Chapter 612: A Doctor’s Dedication

For a patient, meeting a doctor like Zhou Can is pure luck.

He’s responsible, compassionate, highly skilled and his connections run deep. Whenever he encounters complex cases, he’s always able to bring in top experts from relevant departments for a joint consultation right away.

Yin Hua picked up the file and examined it closely, holding back any quick comments.

Almost every seasoned expert handles things this way.

They’ll never speak carelessly on uncertain conditions. Instead, they know exactly how to keep their opinions to themselves.

Unlike some young rookie doctors, who get overly eager and try to steal the spotlight with even the tiniest discovery— desperate to show off their medical skills. That’s why people always say: a full bottle makes no sound, a half-filled one rattles.

The more capable someone is, the humbler they tend to be.

It’s usually those lacking real skill who show off and chase vanity to fill a sense of inferiority.

Zhou Can lifted his cup and took a sip of tea, patiently waiting for Director Yin Hua to finish reviewing the documents.

“There are only two causes for this child’s paralysis: either an injury to the cervical spine or trauma to the brain.”

After a careful study, Director Yin Hua finally gave his assessment.

“You think so too? At first, I strongly suspected a cervical spine injury causing the paralysis. After all, the child’s neck was red and swollen after the fall.”

Naturally, Zhou Can had already developed some diagnostic conclusions before arriving.

Director Yin nodded.

“The spinal cord runs through the cervical vertebrae—it’s a critical part of the nervous system. Spinal cord injuries are almost impossible to recover from. If it’s damaged, the child might never get another chance at a full recovery.”

Years of clinical experience had exposed Director Yin to all sorts of cases.

Many mediocre doctors know the brainstem is a “no-go zone,” but veteran surgeons or neurologists will tell you the spinal cord is even more fragile— and far harder to repair.

If the brainstem is the so-called life-forbidden zone, the spinal cord is absolutely the nerve-forbidden zone.

If an ordinary nerve is severed or damaged, a skilled surgeon may still attempt nerve anastomosis. But if the spinal cord’s involved, the best outcome is usually paralysis from the waist down— for life.

Being able to leave that wheelchair again would be next to impossible for the rest of their days.

On this point, it’s worth mentioning two of the four most common clinical puncture procedures: lumbar puncture and bone marrow puncture.

Many patients think lumbar punctures are extremely risky. After all, you have to pierce through skin, subcutaneous tissue, the supraspinous ligament, interspinous ligament, and the yellow ligament— right into the epidural space. That’s even where doctors administer epidural anesthesia.

Then, the needle is advanced, puncturing the dura mater and arachnoid membrane, entering the subarachnoid space. Only when cerebrospinal fluid flows out is the lumbar puncture considered successful.

Patients worry about lumbar punctures mainly because of misunderstandings about spinal anesthesia.

After a spinal anesthetic, your lower body goes completely numb. It feels exactly like you’ve been paralyzed from the waist down.

That’s why lots of patients fret that a botched lumbar puncture will leave them paralyzed. It’s a possibility— but one in a million.

During a lumbar puncture you’ll feel the needle pass through two ‘give’ points. As long as the doctor’s sense of touch is okay and they keep their head, anyone can master the basics. Plus, mentors—

—and senior doctors will walk junior staff through every detail, supervising closely during hands-on training.

No one wants anything to go wrong, after all.

If an intern or trainee did cause paralysis, nobody’d be able to shoulder that responsibility.

So all things considered, lumbar puncture is actually among the safest punctures performed.

It’s bone marrow puncture— or more specifically, spinal process puncture— that quietly carries much higher risks.

Especially when you run into fearless, inexperienced rookie doctors. For their own safety, patients absolutely have the right to refuse and insist on a senior physician instead— not get used as a rookie’s live practice dummy.

Because if something does go wrong, it could ruin a life forever.

That said, problems crop up less than 0.1% of the time. Out of ten thousand cases, maybe one ever goes wrong.

But even with such tiny odds, it’s a nightmare if it happens to you.

So if things can be prevented, they absolutely should be.

Whenever an operation seems particularly risky or patients voice strong concerns, a senior doctor who’s skilled in the procedure is duty-bound to perform it personally. Not just hand it off to a trainee.

“The nervous system is basically split into two parts—the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. In clinical practice, nerve anastomosis is almost always limited to the peripheral nerves. The central nervous system is incredibly hard to repair by surgery, at least with current technology. The spinal cord is part of the central system, and we still haven’t overcome those limitations.”

Director Yin continued sharing his clinical insights on diagnosing and treating nerve injuries.

“For adults, the spinal cord’s about 42 to 45 centimeters long. It’s so well-protected inside the spine, it’s not usually at much risk. It’s something we developed over countless years of evolution— a remarkable form of self-preservation.”

Bones aren’t just for support. They also shield vital organs and nerves.

For instance, our most important organ, the brain, is completely encased by the skull, forming a tough, rounded shelter.

That’s the result of long natural evolution too.

A sphere is the hardest shape to break. The hard, ball-shaped skull protects the brain and key neural tissues better than anything.

The evolution of the spine is even more fascinating: the spinal column itself is round, while the vertebral bodies are almost triangular.

Round shapes resist external force, making them harder to break. Even plants figured this out during evolution— almost all tree trunks are cylindrical.

Cylinders are sturdier, harder to snap or damage.

A trunk has to bear the weight of every branch and leaf, through strong winds, heavy snow, harsh conditions. Only a cylinder will do.

【If chapter updates are too slow, there’s finally a fix! Download the huanyuanapp.org app to switch source and see the latest chapters from all major sites.】

Maybe some early trees didn’t have round trunks, but they got weeded out in the struggle for survival.

So almost every trunk you see today is cylindrical.

The spinal column evolving into a round shape is nature’s way— perfectly adapted to the laws of survival.

Yet the vertebral bodies are sort of triangular—another outcome of evolution.

Triangles are the most stable shapes.

The vertebral column has to support the entire upper body, so stability and strength are critical.

“When it comes to spinal cord injuries, my clinical experience says—the closer the damage is to the head, the less hope there is for recovery. In practice, I’ve seen some patients paralyzed from lower spinal injuries gradually stand and walk again, regaining movement and nerve function. But that only happens if the injury’s near the so-called ‘tailbone.'”

Actually, ‘tailbone’ isn’t a formal medical term.

But older doctors often call the lower end of the spine the tailbone, since it’s right above the buttocks.

Human beings probably had tails to start with.

After all, almost every animal out there does.

But as we evolved, the tail faded away— leaving only smooth skin behind.

Honestly, this kind of evolution made humans less equipped to handle harsh environments, but we developed advanced civilizations. With full stomachs, houses, cars, planes, even ships— we don’t hunt in the woods anymore. We’re evolving in a new direction, and that’s a miracle too.

Compare all the animals—besides humans, every other creature has thick scales, shells, fur, or even sharp spines for protection.

Do gods or immortals exist? No one really knows.

But there’s no doubt: humans are absolutely Earth’s most outstanding species.

Just imagine—if your girlfriend was covered in thick black hair, how would that feel? Some men grow way more body hair because of their hormones.

Long hair on every arm, chest, belly and leg.

Does that mean they’re less evolved?

No one can really say.

Some studies suggest that hairier men are often stronger, with better immune systems— and just as powerful in their relationships.

Wild animals definitely have better immunity than we do. From another angle, maybe men with more body hair aren’t as evolved as the smooth-skinned types.

Even the Bible and western myths describe angels as fair-skinned and beautiful—never as hairy apes.

While Director Yin shared his clinical experience, Zhou Can simply listened quietly.

He’d learned yet another lesson today: the higher up the spinal cord, the harder it is to recover from injury.

“Director Yin, I ran a test on the kid’s knee-jerk response. Both knees showed a reflex, so the lower nerve centers should still be working. But I did notice that while the left knee reflex was normal, the right side was much weaker. I also found pronounced stiffness in his right neck…”

Zhou Can shared all his analysis and findings.

“So you mean…?”

After listening, Director Yin’s eyes lit up, a hint of admiration on his face.

Zhou Can always had a knack for unconventional approaches to diagnostics.

Methods that seemed ordinary at first could become keys to solving tricky cases when he was involved.

“I suspect it’s not cervical injury that caused the paralysis. But as you said, there are only two places that could: the cervical spine or the head. You saw the CT and ultrasound yourself—almost nothing abnormal in the head. What bothers me is I’ve hit a diagnostic dead end, which is why I came to you for advice.”

A diagnostic dead end is exactly what Zhou Can dreads most in clinical work.

Just when he manages to find a clue, after all the effort, sometimes it turns out to be the wrong path.

It’s a crushing feeling for any doctor.

You spot a trail, settle on a diagnosis, order more tests, maybe even call in other doctors to help. Then in the end, you realize that line of thinking just leads nowhere.

At that point, you either give up—

—Or start looking for a totally new lead.

“Let’s do this. I’ll go check on the kid in the ward myself. Neck stiffness is rarely one-sided; it usually appears on both sides at once. That might just be the breakthrough we’re looking for.”

After thinking it through, Director Yin finally spoke.

“Alright, I’ll come with you. The child’s in the emergency surgical ward.”

Zhou Can stood up and offered to go together.

But Director Yin quickly motioned for him to sit down.

“No, no, stay right here in my office. I’ve got another tough case with no leads. Help me take a look at it.” As he spoke, he handed Zhou Can a new case file.

It was a fair exchange between the two.

Honestly, this sort of thing happened all the time.

Why are other chief physicians always quick to help Zhou Can when he asks?

Because when they need help, he never hesitates to return the favor.

Relaxing in Director Yin’s spacious office, Zhou Can sipped his tea as he pored over the new patient’s file.

This time, it was a young woman—just 32 years old.

She’d come to the hospital complaining of severe headaches, blurred vision, and frequent double vision. Sometimes her limbs even convulsed.

Seeing these symptoms, Zhou Can immediately thought of epilepsy.

Epilepsy can be hereditary— or acquired.

Even though it runs in families, it’s not contagious. So if someone you want to marry has epilepsy, there’s nothing to be afraid of. As long as you take good care of them during an episode, it can actually deepen your bond.

Seizures are when things get dangerous.

If someone has a seizure while out biking, they could suddenly lose consciousness and crash into something.

And if it happens near water, falling in could mean drowning.

For jobs involving dangerous machinery, losing consciousness near a machine could be fatal.

But in general, medication can help reduce, even stop the seizures.

In some cases, no more episodes at all.

But the treatment is expensive, and it lasts for life. Not every family can afford it— or wants to.

Zhou Can next checked whether the patient had any family history of inherited diseases.

It turned out both her parents and grandparents were healthy— no epilepsy or mental illness.

Her grandmother had only developed Alzheimer’s in old age.

That has nothing to do with this woman’s illness and was quickly ruled out.

With hereditary diseases off the table, Zhou Can carefully reviewed the patient’s test results and the course of her symptoms.

This had been her first episode.

About two months ago, her headaches started. Because work was busy, and there were so many household chores to juggle, she didn’t go for a checkup.

She figured it was just lack of rest and thought it would get better on its own, so she didn’t seek help or take any medicine.

Instead, the headache dragged on for another month, and got worse. Suddenly, her vision began doubling.

At first, it was only occasional— especially right after waking up.

But her condition worsened: headaches got even worse, double vision became her new normal, and her limbs started to twitch.

There was no foaming at the mouth though.

If she’d had classic “Zhu Po Feng”—the old nickname for epilepsy—episodes would usually come with foaming at the mouth.

It was clear to Zhou Can that this wasn’t a simple case. No wonder even Director Yin and the neurology doctors couldn’t pinpoint the cause.