Chapter 394: Unintended Consequences

“Do you know what our greatest skill as reporters is?” She fixed Zhou Can with a steady gaze.

Zhou Can shook his head.

“The right to interview! As long as we find a story worth telling, we can conduct interviews, write up the news piece, and once it passes review, it reaches the public. If you keep up this integrity, I could help promote you—for free, even!”

They say women are deeply sentimental.

After Zhou Can helped her save that child, and their conversation sparked some personal resonance, she immediately offered to promote Zhou Can at no charge.

This kind of offer is something most doctors would dream about.

But Zhou Can stayed perfectly composed.

“No need to deliberately feature positive news about me. People fear fame like pigs fear getting fat. I’d rather focus on quietly honing my craft and improving step by step. Your TV station has too much influence—if I end up on TV again, I might not be able to handle it.”

He politely declined her kindness.

Old Qin, sitting across from them, just shook his head and gave Zhou Can a mildly surprised look.

These days, young people who aren’t hungry for fame or fortune are incredibly rare.

They’re even harder to find than giant pandas.

“Heh, what are you thinking? You think it’s so easy to get featured on a TV news segment? I was talking about newspapers and social media.” She couldn’t help but like Zhou Can’s honest, down-to-earth manner.

The less someone chases fame and fortune, the more remarkable they seem.

“No need for publicity in newspapers or on social media either. I appreciate your kindness, but I really don’t need it right now. If I do someday, I’ll ask you—deal?”

Zhou Can turned her down again.

“Fine, fine! Don’t say I didn’t warn you—if you don’t take the free offer now, don’t expect it in the future. Next time, there’ll be strings attached.”

She narrowed her eyes playfully.

“Deal!”

Zhou Can agreed cheerfully.

“Oh, I’ve got to get back to the Emergency Department for my night shift. Can’t stick around—enjoy your meal!”

He checked the time, then quickly got up to say goodbye to Mu Qing and Old Qin.

Back in the Emergency Department, Dr. Xu really looked out for him and left two Level 3 surgeries for him to handle.

Because Level 3 surgeries carry higher risks, Dr. Xu didn’t clock out as usual. He stayed in the Operating Room to guide Zhou Can through the procedures.

“How’d things go in Pediatrics today?”

Dr. Xu asked casually as Zhou Can prepped for surgery.

“Pretty well overall. There was one kid who fell off a car roof and dislocated his right arm. I did a manual reduction, but he kept crying and saying it hurt, even on the way out. Still, after the shoulder was reset, he could raise his arm, and his grip came back. Do you think there could be complications?”

After a whole day of consultations, only that patient left Zhou Can feeling uneasy.

It has to be said, having a mentor you can confide in feels like a blessing.

“Did you take a follow-up X-ray after the reduction?”

Dr. Xu thought for a moment before asking.

“No, I didn’t.”

He’d done it to help the patient save on medical bills—and to avoid an extra dose of radiation.

X-rays don’t carry much radiation, but if you can skip one, you should.

“You did get an X-ray before the reduction, though, right?”

“Of course!”

“First thing tomorrow, check the pre-reduction X-ray in Pediatrics and send it to me. If that boy was wailing before the reduction, he’s probably just coddled. Not a big deal. But if he didn’t cry when you saw him, and after the reduction he started screaming in pain, then you need to dig deeper for the cause.”

As a seasoned doctor, Dr. Xu’s experience far outmatched Zhou Can’s.

A few words and he’d honed in on the real issue.

Zhou Can tried to recall—the boy wasn’t crying when he came into the clinic. His face still showed streaks from earlier tears, though.

Even when he came back after the exam, he didn’t cry.

A faint sense of unease crept over Zhou Can.

He’d have to wait for tomorrow to pull up the pre-reduction X-ray before deciding what to do next.

Generally, if a patient develops a problem after treatment, the family will raise the issue with the hospital pretty quickly.

So far, the boy’s parents hadn’t called the hospital about any concerns.

That was a small comfort for Zhou Can.

He spent the rest of his shift in the Emergency Department Operating Room, performing surgery with Qiao Yu and Luo Shishen—not worth going into detail about.

……

Early the next morning, before eight, Zhou Can was in Pediatrics pulling up the boy’s medical records.

He carefully examined the child’s X-rays but didn’t see any clear issues.

All he could see was the dislocated shoulder joint.

He sent the images to Dr. Xu and also jotted down the contact number the family had left.

He planned to call and check in with the family later.

But as soon as Zhou Can returned to the Emergency Department, the triage nurse Zhou Yanqing called him.

“Dr. Zhou, there’s something I need to report to you.”

“Go ahead.”

Catching a hint of concern in her voice, Zhou Can braced himself for bad news.

“The boy with the dislocated right arm—from yesterday—his parents just brought him back to the hospital, demanding to see someone in charge.”

The very thing Zhou Can had feared was happening.

Ever since sending the boy home yesterday, he’d been brooding over the case.

He couldn’t quite figure out why a successfully reset shoulder would still leave the kid crying nonstop.

Now that the family was here, odds were something had gone wrong.

“Did they say what the issue was?”

This was Zhou Can’s first time dealing with a situation like this, and he couldn’t help feeling anxious.

“The father was especially angry—claimed we made things worse. I didn’t dare ask too many questions, didn’t want to get yelled at. I already told Director Tang about it and they’ve brought the family to a doctor’s office.”

Letting a family cause a scene in the clinic would be a PR disaster.

No way could they allow that.

So the best move is to first bring the family into a doctor’s office or reception room in the medical department—calm things down and learn what really happened.

“Alright, got it. Thanks for keeping me in the loop.”

After hanging up, Zhou Can’s brow furrowed tight.

Barely had he ended the call when the phone rang again.

Director Tang Fei was calling personally.

Things were worse than expected.

But what, exactly, had gone wrong?

Realistically, what could go wrong with a manual reduction? Worst case is that it fails and the joint dislocates again.

“Dr. Zhou, are you busy right now?”

“I was just about to do rounds, but I’ve got time. Please, go ahead.”

Zhou Can was mentally prepared for the worst.

“You saw a five-year-old boy yesterday with a dislocated right shoulder? The family says you did a manual reduction right there in the clinic—do you remember?”

Even in a crisis, Director Tang Fei’s voice remained gentle and steady—something Zhou Can admired.

The higher up someone is, the more they need to keep a cool head when trouble arises.

Zhou Can could handle stress calmly, but compared to Tang Fei, he still had some distance to go.

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“I remember the boy—what’s going on?”

“The family says the reduction was too rough and caused a fracture in the joint capsule of his right shoulder. They took him to the Provincial Children’s Hospital for an X-ray—you can clearly see a fracture line.”

“No wonder the kid wouldn’t stop crying after the shoulder was set—turns out the joint capsule was fractured.”

Suddenly, it all made sense to Zhou Can.

Now this was real trouble. If it really was Zhou Can’s doing, it could be considered a minor medical accident.

“Did you use a lot of force during the reduction? In my clinical experience, it’s nearly impossible to cause a serious joint capsule fracture with manual reduction alone. Kids’ bones are flexible—the force you use on shoulder reductions just isn’t that violent.”

Director Tang Fei calmly asked for more details.

“And don’t stress too much about it. Even if you made a mistake during treatment, the department will back you up—we won’t let you take the blame alone.”

Those words warmed Zhou Can’s heart.

“Thank you! Thank you, Director Tang, for always looking out for me and giving me such unwavering support.”

In that instant, Zhou Can felt a deep respect for Director Tang Fei. His trust in her shot up several notches too.

“When I did the reduction, I really didn’t use much force. I’m confident it couldn’t have caused a fracture. This isn’t my first time resetting a pediatric shoulder either—I’m careful with my technique and strength. Still, at this point, there’s no way to be sure I wasn’t at fault.”

Zhou Can was unfailingly honest with his own people.

He told it like it is.

“It’s hard to explain without solid proof. Did you take an X-ray when you first examined the boy?”

Director Tang Fei paused for a moment, then asked.

“Yes—I just went to Pediatrics to pull up his file and checked the X-ray again. I really didn’t see anything unusual.”

The whole situation left Zhou Can feeling down.

It was his first time dealing with something like this.

He even started to question his own medical skills—maybe he wasn’t as good as he thought?

A resident-level bone setting technique is supposed to be more than enough!

As long as it’s not a highly risky joint reduction, like a cervical spine, he could generally handle it. That one, he still wasn’t qualified for.

Mainly because he was afraid of causing harm.

“Alright, don’t worry about it for now. I just wanted to understand the situation—I’ll let you know the outcome once we’ve wrapped things up. Don’t blame yourself.”

Director Tang Fei said a few reassuring words and hung up.

Starting the day off with a mess like this was enough to sour anyone’s mood.

“Zhou, I took a look at the X-ray you sent me. Looks like there is a problem.”

Dr. Xu walked over, phone in hand.

“Where’s the problem? Pediatrics just called—they said the family’s back with the kid and accused me of botching the treatment. At the Provincial Children’s Hospital, they found a fracture in the joint capsule.”

Hearing that Dr. Xu had found something felt like a lifeline for Zhou Can.

If he could prove his innocence, the situation would change entirely.

At worst, it’d be a misdiagnosis—he just missed something.

The hospital’s responsibility would be much less severe.

“Oh, the family is here making a fuss? Forget rounds for now—come to the discussion room with me immediately.”

Dr. Xu led Zhou Can to the meeting room and projected the boy’s X-ray up on the screen, enlarged.

“Look, right here—the fracture line is clear as day.”

A master is a master.

He found the issue at a glance.

On a phone screen, no matter how much you zoom in, it’s tough to spot a fracture line.

But on a projection, thirty times bigger, it jumped out immediately.

“You’re right! I can’t believe I missed that—I was too careless.”

Zhou Can groaned inwardly.

He snapped a picture and sent it straight to Director Tang Fei.

Immediately after, Zhou Can called her.

He guessed the hospital was still in talks with the family. If he didn’t clear his name, he’d be stuck with the blame.

“Director Tang, I just had my mentor review the boy’s shoulder X-ray. Magnified thirty times, a fairly clear fracture line shows up. I sent you the image on WeChat—could you check if that fracture matches the one found at the Provincial Children’s Hospital?”

Faced with a situation like this for the first time, Zhou Can couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.

He just wanted to prove his innocence and resolve things as soon as possible.

“Alright, I’ve got it. We’re speaking with the family now—I’ll show them the findings.”

She clearly couldn’t talk freely at the moment.

The family was probably there in person.

The call was cut off right away—Zhou Can could even faintly make out the family’s angry shouting in the background.

Whenever a medical accident happens, job number one is to protect the doctors and nurses. They can’t be allowed to sweat and cry.

Being a doctor or a nurse means facing risk every day.

If, at the slightest mishap, the hospital just throws doctors under the bus, who would ever want to practice medicine?

Every doctor treats patients with the best intentions.

Willing to take risks and do whatever it takes—that alone deserves respect and support.

If Zhou Can couldn’t prove his innocence for this, the hospital would likely pay compensation and apologize.

Some less ethical hospitals have all kinds of tricks for dealing with upset families.

Often, patients and their families are the weaker side. The hospital is a huge institution; the patient is just one individual.

The outcome of one against many is easy to predict.

Unless you have ironclad evidence and a top-notch lawyer, odds are you’ll lose.

“First time dealing with a medical accident?”

Dr. Xu looked at Zhou Can calmly.

“Yeah.”

Zhou Can nodded honestly.

“As long as we’re practicing medicine, there’s no way to completely avoid accidents. Just take it as a lesson and be more careful in the future. Don’t let this scare you off or make you hesitate next time.”

Dr. Xu’s tone was especially gentle.

“The first surgery I ever did with my supervisor was for an aortic dissection—the patient died right there on the table. It was the first time I’d ever lost someone. I was so shaken, I couldn’t even remember how I walked out. Even after all these years, I remember the crushing guilt. I felt like it was my fault.”

“Later, the department chief called me into the office and told me not to be afraid. He said that no doctor becomes skilled without losing a few patients, and you’ll never truly conquer disease until you can face that. I didn’t understand then—I just nodded. I can’t even remember what else he said.”

“Only after experiencing more cases—even losing patients while I was the lead surgeon—did I finally get his point. If you let fear hold you back every time, you’re just chaining yourself down. You’ll never fully develop your skills.”

Dr. Xu shared his own journey from beginner to expert, hoping to help Zhou Can gain perspective.