Surgery Godfather-Chapter 294 - 0278: Meeting Director Zhu Again

Chapter 294: Chapter 0278: Meeting Director Zhu Again

Professor Zhang was busy in the clinic, but when he heard about Hermes’s situation, he still managed to squeeze out half an hour, closed the door to the consulting room, and had a heart-to-heart talk with Hermes.

“Life is full of twists and turns, especially for those doing business, but there’s no hurdle in life that can’t be crossed. As for now, your leg must be treated, and the money issue can be dealt with slowly. To save on costs, one possibility is to get discharged and receive treatment in the outpatient clinic. You can learn to adjust the screws on your own and regularly return to the clinic for a follow-up.”

Professor Zhang took Hermes’s hand: “Xiao Wang, it’s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. There are many people in this world living through hardship, so why can’t you? I recommend you to visit the oncology department and see how others are grinding on. I will inform them in advance. There are many people in the world who are worse off than you but they are all gritting their teeth and persevering.”

“Xiao Liao, take him to tour around the oncology department.” Professor Zhang instructed Xiao Liao.

Xiao Liao is a standardized training student in the orthopedics department. Now, Yang Ping sends a training student every day to accompany Professor Zhang on his clinic rounds and to assist him with his computer work.

The changes in Old Wang’s life were too sudden. During his hospital stay, his company back home collapsed and everything was gone.

...

He used to run a coal mine in his hometown. Back then, when coal mining was lucrative, it was like printing money. Recalling the peak of his prosperity, he casually dated models and actresses. When he gambled in Macao, he could easily lose hundreds and thousands without batting an eye. He would use bottles of red wine, worth tens of thousands of yuan each, as mouthwash and still complain about it being too harsh.

Then, gradually, the coal mines stopped being so profitable. Old Wang and a few friends ventured to a small African country to invest in a gold mine. Last year, they were supposed to receive a handsome dividend of two billion at the end of the year, but then a war broke out and the mine was lost, along with the money.

At the same time, one of his major clients had fallen into bankruptcy due to reckless overseas investment, and was defaulted on the huge sum he owed to Old Wang.

Sometimes, the late or absent funds can make a business crumble.

To make it worse, Old Wang’s two major sums were unable to be paid. The company’s funds were abruptly severed, like dominoes toppling over. His hard work of more than a decade vanished overnight.

Professor Zhang contacted the oncology department, instructing Doctor Liao to take Old Wang for a tour, and then arranged to have another chat in the outpatient clinic in the afternoon.

—

After making his rounds, Yang Ping received a call from Director Tian, saying that a friend wanted to meet him and asking if he could join them for dinner that evening.

With invitations to dinner, there always needed to be clarity about the circumstances, he couldn’t just go in blindly. Yang Ping asked for details, and found out that the host was Director Zhu. Director Zhu had asked Director Tian for help in evaluating some client’s radiographic images. As Director Tian was unable to make out the details, he recommended Yang Ping. However, Director Zhu insisted on discussing the case over dinner.

Director Zhu, Yang Ping remembered, was the doctor at Nandu Provincial People’s Hospital who had been wronged by false news. According to Director Tian, he had later switched careers and become an insurance actuary.

He informed Xiao Su that he would be dining out with Director Tian that evening.

Xiao Su advised him not to drink too much and to come home early, assuring him not to worry about his parents as she would accompany them.

Yang Ping had only heard of Director Zhu and had a brief encounter with him once before.

Before the end of the shift, Yang Ping went to see Hermes. Although Hermes’s bankruptcy was a personal matter, that didn’t mean the doctors should turn a blind eye to it.

His wife was peeling an orange for him. Yang Ping comforted him, “Big brother Wang, I’m only here to say one thing: aside from life and death, all other matters are trivial. There’s no hurdle in life we can’t overcome.”

“Yes, Doctor Yang, thank you all. Don’t worry, I won’t think of suicide. I just came back from Professor Zhang’s place and I’ve realized how blessed I really am. This morning, he took me to visit the oncology department. After seeing the conditions there, I understand how much better off I am.” Hermes seemed relieved and more relaxed.

A nurse came and told Hermes that a bed in the hallway had been arranged for him until a patient was discharged and a bed in the triple room was available.

Yang Ping told the nurse, “There’s no need to move him to the hallway. Let Old Wang stay in the suite for now. Once a bed in the triple room is available, move him directly there. From today onwards, bill this room as per the rate of a triple room bed. I’ll discuss this with Head Nurse Cai.”

Although Yang Ping was not the department head, his standings were equivalent to that of a department head, and the nurse did not dare to say more.

“No, that’s not right. I don’t want to cause trouble for you guys. I’m fine with staying in the hallway.” Hermes appeared quite embarrassed.

Yang Ping feigned annoyance, “Old Wang, you’re showing poor compliance here. Remember, I’m your doctor. You can’t go wrong listening to me.”

Now that he had experienced such a sudden change and was unable to adjust immediately, and as the suite was temporarily vacant, letting him stay for a few more days wouldn’t hurt.

“Thank you!” Hermes was truly grateful.

He had seen his share of fair-weather friends and felt the sting of their abandonment in his time of need. Yang Ping’s action warmed his heart.

“Focus on getting better. With the current progress, there’s a high chance of full recovery. As for the medical fees, let them be outstanding for now and we’ll figure something out slowly. Only when you’re well can you start making money again. And considering your business acumen, I have no doubt that you will weather the storm.”

With Director Tian hurrying for departure, Yang Ping did not linger. Seeing that Hermes’s mood was stable, he figured there shouldn’t be any major issues.

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At a time like this, the care from family members is paramount. His wife’s constant support had greatly boosted his morale.

Yang Ping went downstairs, and Director Tian was already waiting at the main entrance of the integrated orthopedics department.

“Little brother, neither of us needs to drive. We’ll go in Director Zhu’s car. It’s not too far, just nearby.”

A black Mercedes was slowly pulling out of a temporary parking spot, gently heading towards them, and then it pulled over to a stop.

A middle-aged man got out of the car. Director Tian casually chatted with him for a while and he departed hastily, Yang Ping didn’t get a detailed look at the man, he only vaguely remembered his appearance.

“This is Director Zhu. From now on, we will call him President Zhu.” Director Tian introduced.

“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a great deal about you! ‘Young hero’, please just call me Old Zhu.” Director Zhu cordially held out his hand to Yang Ping.

Director Zhu was of average body size, not bearing the rotundity of middle age, wore gold-rimmed glasses, elegant and personable, very much a scholar. His demeanor slightly resembled that of Director Tian.

“Hello, President Zhu, I’m Xiao Yang from the Department of Orthopedics.”

Yang Ping didn’t expect him to be so vibrant and radiant, a far cry from the listless and distressed appearance he imagined. The contrast was quite striking.

Director Zhu opened the car door and invited both of them in, “The province had sent both Director Tian and me twice as visiting scholars abroad. We even shared a dormitory.”

Director Zhu talked about his relationship with Director Tian himself. During this gathering that Director Zhu hosted, he had only invited Tian and Yang Ping, excluding outsiders.

At a decent restaurant nearby, as they took their seats, Director Tian got straight to the point: “Anning Insurance has currently established a subsidiary that deals specifically with high-end medical insurance. The president of the subsidiary is Old Zhu’s former boss. That’s why Old Zhu has also moved to this new company as a vice president. Their company has a client, a Chinese person from Malaysia, who has recently developed lower limb paralysis. Despite consulting many renowned doctors, the cause has not been identified. He recently sought my consultation for his case but I wasn’t able to figure out the cause either. I recommended you, and he insistently asked for you to join us for dinner, so that possibly you could help determine the problem.”

The food hadn’t arrived yet, so everyone was drinking tea. Old Zhu took out his laptop from his bag, put it on the table, opened it and displayed the imaging pictures.

“The patient seemed to exhibit paraplegia in both lower limbs. At the time, an MRI detected a cyst in the thoracic spinal canal, which was believed to have caused spinal cord compression, resulting in the paralysis. An emergent surgery that involved cyst excision was performed, but post-surgery, the patient’s paraplegia did not improve, it actually worsened – ” Director Zhu gave a brief introduction about the state of the disease.

“The spinal cord seems a bit edematous. There was edema prior to surgery as well; shouldn’t it have been caused by cyst compression?” Director Tian added.

Director Zhu continued: “He had a few experts from the United States and Germany review his MRI, all of whom concluded that the spinal cord edema was due to compression from the cyst.”

Yang Ping examined the images one by one. Wasn’t it the same case as that of Fang Xiaoyun? A spinal dural arteriovenous fistula!

The system had recently upgraded the auxiliary diagnostic training it provided to Yang Ping. After he had been deemed competent in diagnosing common cases, it began pushing a large number of rare cases to him.

Yang Ping had been able to diagnose this type of case even before he had any training with rare cases. After cosiderable training with rare cases, diagnosing them felt no different from diagnosing a common fracture. He was able to diagnose it at a glance.

“It’s a spinal dural arteriovenous fistula. Let’s perform a DSA, and after confirming the diagnosis, operate on it.” Yang Ping sounded very confident.

The reason why such cases are called ‘rare’ is because of their low occurrence. Ever since he cured Fang Xiaoyun, the system began to push a lot of rarer cases to him for auxiliary diagnostic training, as if acknowledging that he could be taught these cases.

Since Yang Ping had seen a great number of “rare cases”, he no longer considered any case to be rare.

Once he grew proficient with them, he felt very sure about his diagnosis. It felt like taking a test; his confidence in solving the simplest of problems exceeded even seeing the correct answer.

“Find a good doctor, otherwise the DSA might not be performed accurately,” Yang Ping added.

Director Tian had complete faith in Yang Ping’s ability to interpret images; he had noticed on the first day when Yang Ping diagnosed a hidden femoral neck fracture, thereby helping him avoid a misstep.

Director Zhu also had a clinical background, and was recognized as a promising young talent by Nandu Province. Seeing the confidence Yang Ping radiated, he too did not harbour any doubts.

Medicine does not tolerate false pretense. It’s either a yes, or a no. Director Tian would not recommend someone hastily either.

“And what if that’s the case?” Director Zhu asked.

“Perform a surgery, separate the artery and vein, close the shunt, problem solved; the effect would be immediate.” Yang Ping responded very casually.

Initially, this client had purchased multiple high-end medical insurance policies. His current medical help was being arranged by another multinational insurance company, and Director Zhu’s company hadn’t come into the picture yet. Director Zhu had just tried his luck, wanting to see if Director Tian could provide a suggestion.

Little did he expect that Yang Ping would be so confident; it seemed that, from his standpoint, this wasn’t even a problem.

Director Zhu had recently taken office and his company was in the midst of expanding into the international market. If he could resolve this patient’s problem, it would demonstrate his insurance company’s strong capacity to integrate resources, which would naturally evoke trust from high-end clients.

Yang Ping was also keen to assist Director Zhu, hoping that he could achieve something in his new field. This could be due to the empathy felt among colleagues, or perhaps out of sympathy for what he had been through.

The dishes were served, and everyone chatted while eating.

After Director Zhu’s incident, he was forced to switch careers, applied to Anning Insurance Company; initially he evaluated treatment plans for clients in the medical department, then later self-studied and passed the actuarial examination. His hard work, coupled with his high educational background and medical experiences, resulted in rapid promotions within the company. Now he had followed his old boss to a subsidiary to assume a position, becoming the vice president of the company. It was certainly a case of one door closing and another opening.

“Old Zhu – ” Director Tian thought about the incident of blood donation in Shipo; he had felt uneasy as he did not see the person then.

Upon careful consideration, though, he decided against bringing it up, old matters shouldn’t be dug up. He had made a call to confirm at the time, and they said it wasn’t him.