Chapter 12: First Aid
“What’s wrong with my brain? I was sixth in the city on the college entrance exam.” Shi An straightened his back, “I got in on my own merit!”
“And you got sixth while dating?” Zhong Yan’s expression soured, “That’s quite impressive.”
Shi An became anxious, “Who was dating!”
Zhong Yan remembered the night he was mistaken for someone else, “You weren’t?”
Shi An’s mind was filled with the one-sided love in his encrypted photo album, “None of your business.”
“Right, none of my business.” Zhong Yan stood up, hands in his pockets, “If you date in the future, remember to choose wisely.”
Shi An gripped his phone, wanting to retort but knowing he was in the wrong. He picked up the milk and gulped it down as if to vent his frustration.
He finished it in one go, the bottom of the bowl hitting the table. Zhong Yan was still standing there, not moving.
“What?” Shi An snapped.
Zhong Yan’s gaze lingered on his chocolate-stained upper lip, “Wipe your mouth.”
“I know.” Shi An grabbed a tissue and rubbed haphazardly.
Zhong Yan watched him wipe, his tone softening, “Good night.”
“Oh, good night.” Shi An licked his lips, his anger dissipating, “Dr. Zhong, can I borrow a book from you?”
“Which one?”
“Emergency Management of Acute Symptoms.”
“Get it yourself.”
Shi An was considered a good tenant. He not only kept the apartment tidy but also didn’t cause any trouble. He either sat on the carpet reading or stayed in his room.
The next morning, half an hour before work, Shi An’s door was tightly shut, with no sign of activity.
Zhong Yan waited for ten minutes, which was his limit.
“Shi An, what time do you plan on waking up?” Zhong Yan knocked on the door, “Living so close and still being late, pushing your luck, aren’t you?”
The warning was useless. Zhong Yan pushed the door open. The quilt and sheets were neatly made, the room empty.
“…”
When did this kid leave?
Zhong Yan arrived at the department just on time and saw a busy Shi An from afar, full of energy and vigor.
Chen Man, just off her night shift, clicked her newly changed high heels, “Are you two living together now?”
Zhong Yan nodded silently, scanning Shi An’s movements.
Chen Man followed his gaze, “This little guy knows how to avoid suspicion.”
“What time did he arrive?” Zhong Yan asked.
“About an hour before you. He went to check on the patients first, then studied a book for a while, and finally rushed off to do ECGs. Very proactive.”
Chen Man crossed her arms, “Unlike a certain director who almost arrived late.”
Zhong Yan: “…Go home.”
The emergency department was particularly busy this morning. There had been a chain of car accidents nearby, and patients were being brought in one after another, like a frantic restocking.
It happened to be during shift change, the time with the most staff. The night shift doctors couldn’t leave and quickly joined the rescue efforts.
Since his last major blunder, Shi An could only stay outside whenever there were critical patients. The resuscitation room was bustling, and Shi An stood outside, feeling utterly useless.
With him were Zhao Kang and Chen Xiaoman, equally idle.
Chen Xiaoman hugged a large water bottle, her eyes practically glued to the resuscitation room, “Oh my god! How can Director Zhong be so cool? A man working seriously is the most handsome.”
“Hey, hey, wipe your mouth,” Zhao Kang handed her a pack of cotton pads, “You’re drooling.”
Chen Xiaoman ignored him, her attention still inside, “Look at Dr. Zhong’s hands, so slender, those veins, those knuckles, absolutely perfect.”
Strange adjectives, Shi An was confused. He had recently learned that Chen Xiaoman wrote novels online in her spare time. In order to find inspiration, she had studied all the young doctors in the hospital, and Shi An didn’t escape her “appraisal.”
Chen Xiaoman rambled on, “Such skillful movements, such a calm demeanor, such quick judgment of the condition. Even God favors handsome men, giving him all the best qualities.”
Shi An thought of the “Emergency Management of Acute Symptoms” book filled with annotations in his bag and smiled.
“Don’t just stand there,” the head nurse called to them, “Go to the third floor and borrow two ECG monitors.”
Compared to just watching and not being able to help, Shi An would rather do something within his capabilities.
On a weekend morning, doctors, nurses, patients, and their families filled the entire emergency department. There were shouts, cries, and the constant ringing of cell phones.
“Don’t worry, I’m perfectly fine. There were more than ten people in the car, and I’m the only one unscathed.”
The man on the phone had a Northeastern accent and a loud voice that stood out in the noisy emergency hall.
“My employees are still being treated, I have to wait until their families arrive before I can leave.”
Zhao Kang glanced at him several times, “This guy is really lucky, completely fine.”
From what the man said, he seemed to be from the most damaged bus. The company had organized a team-building activity and encountered a car accident on the way. Everyone on the bus was brought to the emergency department, but he was unharmed.
Shi An and Zhao Kang returned with the ECG monitors, the man was still at the door.
He took the payment slip from the nurse, “Sister, I don’t have that much cash on hand, is there a bank nearby?”
“Okay, okay, I’ll be right back.”
“We’re not short on money, give them the best treatment.”
Zhao Kang clicked his tongue: “This guy is really nice, contributing both effort and money.”
From the moment the man started talking on the phone, Shi An felt that something was wrong.
The man was overweight. In theory, fat could cushion the impact to some extent, reducing damage to organs. But with such a serious car accident, even with a thick layer of fat, he shouldn’t be completely unscathed.
Zhao Kang’s voice sounded beside him, “He’s pretty fast for a big guy, zooming around.”
Overweight, fast, running…
A passage flashed through Shi An’s mind.
In major car accidents, if there are no visible external injuries, internal injuries should be ruled out. Strenuous activity can exacerbate internal organ damage, in severe cases, it can cause…
“Hey! Shi-ge, where are you going?”
Reflexively, Shi An’s legs moved faster than his brain.
The nearest ATM was on the west side of the emergency building. He quickened his pace and found the man under the shade of a tree.
Shi An ran over, “How are you? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
The man was leaning against the tree, his skin and mucous membranes showing a bluish-purple discoloration. His sternum, supraclavicular fossa, and intercostal spaces were visibly retracting during inhalation, classic signs of acute airway obstruction. [Note 1]
Based on the pathogenesis, it was highly likely a pulmonary contusion caused by the strong impact, with blood flowing from the pulmonary bronchi into the trachea, causing blockage. In severe cases, hemoptysis could occur. If not treated promptly, the consequences could be dire. [Note 1]
Shi An shouted to the passersby, “Go get someone from the emergency department, quickly!”
The man was unsteady on his feet, his face cyanotic, slowly sliding towards the ground.
Shi An supported him, “Stand up, you can’t lie down!”
If hemoptysis occurred, lying supine would make it easier for blood to flow into the…
The man leaned forward, blood gushing from his mouth.
Blood, red.
Shi An hated red.
Without support, the man collapsed instantly, grabbing Shi An’s arm, gasping for air, “Help… help me, doctor… help… me.”
Shi An felt weak all over and fell to the ground with the man.
Massive hemoptysis was one of the deadliest killers. If the blood wasn’t coughed up in time, the blood clots remaining in the airway could block the trachea at any time, causing suffocation. [Note 2]
If the current situation didn’t allow for the patient to cough up the blood clots, the quickest method was to perform a tracheotomy to secure the airway.
Shi An’s mind raced, forcing himself to stay alert.
He had to persevere, he couldn’t just watch someone die.
Zhong Yan had told him that in the emergency department, saving lives always came first. As long as there was still breath, there was a chance of survival.
Without surgical tools, he couldn’t perform a tracheotomy. Zhong Yan had written on a sticky note, look for any sharp object available.
Sharp, pointed.
Shi An pulled out the pen from his chest pocket and clicked the tip out.
He located the position, avoiding the blood-soaked area, and controlled his breathing, “This might hurt, bear with it, if I cut…”
Blood gushed out again, and Shi An’s world was enveloped in red.
The color of despair forced helplessness upon him. Just as his willpower was about to be swallowed, Shi An gripped the pen tightly, found the center of the neck, about two finger-widths below the cricoid cartilage, and stabbed it in forcefully.
The pen tip pierced through the skin, revealing the trachea amidst the blood.
Shi An heard a familiar voice and saw a reassuring color.
When Zhong Yan arrived, Shi An was covered in blood, slumped on the ground, clutching a pen.
The situation was critical, and everyone was working hard to resuscitate the injured man.
Thanks to Shi An’s quick thinking and tracheotomy, they bought precious time, and the patient was now out of danger.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they walked out of the resuscitation room.
Chen Man looked down at her high heels, “First time working in these, my feet almost broke.”
“Go home and rest,” Zhong Yan removed his mask and looked around.
“I heard Xiao Shi performed the tracheotomy?” Chen Man said with a smile, “That adaptability, he’s really learning from you.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.” Chen Man also looked around, “After doing such a great deed, shouldn’t he be eager to show off to you?”
Zhong Yan felt a pang in his chest, “I’ll go find him.”
He wasn’t in the office, not in the wards, not at the triage desk. He didn’t answer his phone either. Finally, Zhong Yan found him on the staircase in the basement.
Shi An was squatting in the corner, still holding the pen, his body, hands, and even his chin covered in blood.
Zhong Yan approached him, “What’s wrong?”
Shi An hid his hands behind his back, his voice hoarse, “Nothing.”
“You don’t look like nothing’s wrong.”
“I’m fine!” Shi An shouted, but his body was trembling.
He had been in a similar state the last time in the resuscitation room.
Zhong Yan looked for commonalities: the trembling body, the pale face, the blood-stained clothes.
The conclusion was obvious, but as a clinical medicine student, he shouldn’t and couldn’t be…
“Do you have hemophobia?”
In Zhong Yan’s rest room.
Shi An, wearing Zhong Yan’s white coat, held the warm water Zhong Yan handed him, “Thank you.”
Zhong Yan took the empty cup, dipped some gauze in saline, and sat in front of him, “Lift your head.”
Shi An lifted it slightly, then quickly dropped it again.
His chin was grabbed, and despite his struggles, his head was forced up.
Blood splatters trailed from his jawline down his neck. Wearing a mask was basic protection for a doctor. This area shouldn’t have been stained, let alone splattered.
The dried blood was stuck to his skin, making it extremely difficult to wipe off, fueling Zhong Yan’s already simmering irritation.
He increased the pressure, showing no mercy.
Having been warned before, Shi An didn’t dare to move, only expressing his displeasure verbally, “Be gentle, it hurts, hurts, hurts!”
“Shut up!” The blood on his chin only increased Zhong Yan’s annoyance, “If you whine again, I’ll use formalin instead.”
After using iodine, alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide, Zhong Yan finally switched back to saline.
His chin was clean now, and Zhong Yan’s anger gradually subsided.
He placed his thumb against the reddened skin, softening his touch, gently rubbing, “Still hurts?”
Shi An pursed his lips and shook his head.
His ears, hidden under his hair, felt like they were on fire.
So hot.
Zhong Yan’s hand lingered on his chin, moving around, cleaning any remaining bloodstains.
There were no surgical lights in the rest room, so Zhong Yan leaned in close. Shi An occasionally felt his breath on his face.
Sometimes on his eyelids, sometimes on the tip of his nose.
At first, Zhong Yan thought it was a coincidence, but no matter how he changed his position, those eyes were always fixed on his face.
“Why do you keep looking at me?” Zhong Yan pressed his fingers harder, distorting his face.
Shi An pointed at his chin, making a “wuwu” sound.
He was pressing too hard, he couldn’t open his mouth.
Zhong Yan let go, moving away, “Speak.”
Shi An rubbed his ears, then his chin, “I think Chen Xiaoman is right.”
Zhong Yan: “About what?”
“You look especially handsome when you’re working seriously.”
