CHAPTER 38: 038 THE DIGNITY OF LIFE

Du Heng and his companions were swamped, so much so that they either missed their meals or simply had no appetite. Regardless, eating was the last thing on their minds.

However, Zuo Liangliang’s wife didn’t forget.

An hour had passed since her call, yet they hadn’t returned, despite their clinic being just a short walk away. When she tried calling again, no one answered.

Left with no choice, she had to bring their meals to them.

"Alright, eat first. You can continue with your work afterward."

Whether they agreed or not, she placed the bags of food directly on the table.

Seeing that the doctors hadn’t eaten, the people in line also urged them, "Doctor Du, you go ahead and eat first. We can chat for a while here."

Even the person whose turn it was next paused and said, "Eating is important. We don’t mind waiting."

Very well, Du Heng and the other two took their meal bags to the clinic.

Lunch consisted of noodles. Zuo Liangliang’s wife had also prepared stir-fried French fries, steak, and Cold Bean Sprouts. The food was absolutely delicious.

Remembering the crowd waiting outside, the trio ate as quickly as possible before swiftly returning to the front of the Village Committee office.

Du Heng was determined to finish treating everyone in this village today. The process was already taking too long.

The treatments were proceeding smoothly until the last patient, who caused Du Heng considerable internal struggle and discomfort.

"Grandpa, why didn’t you come this morning?" Du Heng asked, chatting while taking the old man’s pulse. "There were fewer people then, so you wouldn’t have had to queue."

The elderly man before him was severely hunched, his entire body bent forward as he walked.

"I was busy this morning. I have a dozen or so sheep at home that I needed to take out to pasture. I could only come over after they were fed."

The old man complied with Doctor Du’s instructions, extending his hand when asked and adjusting his posture. "I thought there’d be a bigger crowd in the morning," he explained, "so I chose to come at noon. Turns out, everyone had the same idea!"

The old man chuckled at his own words, and Du Heng found his optimism endearing.

Du Heng lifted the old man’s shirt to inspect his back, palpated his Spine, then returned to the table. Considering the man’s age, Du Heng began to formulate his advice.

To be honest, the old man suffered from multiple health issues: arthritis, bone hyperplasia, and severe lumbar disc herniation, among others. He relied on a cane to walk and was so hunched over that he was no taller than a Third Grade Child.

These conditions would have been manageable if treated earlier, either through surgery or conservative treatment involving medication and massage.

But with his condition so advanced, the sheer agony he must be enduring was enough to drive a person mad, regardless of whether treatment would even be effective now. Judging by the old man’s condition, Du Heng estimated he must have been suffering for at least thirty to forty years; it was undoubtedly a chronic disease.

The best solution now would be surgery, as it was the quickest and most effective way to alleviate his pain.

However, given the old man was 87, Du Heng did not recommend surgery.

With his current Internal Medicine Expertise, he knew there was little he could do to truly reverse the condition. He was a Doctor, not a god; he couldn’t magically heal the Patient.

Even with modern societal progress and advanced medical science, people over 80 were still uncommon.

Moreover, for an 87-year-old, especially one from a rural village, post-surgery recovery would be difficult. How would he manage then? His quality of life might end up even lower than it was now. At least currently, he could still manage his daily life without troubling others. A Doctor shouldn’t just focus on treating the illness but must also consider the Patient’s quality of life. For some illnesses, once they reach a certain stage, Treatment is no longer necessary. Life should have dignity. However, it seemed some Doctors didn’t quite respect that. Regardless, Du Heng would state the options and let the Patient decide.

"Grandpa, your back is causing some problems. You mustn’t do heavy labor anymore; you need to rest more. If you’re willing, surgery is an option."

"Thank you, Doctor. Just prescribe some medicine for me. I live alone, so surgery would be too inconvenient."

"Alright, I’ll prescribe some medicine for you. Make sure to take it on time. If it’s convenient, come to the Health Clinic for a follow-up with me each week. If not, please inform Doctor Zuo, and he can call me."

"Yes, yes, yes. Thank you so much for your trouble."

After sending the old man off, only a few people remained.

Once everyone had been seen, Du Heng checked the time; it was just a little past five in the afternoon.

"Buwei, how many patients did we see in total today?"

"Brother, we saw a total of 61 patients today."

"61?" Du Heng frowned slightly.

Combined with yesterday’s patients, that was just over 110 people.

This village, he knew, had a permanent population of over 200 people.

What about the other half? Some probably thought they weren’t sick and didn’t come, others might have been away, and then there were the school children.

Seeing no one else waiting, Du Heng called out to Wu Buwei, "Buwei, pack up. Let’s go."

"Aren’t we waiting any longer?"

"No. If they need anything, they can come find me at the Health Clinic."

"Alright. Should I move these personnel files and disease records to the Car then?"

"Yes, go ahead. I need to speak with Mr. Zuo for a moment."

As he spoke, Du Heng removed his white gown. He turned to Zuo Liangliang and said sincerely, "Mr. Zuo, thank you for all your help these past two days. We’ve been quite the bother."

"Don’t mention it. This is all for the good of our fellow villagers."

Du Heng took out 200 yuan and pressed it into Zuo Liangliang’s hand. "Mr. Zuo, this 200 yuan is for our meals and lodging. Please don’t say it’s too little."

Zuo Liangliang looked at the money, his expression instantly souring. He tried to push it back to Du Heng. "Doctor Du, how can you do this? Take it back, quickly! I, Old Zuo, have my pride. If I accept your money, what kind of person would that make me?"

Du Heng held Zuo Liangliang’s hand firmly around the money. "Mr. Zuo, you really must accept this. Not only that, but you also need to give me a receipt. I need it for reimbursement."

"Reimbursement?" Zuo Liangliang paused. "This can be reimbursed?"

Du Heng chuckled. "Of course. Did you think I was spending my own money?"

"You’re not lying to me?"

"Why would I lie to you? Providing medical services door-to-door is an official duty for our workplace. Reimbursement is perfectly normal, isn’t it?"

"That’s good, then. I’ll accept it." Knowing it could be reimbursed, Zuo Liangliang no longer felt burdened by taking the money.

With that, he hurried to the clinic and wrote Du Heng a receipt using one of the clinic’s invoice forms.

While the two were wrangling, Wu Buwei had already loaded all the disease records and prescription papers into the Car.

These documents would be returned to the village once the information was entered into the computer.

However, Zuo Liangliang, the village doctor, would be responsible for collecting them then, not Du Heng and his team.

Declining Mr. Zuo’s persistent invitations to stay longer, Du Heng and Wu Buwei were finally able to depart.

Noticing Wu Buwei’s fatigue, Du Heng offered to drive. "Buwei, you take the passenger seat. I’ll drive back."

Wu Buwei didn’t argue and readily moved to the passenger seat.

"Mr. Zuo, please pay extra attention to the patients I pointed out to you. If their conditions change, give me a call, or have them come to the Health Clinic for a re-examination."

"I’ll remember that. Drive slowly on your way back, and be careful."

"Goodbye, Mr. Zuo."

"Goodbye."

As the scenery outside the window flew by, Wu Buwei seemed particularly relaxed. "Brother, where are we going now?"

"Back to the Health Clinic. We still have a pile of things in the Car."

"Can we rest tomorrow then?"

"No. Tomorrow, we have to input all this data into the computer. Besides, I have follow-up patients, and I also need to report to the Dean."

Wu Buwei’s face fell. "Can’t we input it on Monday?"

Du Heng smiled faintly. "What are you dreaming of? We have to go to another village on Monday."

Seeing that he definitely couldn’t rest tomorrow, Wu Buwei asked hopefully, "Brother, we can rest on Saturday and Sunday, right?"

"That’s no problem. We’ll rest for two days and set off again on Monday."

"Thank you, Brother! You’re so considerate. MUAH!"

"Ugh, gross. Get outta here."