CHAPTER 359: 335 APPENDICITIS

Zhu Fanzhong slightly raised his head. His eyes were already bloodshot, but he still clenched his teeth and said from the depths of his throat, "It’s fine. It’s hurt for a while now. The pain comes and goes."

However, these words didn’t relax Du Heng; instead, his brow furrowed even more.

Du Heng reached out and gently pushed Zhu Fanzhong’s shoulder. He glanced at the lower abdomen Zhu Fanzhong was clutching, then looked back. Seeing only Dong Yuezhang, he quickly called out, "Dong, come and help me get him onto the bed in the inner room."

The moment he touched Zhu Fanzhong’s shoulder, Du Heng felt the man’s body trembling. Seeing his pale face, bloodshot eyes, and sweat-drenched body, Du Heng dropped all pretense of formality and directly called Dong Yuezhang for help.

Together, they helped Zhu Fanzhong to the head of the bed.

Du Heng tried to get him to lie flat, but Zhu Fanzhong curled up from the abdominal pain.

"Try to bear with it for a moment. Let me examine you." As Du Heng spoke, he helped Zhu Fanzhong straighten out and began pressing on his abdomen.

Pressing other areas caused slight pain, but when Du Heng pressed the lower right abdomen, Zhu Fanzhong’s pain intensified sharply. With an "Ouch!" he curled up again.

Dong Yuezhang asked in surprise, "Appendicitis?"

"More than that. I suspect it’s already suppurated, and judging by his reaction just now, he likely has peritonitis too." Du Heng touched Zhu Fanzhong’s forehead. "He has a fever."

"We need to rush him to the Hospital," Dong Yuezhang said, also frowning.

Du Heng thought for a moment and said, "Use your car and take him directly to the Municipal First Hospital. I expect he’ll need surgery. Our Health Clinic doesn’t have the necessary facilities."

Dong Yuezhang didn’t hesitate. "Let’s go now," he said decisively.

The two were about to help Zhu Fanzhong up, but he struggled, pulling away from their supporting arms. "I’m not going to the Hospital! I’m not having surgery! I’ll be fine if I just lie down at home for a while."

Du Heng felt helpless at Zhu Fanzhong’s resistance. He knew perfectly well that Zhu Fanzhong was refusing only because he was afraid of the cost, and surgery would be even more expensive.

"Zhu Fanzhong, how long have you had this abdominal pain?"

"Over a week. It started when I went to the Capital to pick up Yanyan, and it’s been hurting ever since. But if I take some painkillers and bear it, the pain subsides."

"So, in the time you’ve been hurting, has the pain gotten progressively worse, with shorter intervals between attacks?"

Zhu Fanzhong didn’t answer, just clutched his abdomen tighter.

Du Heng and Dong Yuezhang both felt helpless. Zhu Fanzhong’s stance was clear.

But they couldn’t just stand by and watch. If this continued, he would either die from the pain or die after his insides rotted.

Dong Yuezhang had to speak up. "Old Zhu, you can’t be like this. You need to accept Treatment. I know your daughter’s Treatment costs money, but she needs you, her father, to encourage her. If something happens to you, won’t it affect her Treatment too?"

Du Heng also joined in the persuasion, but the stubborn mule gave no response.

No matter what they said, he flatly refused to go to the Municipal First Hospital or undergo surgery.

Zhu Fanmin, who was waiting outside, couldn’t stand it any longer. He couldn’t just leave the Town Mayor and the Dean of the Health Clinic there while he accompanied his niece.

However, when he came in, saw Zhu Fanzhong’s condition, and heard what Du Heng and Dong Yuezhang said, he flew into a rage. Ignoring Zhu Fanzhong’s abdominal pain, he slapped him twice across the face.

SLAP!

SLAP!

The sudden violence startled Du Heng and Dong Yuezhang, who quickly pulled Zhu Fanmin away.

Zhu Fanmin, still furious, pointed at Zhu Fanzhong and yelled, "Are you out of your mind? What’s the use of saving that paltry sum? You need to be healthy to earn money for your daughter’s Treatment! If you’re sick all the time, what if you die? What if you end up with Paralysis? Who will earn money for her Treatment then?"

After scolding him, seeing Zhu Fanzhong still lying there lifelessly without a word, Zhu Fanmin turned to Du Heng. "Dean Du, I’m making the decision. Send him to the Hospital for surgery. I’ll take responsibility for any issues."

Du Heng gave a bitter laugh. Even if Zhu Fanmin, as the elder brother, took responsibility, Zhu Fanzhong’s wife couldn’t make this decision for him while he was conscious.

It’s just like something out of a TV drama.

"How about this: you come to the Health Clinic for a Check-up first. Let me assess your specific condition, and then we’ll decide. What do you think?" Du Heng, seeing no other choice, offered a compromise. First, a Check-up at the Health Clinic, then some medicine.

Appendicitis isn’t a major illness, but it can certainly be fatal.

However, Zhu Fanzhong still rejected Du Heng’s proposal with a single word: "No."

At that moment, Du Heng really wanted to just wash his hands of the whole affair and walk away.

People like this, so stubborn and seemingly determined to die, could drive anyone trying to help them to despair.

"Why won’t you go to the Health Clinic? You have medical insurance, and our fees aren’t expensive."

"I’m afraid my daughter will see me and worry," Zhu Fanzhong finally said, offering a different reason.

Still worried about his daughter. Du Heng sighed. "The Hospital room I arranged for your daughter is in the back wing. We’ll put you in a room upstairs at the front. You two won’t see each other. How about that?"

Zhu Fanzhong gritted his teeth, clutching his stomach, and remained silent. Zhu Fanmin couldn’t bear it any longer. If Du Heng and Dong Yuezhang hadn’t been restraining him, he would have raised his hand to slap Zhu Fanzhong again.

Fortunately, after a few seconds of silence, Zhu Fanzhong finally relented. "Fine. But I’m not having surgery."

Du Heng and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Whether or not he has surgery can be decided later. The priority now is to get him examined, give him some medicine, and keep him alive.

After some more bustling, they managed to get Zhu Fanzhong into Dong Yuezhang’s car.

At the Health Clinic, just as Du Heng had promised, they placed father and daughter in separate areas. They didn’t even notify Zhu Fanzhong’s wife, fearing her emotional reaction might affect Zhu Minyan.

Once Zhu Fanzhong was settled in, Yu Haiting immediately began his examination.

While waiting for the check-up results, Yu Haiting administered a small dose of anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers to Zhu Fanzhong.

However, perhaps because the dose was too small or the illness too severe, it didn’t seem to have much effect.

The moment he received the inspection sheet, Yu Haiting found Du Heng. "Dean, we have to transfer him. Our Health Clinic’s operating room can’t handle this type of surgery."

"Is it very serious?"

"His white blood cell count is 15,900, with 90 Neutrals. He has a high fever of 39.5°C that isn’t responding to medicine. It looks like suppurative appendicitis combined with diffuse peritonitis. He absolutely needs to be transferred for surgery."

Du Heng glanced at the inspection sheet, reviewing each figure. He knew Yu Haiting’s assessment was correct.

"Zhu Fanzhong has stated explicitly that he doesn’t want to be transferred and refuses surgery."

"But if we delay any longer, he’ll die!" Yu Haiting said anxiously.

Du Heng felt helpless. "If the patient himself doesn’t consent, your anxiety won’t change anything."

"I’ll go talk to him again." Yu Haiting turned and left for the Hospital room to try and reason with Zhu Fanzhong.

Du Heng didn’t stop him. He looked at the inspection sheet in his hand, pondering the possibility of conservative treatment.

But before he could delve deeper into that thought, Yu Haiting rushed back in. "Dean, come quickly! Zhu Fanzhong has lost consciousness!"

Du Heng’s heart leaped. He dropped the inspection sheet and sprinted towards the Hospital room.

Seeing the unconscious Zhu Fanzhong, Zhu Fanmin looked extremely worried and anxious. "Dean Du, please, send him to the Hospital now!"

Ignoring Zhu Fanmin, Du Heng carefully examined Zhu Fanzhong, then immediately went downstairs to write a prescription.

Wu Buwei stood beside Du Heng, his expression filled with worry. "Senior Brother, can it really be done? The patient is unconscious. Shouldn’t we just send him to the Municipal First Hospital for surgery?"

Du Heng’s hand didn’t stop writing the prescription. He spoke with unwavering certainty, "You must have faith in me. When have you ever seen me fail? It’s just inflammation and suppuration, isn’t it? I’ll use the Modified Poison-Attacking and Qi-Coordinating Decoction. It will be like taking the firewood from under the cauldron—clearing heat and detoxification, draining the pus."

He handed the prescription to Wu Buwei. "Go and get this prepared quickly. I’m worried that if we delay any longer, there’s a risk of the heat poison attacking his heart and brain. Then it won’t just be a stomach issue; it’ll be a brain issue."

Wu Buwei straightened up at Du Heng’s words, took the prescription, and hurried out.

The three newcomers were completely dumbfounded, standing cautiously at the back, watching everything unfold.

They had been at the Zhonghu Health Center for some time now and thought they had a good understanding of Du Heng and the Zhonghu Health Center.

Today, when they saw Du Heng make a phone call and everyone begin preparations in an orderly manner, they assumed these people must have undergone training before, so they weren’t particularly surprised.

After all, they had heard that the Emergency Department of the Municipal First Hospital had provided training to the Health Clinic before they arrived.

However, when Zhu Minyan was brought in with a growth on her neck the size of a baby’s head, they were dumbfounded.

What was this? Were they supposed to treat patients with conditions this severe? Weren’t they just supposed to follow routine procedures, performing acupuncture and applying ointments for patients with paralysis or hemiplegia?

Before they could recover from the shock of Zhu Minyan’s case, they were even more astounded to see Du Heng prescribe medicine for a patient with an acute abdominal condition like suppurative appendicitis. How was this possible?

Shouldn’t appendicitis be treated with surgery? It had already suppurated! How could he dare to opt for conservative treatment?

Yet, watching the calm and composed Du Heng writing the prescription, the swift actions of Wu Buwei, and Yu Haiting busily attending to the patient in the Hospital room, the three newcomers felt like frightened quails, cowering in a corner.

They couldn’t find any way to help; they felt completely useless.

At this moment, they realized that regardless of whether Du Heng ultimately succeeded, his decisiveness and composure alone were far beyond their own capabilities.

Simultaneously, they felt they needed to completely re-evaluate their understanding of the Health Clinic.

A doctor who was incredibly bold and daring, nurses who were methodical and efficient—everyone performed their duties with precision, busy yet organized.

Moreover, they noticed that everyone here had absolute trust in Du Heng—a trust that bordered on blind adoration.

Before Du Heng announced a treatment plan, Yu Haiting would offer opinions from a Western medicine perspective, and Wu Buwei would also contribute his thoughts, fostering an excellent atmosphere for discussion.

But once Du Heng declared the treatment plan, everyone else would immediately fall silent and spring into action, moving like well-oiled gears in a machine.

For a moment, the three of them felt like outsiders, mere spectators.

The three of them seemed utterly out of sync with everyone else at the Health Clinic.

Du Heng glanced at the three of them, puzzled, wondering why they were standing there so rigidly.

But he wasn’t particularly interested in knowing. After putting away his pen, he immediately got up and headed back to the Hospital room. He needed to monitor Zhu Fanzhong closely until the man drank the medicine and he could get a clear feedback. Only then could he rest easy.