I Can Talk to the Internal Organs-Chapter 273 - 240: Pediatric Cerebral Palsy, Five Delays and Five Flaccidities

Day by day passed, and Lu Jiu and the others got used to the new hospital.

As the dean, he also had his own consultation schedule.

Currently, he was in charge of the Difficult and Complicated Cases Department, with consultations four days a week and one voluntary clinic day, meaning he had two days off a week.

This was a result of Huang Fusheng and the others' comprehensive considerations.

Although Lu Jiu was young, and could endure it physically,

over time, it would be difficult to sustain.

After all, diagnosing challenging cases was not the same as treating minor illnesses; it was mentally taxing, and without two days of respite a week, it wouldn't be feasible.

Moreover, the hospital was no longer the small clinic he used to work in; everyone had to be treated equally.

If as the dean, you're constantly working overtime, what about the other doctors?

Therefore, considering all aspects, everyone must schedule their hours while ensuring their health.

Another day passed, and it was finally time for the new hospital to start operations.

However, Lu Jiu and the team didn't arrange any grand opening ceremony, no ribbon-cutting or hanging red banners.

They wanted to keep it low-key.

But the lack of advertising didn't mean that patients were unaware.

Long before the opening of Lu Jiu TCM Hospital, many people were watching to see when the hospital would start accepting patients.

Many internet celebrities in Jianghan stayed around for the buzz and traffic.

So when the hospital began seeing patients, many people came to inquire if they could receive treatment.

Once they knew they could, they began notifying their relatives and friends or posting videos online.

By the second day, hundreds of people had come to Lu Jiu TCM Hospital. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

But when they rushed into the hospital, they found that it wasn't Lu Jiu treating them, but other doctors.

"Young lady, where's Dr. Lu? How can I register for his consultation?"

"Ma'am, if you have any issues, you can register at the gynecology department. If the head of that department can solve your problem, you won't need to see Dean Lu. Because our Dean Lu only handles difficult and complicated cases now, there's no need for minor ailments. Think about it, if your condition isn't serious, there's no need to see Dean Lu. If it's severe enough that our department head can't handle it, they will refer you to Dean Lu, and that doesn't require registration. Once you're admitted here, every doctor will do their utmost to treat you, I assure you of this!"

"Oh, I got it, thank you."

"You're welcome, if you need anything, just ask."

With the nurse's explanation, many patients felt relieved.

However, they weren't as trusting of the doctors other than Lu Jiu.

But because of Lu Jiu's reputation, they were willing to give it a try.

After a few days of trying, they realized it was indeed not bad.

The TCM doctors in several departments were quite experienced. Some department heads even diagnosed their illnesses just by taking their pulse, realizing what had gone wrong recently.

Over time, many no longer restricted themselves to seeking out Lu Jiu alone.

However, some particularly complex illnesses still ended up with Lu Jiu.

Indeed, just starting his shift, Lu Jiu learned there was a particularly challenging patient in the pediatrics department.

It was said to be a child with cerebral palsy.

As the head of pediatrics, Xie Xiao had encountered such patients at Jinling Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, but unfortunately, he was at a loss.

Because children with cerebral palsy mostly suffer from congenital deficiencies.

Trying to compensate for the innate deficiencies after birth is truly difficult. Even if he prescribed the Six-Flavor Rehmannia Pill and treated the symptoms, the efficacy might still be limited.

Besides herbal medicine, he's tried acupuncture too, but it had little effect on such patients.

So, upon discovering a patient like this, Xie Xiao immediately documented the diagnostic details, uploaded the data to the internal doctors' system, and informed Lu Jiu to see if he had any other solutions.

Hearing it was a child with cerebral palsy made Lu Jiu uncertain.

After all, he hadn't treated such a patient before.

But since the patient had come, he should give it a try.

Arriving at the clinic, Lu Jiu saw a mother eagerly awaiting, holding her child.

"Dr. Lu!"

Seeing Lu Jiu arrive, the child's mother was particularly excited, seemingly seeing a savior.

"Sit down. How old is the child?" Lu Jiu asked.

Yu Xingli replied, "Just over three years old this year."

Lu Jiu looked at the child in Yu Xingli's arms, noting the dull eyes, slightly open mouth, stiff movements, and the head's lack of agility when turning.

In the slightly open mouth, not many teeth were visible, and the child's hair was quite sparse.

Clearly, this was the most typical case of the Five Delays and Five Softnesses in Chinese medicine.

Which are delayed standing, walking, teething, hair growth, and speech, and soft neck, mouth, hands, feet, and muscles.

The primary problem areas for this condition are the spleen and kidneys, and being congenital, the responsibility primarily lies with the parents. In many similar cases, before conception, the parents more or less suffered from deficiency of essence and blood, or the mother mismanaged her pregnancy, like having heart issues, prolonged restlessness, irregular routines, frequent late nights, inverted sleep patterns, or binge eating. During pregnancy, she may have consumed certain drugs that harmed the fetus's vital qi.

Or in cases of older mothers, failed abortions resulting in conception later on, leading to congenital insufficiencies in the fetus, essence deficiency, resulting in underdeveloped spinal marrow, viscera issues, or impediments to the development of tendons, bones, and muscles.

Of course, postnatal factors also exist, including difficult labor or birth injuries causing intracranial hemorrhage in the infant, or complications during delivery like premature placental separation or umbilical cord strangulation, improper care post-birth leading to asphyxiation or poisoning, damaging the brain marrow, or stasis obstructing the brain's network; or poor nutrition and irregular feeding leading to spleen and stomach deficiency, weak qi and blood, and an unfulfilled essence, causing growth and development disorders.

This series of situations can cause symptoms of the Five Delays and Five Softnesses in the child after birth.

However, postnatal factors account for only a small part, with most cerebral palsy cases being due to congenital factors.

"How old are you?" Lu Jiu asked.

"Me?" Yu Xingli was somewhat surprised, not understanding why Lu Jiu asked her. Still, she answered truthfully, "I'm 37 this year."

Lu Jiu asked, "How was your health before pregnancy?"

Yu Xingli replied, "It was okay, no major issues."

Lu Jiu asked, "Was the pregnancy a smooth process?"

Yu Xingli said, "Not very smooth, it took two to three years from planning to conception."

Lu Jiu asked, "How about your husband, how old is he, and how's his health?"

Yu Xingli said, "He's 40 this year. Health-wise, he's just a bit overweight. The hospital checkup indicated he has a fatty liver."

Lu Jiu asked, "During childbirth, was it a natural delivery or a cesarean?"

Yu Xingli replied, "Natural delivery. The doctor said the child was very small, just over four pounds."

Four pounds?

Lu Jiu remembered that typically, a newborn boy would weigh over six pounds, unless premature. But just over four pounds was the minimum even among premature babies.

It seemed that postnatal factors could indeed be ruled out.

The child likely suffered from a congenital deficiency of essence qi!

The most severe deficiency syndrome!

Supplement techniques would be necessary for adjustment.

However, such a young child couldn't handle herbal medicine, even the Six-Flavor Rehmannia Pill specifically for treating the Five Delays and Five Softnesses might not be as effective as rumored, or else Xie Xiao wouldn't have entrusted the patient to him.

Because herbal medicine consumes the child's qi and blood, and this child, already congenitally impaired, naturally has insufficient qi and blood.

Even if Lu Jiu's prescription targeted the problem, it couldn't fully exhibit its therapeutic effects.

Acupuncture?

That too would probably be difficult.

The supplement technique in acupuncture essentially mobilizes the patient's qi and blood, similar in nature to herbal medicine.

Moxibustion?

Hmm!

This could be worth trying.

For yang replenishment, moxibustion is better than acupuncture. Although it also expends qi and blood, its inherent medicinal properties make up for it while consuming, which is something acupuncture can't do.

Moreover, moxibustion is purer; the yang generated from burning enters the body as thermal energy, and compared to herbal medicine, it consumes much less of the body's qi and blood.

If it can supplement a sufficient amount of yang qi, combined with dietary therapy, it should offer some help.

However, it's very challenging for moxibustion alone to achieve curative effects.

Is there a way that could both provide medicinal supplementation to the child and not deplete too much of his qi and blood?

Forget it, better to first examine the child's physical condition to know for sure.

After pondering for a short while, Lu Jiu decided to first examine the symptoms and then formulate a treatment plan based on them, rather than wasting time guessing.

"Come, let me see the little one's hands, both of them, so I can examine his condition," said Lu Jiu.

Upon hearing this, Yu Xingli quickly placed the child on the table, letting both hands rest before Lu Jiu.

The child's body was soft, with no strength in the neck; once both hands were placed forward, he couldn't move them with strength.

Thus, Lu Jiu did not need to worry about the child moving during the pulse diagnosis.

His hands gently enveloped the two small hands, and the sounds of the five viscera followed…