CHAPTER 492: HANG ON TO THIS QI FOR 440

Tense, highly tense, even breathing was very cautious.

This extreme method not only made Du Heng start to feel dizzy, but his arms also showed signs of becoming unresponsive.

When Du Heng finally completed a round and let go, he almost collapsed onto the patient.

Fortunately, Wang Lili, who was behind him, reacted quickly and reached out to steady Du Heng.

Du Heng stabilized himself and, finally no longer needing to hold his breath, immediately took a deep one.

But this deep breath almost made him vomit.

The smell from the patient is too strong. Besides the filth already on him, he had also been incontinent, and it had collected in his pants.

Enduring the urge to retch, Du Heng checked the patient’s condition again.

After understanding the situation, he repeated the previous treatment. However, compared to the last round, the frequency was reduced, and he no longer used the exaggerated technique of operating with both hands simultaneously.

"Lili, call Director Yu and see who has returned. Have the ambulance come pick up the patient immediately. The patient’s condition is too severe, and my car’s back seat is too small to accommodate him. Also, call Municipal First Hospital to report the specific situation and have them prepare."

As soon as Du Heng finished speaking, Wang Lili had already swiftly picked up the phone and started making calls.

The needling duration was very short this time; Du Heng stopped once he saw the patient’s condition stabilize slightly.

However, he didn’t dare let his guard down for a moment.

Although the intracranial pressure has decreased slightly, there’s too much cerebral hemorrhage. If I had enough time, I could completely resolve it with acupuncture and medication, but there’s no time now. And the patient’s current condition requires the pressure to be relieved; otherwise, he could die at any moment. So, what I can do now is stop the bleeding, lower the blood pressure, and keep the patient breathing.

"Dean, Director Yu is still busy. It sounds like he’s dealing with something quite troublesome. But Doctor Su and the others have already returned, and the ambulance has been dispatched."

"I see."

There was a lack of suitable instruments to monitor the patient’s vital signs, only a sphygmomanometer. Du Heng’s attention was constantly on the patient, checking his condition at all times.

Moreover, the patient himself was barely clinging to life, unconscious. The slightest carelessness on my part could lead to the tragic outcome of performing acupuncture on a Corpse.

"Now, change your husband’s pants and clean him up quickly. The rest of you, help out."

Unable to bear the increasingly pungent odor filling his nasal cavity, and with the patient’s condition temporarily under control, Du Heng urged the patient’s wife to change his clothes.

Instructing the helpers to be careful, Du Heng glanced around but still didn’t see village doctor Qi Gang. "Where is Qi Gang? Does anyone know?"

Du Heng’s tone was harsh and extremely stern.

But no one answered him.

If Qi Gang had been present today, or could have provided help to the patient and family earlier, the chaotic handling of the patient wouldn’t have happened. What use are these people if they receive national subsidies but offer no real help? When I get back today, I’ll definitely have Cui Guanghaia come up with a solution quickly. If this drags on, it will harm everyone involved.

While Du Heng fumed internally, his hands never stopped stimulating the patient’s acupoints.

"Why didn’t you answer your phone when I called earlier?" Du Heng turned to ask Qi Cai’s wife.

Qi Cai’s wife’s expression was indescribable, a canvas of various negative emotions. Hearing Du Heng’s question, she paused changing Qi Cai’s pants. "When I was pulling him out, my phone fell into the latrine pit."

Du Heng was speechless. He could only continue adjusting the acupuncture needles while waiting for the ambulance.

But the longer he waited, the more anxious Du Heng became. I’m already struggling to control the situation; the patient’s pulse is utterly chaotic, with no discernible pattern or characteristics. It’s just a mess.

Moreover, the patient’s breathing had stopped once just moments ago. Although it lasted only five or six seconds, and the patient resumed spontaneous breathing before he could intervene, it wasn’t a good sign.

It had taken me about twenty minutes to reach Upper Village, but these twenty minutes waiting for the ambulance feel unbearably long.

"Lili, can you increase the oxygen?"

"No, this portable unit can’t go any higher."

"Hurry the ambulance, ask them where they are."

"Alright."

Just as she finished speaking, the faint sound of ambulance sirens reached them.

Wang Lili glanced at Du Heng and put her phone away.

Du Heng also breathed a sigh of relief and urged the patient’s family to speed up the cleaning.

By this point, Du Heng’s entire body had begun to feel weak.

Adjusting the long needles all over the patient’s head to regulate his entire system was already a mentally exhausting task. This time, Du Heng had inserted the needles very aggressively, targeting several critical acupoints where there was no room for error.

Now that the ambulance has arrived, combined with Western medicine’s emergency drugs and my own treatment, this patient should be saved. As for removing the blood clot at the hospital, that would be Municipal First Hospital’s responsibility.

However, judging by the patient’s current situation, the post-surgery prognosis is not optimistic.

Du Heng estimated that, at a minimum, the patient would be completely paralyzed post-surgery.

However, according to the Health Clinic’s current experience in treating paralysis, he should be able to recover some function.

Just as Du Heng was breathing a sigh of relief, thinking the patient’s life was saved, he suddenly felt something wrong under his hands.

"Damn it! Lili, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)!" he exclaimed, then looked back at the family member still wiping the patient’s lower body. "Stop wiping! Make some room! Don’t come over here!"

At the critical moment, the patient stopped breathing again.

When the patient didn’t resume breathing after five or six seconds as before, Du Heng, realizing the gravity, urgently shouted for Wang Lili to act.

Meanwhile, he adjusted the long needles in his hand, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

Wang Lili immediately threw down the oxygen bag and began performing standard CPR.

A full minute passed with no effect.

Wang Lili was tiring. Glancing at the stunned new nurse beside her, she shouted, "Don’t just stand there! Take over!"

The new nurse, flustered, took over from Wang Lili and continued CPR.

Du Heng grew desperate. This isn’t going to work!

"Lili, bring me my bag, quickly!"

Wang Lili, panting heavily, got up. Just as she was about to fetch Du Heng’s needle tool kit, a villager handed it directly to Du Heng.

Du Heng reached for the needle tool kit, simultaneously saying to the people behind him, "Help me! Take off the patient’s shoes and clean the soles of his feet, hurry!"

As he shouted, he picked up a needle and inserted it into the PC-06 acupoint on the patient’s wrist. When he moved to the patient’s other wrist, the new nurse actually stopped CPR, intending to make space for Du Heng.

Du Heng roared, "Don’t stop! You do your part, don’t mind me!"

After shouting, he took the patient’s other hand and continued, applying strong stimulation to both wrists.

After twenty seconds of strong stimulation yielded no response, Du Heng took a deep breath, picked up the remaining needles, and moved directly to the soles of the patient’s feet. He then inserted a needle into the KI-01 acupoint on each foot, again using the strong stimulation method.

Watching Du Heng and the two nurses work frantically, the onlookers grew tense. They wanted to help but didn’t know how, nor did they dare to interfere rashly.

As they watched Du Heng and his team fight to bring a dying man back from the brink, the onlookers dared not even breathe too loudly.

"He’s breathing! Dean, he’s breathing!"

Just as Du Heng finished treating the second foot, the nurse performing CPR shouted loudly.

The nurse’s shout filled Du Heng with renewed energy. Despite his severely aching arm, he swiftly removed the long needles he had just inserted.

"Excellent! You’ll be commended for this today."

Returning to Qi Cai’s head, Du Heng knelt on the ground and once again began to adjust the needles on his head.

Lowering intracranial pressure couldn’t be paused for even a moment.

Fortunately, at this moment, Doctor Su, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, rushed in carrying a stretcher. "Dean, how’s the situation?"

Du Heng didn’t dare look back. While focusing entirely on Qi Cai’s condition, he quickly recounted the situation to Doctor Su.

Doctor Su was a specialist talent An Chunhui had specially transferred to the Health Clinic. He was a professional Emergency Doctor. Though young, his skills were considerable. If not for a poor relationship with his previous leader, Du Heng’s team would never have had the chance to recruit him.

While Du Heng explained the situation, Doctor Su didn’t remain idle; he immediately began his check-up of the patient.

He knew Du Heng was skilled, being well aware of Liu Amei’s ongoing case at the Health Clinic.

However, he was somewhat skeptical of Du Heng’s emergency medical skills. After all, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners are generally better at the Internal Medicine Department, and everyone has their specializations, right?

But as the check-up progressed, seeing the persistently high readings on the sphygmomanometer and listening to Du Heng’s account, he couldn’t help but steal a few glances at Du Heng.

This dean, a year younger than himself, had genuinely astonished him.

Everything Du Heng had done was correct, and his interventions were remarkably effective.

Doctor Su could determine a patient’s condition through manual examination because he had five years of undergraduate clinical studies, a three-year master’s in emergency medicine, and five consecutive years of experience as a first-line ambulance doctor. During these five years of ambulance emergency response, he had encountered car accidents most frequently, followed by cerebral hemorrhages and heart disease. This experience was hard-earned through those years on the front lines.

But Du Heng was different; he was purely a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner.

This precise judgment alone would compel even a seasoned emergency doctor like himself to concede. Moreover, the fact that the needles all over the patient’s head were actually lowering his blood pressure filled Su with genuine admiration.

He had initially thought Du Heng was unprofessional and that he’d take over upon arrival. Now, he didn’t dare utter a single unnecessary word.

After completing his check-up, he immediately pulled over the first aid kit and began preparing antihypertensive drugs.

With the addition of Western medicine, Qi Cai’s condition stabilized. However, he remained unconscious. Given the significant cerebral hemorrhage and the time elapsed, it was uncertain if he would ever wake up.

But that wasn’t Du Heng’s concern for now.

As Doctor Su’s medication gradually began to take effect, Du Heng carefully started removing the needles.

Removing the needles required the same precision as inserting them. His hands couldn’t tremble, especially with those critical acupoints. The consequences of a momentary slip would be unimaginable.

It took Du Heng a full minute to remove all the needles, leaving him drenched in sweat once more.

However, he didn’t delay. "Get him on the stretcher and rush him to Municipal First Hospital. His specific condition has been reported to them. Ensure you communicate clearly upon arrival."

"Leave it to me, Dean. You can rest assured."

Once the ambulance departed, Du Heng, Wang Lili, and the new nurse slowly walked towards their car. They weren’t the ambulance’s accompanying medical care team, so they didn’t need to go. Besides, the ambulance couldn’t have fit that many people anyway.