establish IV access."

After the oxygen was connected, the patient slowly opened his eyes. However, he seemed disoriented by his current situation and began to struggle on the bed.

"Administer 4mg of midazolam. Liu Yiqing, during the blood draw, don’t forget to check carboxyhemoglobin levels. Perform the initial trauma assessment," Liu Banxia said calmly.

"Monitor connected. Blood pressure and oxygen saturation are dropping, heart rate is increasing," Nurse Zhou Qian reported.

"Teacher Liu, there’s bleeding in the endotracheal tube," Liu Yiqing said after a careful examination.

"Suction, and transfuse one unit of blood first," Liu Banxia gave the standard procedure.

Shi Lei, watching from the side, gave Liu Banxia a surprised look. The Liu Banxia who had returned seemed even calmer and more composed than before. Usually, with such a severely ill patient, he would have personally performed the examination.

"Teacher Liu, the bleeding is too heavy. It fills up again shortly after I suction it," Liu Yiqing reported.

"Add another unit of blood and prepare three more bags. Notify the lab to expedite cross-matching. Get a portable chest X-ray done directly," Liu Banxia ordered.

This was the convenience of upgraded equipment; otherwise, they would have wasted time moving him to the X-ray room.

The chest X-ray results were displayed immediately, showing a large shadow in the right lung, indicating significant hemorrhage.

"HUFF..."

Liu Banxia let out a long breath. "Activate the massive transfusion protocol. Notify the operating room to prepare. Dr. Meng, Dr. Chen, should we perform a bronchoscopy first to assess the situation, or proceed directly to a thoracotomy?"

"Let’s check the bleeding situation first. If we can directly locate the bleeding vessel, we might be able to avoid a thoracotomy," Meng Qingfan suggested.

"Alright, then I’ll entrust it to you," Liu Banxia said.

Meng Qingfan nodded and immediately led his team to perform the examination.

"Dr. Chen, looking at this amount of bleeding, I think it’s highly likely we’ll still have to do a thoracotomy in the end," Liu Banxia said.

Chen Xuehai was still frowning at the chest X-ray image. "The bleeding is indeed too severe. We might have to resect half of this lung. Let’s wait for the results of the bronchoscopy."

His assessment was similar to Liu Banxia’s, but the bronchoscopy was still essential. At the very least, it would provide a clearer understanding of the current bleeding situation in the lungs, which was truly substantial.