CHAPTER 349: 325 TO BLOW UP BALLOONS

Du Heng looked at Yu Haiting in astonishment.

Not wanting surgery?

Yu Haiting pointed to the man nearby and said, "This is the patient’s father. He feels the patient is too young. If he undergoes lung surgery, his future quality of life would be hard to ensure; of course, the patient feels the same way. After being notified by the Municipal First Hospital, his father learned that it was you who helped stop the bleeding that day, so he wanted to find you and see if you had a way to avoid surgery."

Yu Haiting also sighed. "Experts from the Municipal First Hospital, the Second Affiliated Hospital of JZU, and the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine all recommend surgery. Now, they can only come to you."

"Did they come to me after being discharged, or did they sneak out on their own?"

Yu Haiting wasn’t sure how to answer Du Heng’s question, so they both looked towards the father and son.

The young man’s voice was very soft. "We left on our own. We figured if you don’t have a solution here, we’ll go back for the surgery."

Du Heng’s expression twitched. Are they just clutching at straws in their desperation? Or did me stopping the bleeding the day before yesterday give them this confidence? Probably the former.

Judging from the young man’s voice, his condition was indeed not good.

Du Heng sighed as well. "Even if you wanted me to take a look, you should have notified the Municipal First Hospital. They could have contacted me, and I would have gone to see you. The Municipal First Hospital must have made it very clear how dangerous your current situation is. How could you just run off like that? Has the Municipal First Hospital called you recently?"

"They called, but My Dad didn’t answer."

Seeing the father and son lower their heads, Du Heng didn’t press them further.

Turning to Yu Haiting, he said, "Call the Municipal First Hospital. Let them know the patient is with us."

This father and son ran off on a whim; the Department at the Municipal First Hospital that admitted them must be in an uproar by now. A patient needing immediate surgery just vanished without a word and without completing discharge procedures. If anything happens, the attending doctor, the nurses, the on-duty doctor, and the head nurse for that day—none of them will escape responsibility. Forget a whole year’s work down the drain, they’ll have worked for free for at least half a year, and might even face disciplinary action.

As Yu Haiting began contacting the Municipal First Hospital, Du Heng asked the father and son, "Did you bring the X-rays?"

"We did."

"Let me see them."

For a purely traumatic injury like this, Du Heng couldn’t rely on pulse diagnosis.

Taking the X-rays, Du Heng understood with a single glance why surgery was imperative.

Three-quarters of the left lung was black.

Du Heng broke out in a cold sweat.

Given his condition, the fact that he hadn’t died en route was a testament to the patient’s sheer luck, and the good fortune of the medical staff at the Municipal First Hospital.

Du Heng put down the X-rays and looked at the young man. "How are you feeling now?"

"Chest tightness, and I’m a bit short of breath."

Du Heng found himself in a difficult position. Coagulated blood clots had been aspirated into the lung. If the amount were small, he might have been able to prescribe some medication. However, with three-quarters of the left lung showing a shadow, it would be difficult for any medication to effectively reach the clots deep inside. If he used medication, he feared the patient’s lung would fail before the internal clots could dissolve and be expelled.

But, as the father and son themselves had said, the patient was too young.

A pneumonectomy... it’s not like trimming a toenail, easily done and forgotten. This would affect him for his entire life.

I’ve mentally reviewed every possible method and medication I can think of. The conclusion is always the same: they all require time. This young man has inhaled far too many blood clots!

Suddenly, Du Heng asked, "You said you were playing basketball that day and got hit in the nose by the ball, is that right?"

The young man replied softly, "Yes, I’m a P.E. teacher at a school."

Du Heng clapped his hands sharply. "Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted to ask! Do you still exercise regularly? How is your lung capacity?"

The young man took a few shallow breaths. "I still exercise, though not as intensely as when I was a student. I haven’t had my lung capacity measured, but it should be decent."

"A P.E. teacher, you’ve consistently exercised, your lung capacity is likely good, and you’re so young... Let’s try blowing balloons."

Yu Haiting, returning after finishing his call, overheard this and asked in confusion, "Blowing balloons?"

The patient and his father also looked at Du Heng doubtfully; Yu Haiting’s question voiced their own confusion.

"Yes, blow balloons," Du Heng affirmed. "He’s still young. If he blows a balloon, he might just clear his airways himself."

Yu Haiting pondered for a moment. "But will that work in time?"

"It should be possible," Du Heng said slowly, pausing briefly before continuing. "If he can expel the blood clots himself, we won’t have to worry about impaired lung function. Taking a bit longer would be acceptable. If blowing balloons doesn’t work, there will still be plenty of time for surgery."

He then looked at the patient and his father. "What do you think? Do you want to give it a try?"

Du Heng appeared to be asking the father and son, but in reality, they had no other choice. Their options were: accept Du Heng’s method, try it, and possibly save the lung; or proceed directly to surgery and have the young man live the rest of his life with only one functioning lung.

Sure enough, the father and son exchanged a glance and immediately agreed to Du Heng’s plan.

Yu Haiting also thought it was worth a try. If it proved ineffective, they could always resort to surgery.

Seeing that the father and son had agreed, Yu Haiting spoke up, "I just contacted the Municipal First Hospital. They’re sending an ambulance to take you back."

Hearing this, the young man suddenly shook his head. "No, I’m not going. I’ll receive treatment here from Doctor Du. If it really doesn’t work out, then I’ll go back for the surgery."

As soon as the young man finished speaking, Du Heng and Yu Haiting simultaneously shook their heads.

Hospitalization involves taking responsibility. How could he be officially admitted to one place but receive treatment elsewhere? Forget about who gets the credit; the main issue is, if something goes wrong, who bears the responsibility?

Yu Haiting immediately explained the implications to the young man: if he wanted to try the balloon therapy at their Health Clinic, he would first have to be formally discharged from the Municipal First Hospital.

The young man hesitated for a moment. "If I go to the Municipal First Hospital, will they accept your treatment plan?"

Neither Yu Haiting nor Du Heng could answer that.

If it were the Emergency Department of the Municipal First Hospital, given their current relationship, they might consider Du Heng’s treatment plan and observe its effects. However, the young man was admitted to a different Department, one that likely wouldn’t defer to Du Heng. The most probable outcome, if the patient insisted on trying Du Heng’s method instead of their recommended surgery, would be for the hospital to discharge him.

Hospitals wouldn’t permit an inpatient in their ward to follow another doctor’s treatment plan unless that doctor was officially consulted. For instance, just last week, for the pulmonale patient in the Emergency Department, they had invited Du Heng for a consultation, which was why they might have agreed to his plan. Hospitals are generally unwilling to bear the risks involved in such deviations. The situation would be similar in any other hospital.

After listening to Yu Haiting, the young man quietly conferred with his father. Then, he turned to Du Heng and Yu Haiting and said, "I’ll try President Du’s method here. As for the Municipal First Hospital, I’ll have my father handle the discharge procedures."

Yu Haiting kindly cautioned, "You need to think this through carefully. If the balloon method doesn’t work and you want to go back to the Municipal First Hospital, they might not readmit you."

"It’s fine," the young man replied. "To be honest, I don’t trust their surgical skills anyway. If I absolutely need surgery, I’ll choose the Second Affiliated Hospital of JZU, the Provincial First Hospital, or the Military Region Hospital."

Du Heng and Yu Haiting exchanged a look. Damn, is the Municipal First Hospital being looked down on that much? Yu Haiting then turned to contact the Municipal First Hospital again. Since the patient wanted to be discharged, there was no need for them to send an ambulance.

They both figured the Municipal First Hospital would readily agree to the discharge. They probably don’t want to deal with such a patient anyway, someone who disappears without a word. It’s too much of a headache.

After the call, Yu Haiting processed the admission procedures for the young man at their Health Clinic and had him and his father sign several treatment consent forms.

Even though they were agreeable, all necessary documents had to be signed as per protocol.

While Yu Haiting was busy with the paperwork, Du Heng left the Health Clinic to buy balloons.

However, Central Lake was quite out of the way; neither the local canteens nor the mini-marts stocked balloons. Du Heng searched all the way from the Health Clinic entrance to a small shop near the middle school. There, he finally managed to find five balloons, dug out from the very bottom of the shopkeeper’s old stock.

Luckily, they were usable. If not, I would have had to go into the city... or perhaps even resort to using the condoms from the storeroom.

Returning to the Health Clinic, Du Heng handed the balloons to the young man and began instructing him on how to blow them, emphasizing, "Remember, try to inflate it fully in one breath, not in short bursts."

He then demonstrated twice.

Over the next few days, after completing his other daily treatments, Du Heng would visit the young man to check on his progress.

Furthermore, as a precaution, Du Heng arranged for the young man to have two check-ups daily.

For the first two days, the young man struggled to inflate the balloons. It seemed to have little effect, and his overall condition remained poor.

However, by the third day, then the fourth, and finally on the fifth day, the balloon—which he could initially only inflate very slightly—had visibly grown much larger.

Without needing a formal check-up, simply seeing the balloon’s inflated volume made it evident: Du Heng’s method had succeeded. The young man’s lung was saved.

Once again, Du Heng had won everyone’s sincere admiration with his unconventional approach.

This success also quelled the stirring discontent of a certain disgruntled female colleague at the Health Clinic, who had been itching to cause trouble. She then obediently accompanied Huo Yinhua to do health promotion work in the villages.

By the second Friday, the ninth day of balloon therapy, Du Heng and his team performed a final check-up on the young man. Seeing that his left lung had mostly recovered, Du Heng announced, "You can be discharged now. Go home and continue blowing balloons for another two weeks."

Hearing they could finally go home, the father and son were so overjoyed they wept. They had been to the brink of him needing a lung resection. Although they knew he was improving, a shadow had lingered over their hearts as long as he remained hospitalized.

"Thank you, Doctor Du! Thank you, Dr. Yu! We are so grateful to you both!"

Du Heng and Yu Haiting managed to calm the emotional father and son. Just as Du Heng was about to speak, Wang Zhenzhen appeared at the door of the hospital room. "Dean, could you come out for a moment?"

Du Heng glanced at Wang Zhenzhen. Noticing her troubled expression, he asked Yu Haiting to handle the remaining discharge details and stepped out of the hospital room.

"What’s wrong, Sister Wang?"

Wang Zhenzhen whispered, "Go downstairs and see. Xiao Qiu’s maternal uncle and aunt are here."

Du Heng’s eyes widened slightly. "Really?"

"Yes. I was worried they might cause a scene, so I’ve already led them to your office."

"Alright, thank you."

"By the way, I called Brother Gong. He’s already left the station. Wait for him and go in together."

Du Heng nodded and headed towards the lobby downstairs.