Chapter 648: A Gamble for Miracles: Crisis at the Song Residence

In Zhou Can’s eyes, Mr. Song’s condition fit the classic symptoms of nerve atrophy perfectly.

Even though he had at least four caregivers rotating shifts daily to massage his muscles and stretch his limbs, his neck and lower back still couldn’t move or bend freely like a healthy person.

Given his high status, no one dared force his head to turn or bend, and helping him stand or twist his waist in any direction was completely off-limits.

After all, in his fragile state, the slightest mishap could be fatal.

That’s a burden no one was willing to carry.

For most people, their necks turn a hundred times a day or more. Their waist bends frequently too.

It’s just part of everyday life for the average person.

But for Mr. Song, even the simplest movement was out of reach. In the last ten years, he hadn’t moved his neck or back once. Not even specialized caregivers could stop the natural atrophy of his nerves.

His circulation had weakened over time too.

Life is about movement.

A person who never moves will end up like a sapling that never sees the sun—withered and stunted.

Despite all the advanced technology and professional care keeping Mr. Song in decent health, plenty of problems still lingered.

After some serious thought, Zhou Can realized that curing Mr. Song would mean tackling the problem from multiple angles.

First, he needed to repair the severed nerves.

This would require an open-brain surgery.

He knew it was a huge risk, but he decided to take it step by step.

He’d do the surgery first, make sure the link between the brainstem and spinal cord was completely restored, and only then move forward with rehab and try for a miracle.

Of course, there were risks.

But after treating several insanely complex neurological cases, Zhou Can believed that as long as the patient, doctor, and family all trusted the process, persisted with post-op therapy and medication, and followed up with exams,

success was definitely possible.

For example, there was that construction worker who got paralyzed when a steel rod pierced his back. With his wife’s support and his child’s encouragement, they worked with the medical team and he eventually stood on his own again.

“Mr. Song, I just gave you a checkup. Overall, you’re doing pretty well. But after being bedridden so long, some of your nerves and functions have indeed atrophied. Before coming here, I studied all the surgical records of your operation from ten years ago. Director Xu managed to remove a malignant brain tumor for you, which was no small feat. For us younger doctors, even by today’s standards, that was a legendary neurosurgery case.”

Zhou Can wasn’t just giving Dr. Xu empty praise here.

His words were backed up by facts.

At the time, the patient had a malignant tumor in his skull, pretty much a death sentence.

It was right on the brainstem.

Even now, removing that kind of tumor is almost impossible.

No hospital would dare touch it.

Not even the top hospitals in the Imperial Capital or Magic City.

Dr. Xu never talked about why he took on such a dangerous surgery back then, but from what Zhou Can knew, it had to be out of compassion.

Either the patient or family must have begged so hard he couldn’t refuse.

No one expected that after things went wrong, the family would turn on him completely.

If only they had a shred of empathy for Dr. Xu, who had donated most of his salary to help the patient for ten years straight, they might’ve been willing to clear his name.

Instead, they left Dr. Xu to barely scrape by, clinging to life in misery.

“I’ve reviewed your surgical records thoroughly, and after today’s exam, I believe your nerves still have a chance to recover. If you and your family are willing to work with me, I’m confident I can help you walk again.”

Zhou Can told Mr. Song directly because he had no other choice.

Not a single family member had shown their face up to now—just the butler handled everything.

He didn’t even have anyone to discuss things with.

The moment he came to visit and revealed his identity, Zhou Can was sure the family and the butler had already done a background check on him.

Otherwise, they would’ve never let him in.

Families with this much power always left Zhou Can feeling a certain awe—an unpredictable pressure from those at the top.

“Mmmph, mmmph, mmmph…”

As soon as Mr. Song heard this, he suddenly became agitated.

“Get out, get out now!”

The doctors and nurses panicked.

While frantically trying to stabilize Mr. Song, they shouted at Zhou Can to leave at once.

“Mr. Song, I’m a newly renowned neurosurgeon at Tuyu Hospital. I’ve treated plenty of severe paralysis cases before. Trust me, please!”

Even as the butler pulled him out, Zhou Can called out to Mr. Song again.

“Mmmph…”

Mr. Song could only respond with a garbled, strange moan.

Once he was escorted out, the butler’s face was stormy.

“Young man, that was far too reckless. Mr. Song cannot be agitated. If anything happens to him, would you take responsibility? None of us could!”

The butler knew well how terrifying the Song family’s influence was.

He also understood just how important Mr. Song was.

Since he was the one who’d brought Zhou Can in, any disaster would fall squarely on his shoulders.

If things went wrong, not only the butler—those medical staff might get dragged down too.

“Sorry for alarming everyone. But rest assured—as long as I’m here, nothing will happen to Mr. Song. I’m sure you’ve checked my credentials. I currently hold the highest emergency and critical care rescue success rate at Tuyu Hospital.”

Zhou Can wasn’t exaggerating.

His ranking really was that high.

Granted, it helped that he hadn’t handled as many critical cases as others.

Still, his rescue skills were top-notch.

Even the heads of Critical Care called Zhou Can for help in emergencies.

After all, the ER and Critical Care departments were right next to each other.

Whenever someone called for help, unless he truly couldn’t leave, Zhou Can would dash over like he was in a hundred-meter race.

“You… you’re truly fearless for someone so inexperienced! Do you know what Mr. Song’s status is? If he needs emergency care, that’s a disaster for everyone!”

The butler’s hands were shaking from anger.

He’d feared something would go wrong, and of course, it did.

Right then, a nurse burst out of the room, panic written all over her face.

“Quick, get an ambulance here now! Mr. Song’s breathing and heart rate are both crashing!”

She glared fiercely at Zhou Can after issuing orders to the butler.

Her job was on the line, maybe her future too.

After what happened to Dr. Xu years ago, she knew how bad things could get.

“Even the nearest hospital is twelve minutes away. The strongest rescue teams in the province—People’s Hospital and Tuyu—are over twenty minutes out. There’s no time if this gets worse. I have ICU experience. Let me help with the emergency care!”

Zhou Can addressed the nurse directly.

“Hmph, and who do you think you are? I’ve been ICU nursing champion three times. Our Chief Cheng inside is a leader in critical care medicine nationwide.”

The nurse didn’t finish, but her meaning was clear.

With both of them so experienced in emergency medicine, how could some young doctor like Zhou Can possibly help if even they couldn’t handle it?

“I’m just a regular doctor. But by medical law, if someone needs rescue on site, it’s my duty to step in.”

With that, Zhou Can followed her inside.

This time, the butler didn’t try to stop him.

There was no room for hesitation.

He frantically called an ambulance and reported to his employers.

Bringing Zhou Can here today had surely been cleared by the family.

But now that disaster struck, he’d definitely brought trouble to the house.

He was terrified, worried he might have ruined his own position.

“Why’s the blood oxygen saturation dropping so fast? Check the central venous pressure immediately!”

As soon as Zhou Can entered, he quickly glanced at the respirator’s settings.

Chief Cheng really was an expert—the machine’s parameters were expertly dialed in. In normal situations, respiration settings were simple, but emergencies required precise, minute-to-minute tweaks. It took serious skill.

Even to Zhou Can, the ventilator adjustments looked perfect.

Chief Cheng gave him a cold glance but ignored what he said.

Why would a veteran like him take orders from a rookie?

“You don’t mind if I check the central venous pressure, do you?”

Left with no other choice, Zhou Can started preparing.

Truth was, this was a complicated, risky procedure.

“Get out!”

Chief Cheng barked just three words.

“If you wait for the ambulance, Mr. Song will be gone before you reach the hospital. Your jobs still won’t be safe, maybe worse. If I check his central venous pressure now, it’s vital for understanding right atrial pressure. By experience, I’m sure there’s a problem there—maybe the valve, maybe hypertrophy of the heart muscle…”

Before Zhou Can could finish, Chief Cheng’s expression changed subtly.

“Why do you want the central venous pressure reading?”

Clearly, the fact that Zhou Can could so quickly pinpoint an issue in the right atrium made Chief Cheng reevaluate him.

They were all top experts—real professionals could spot each other’s level in a flash.

For Zhou Can to see the problem so easily—this wasn’t something just any chief physician could pull off.

“To get a true reading of right atrial pressure.”

Zhou Can replied crisply.

“And after that?”

“Then we assess blood volume and heart function!”

“And then?”

Chief Cheng pressed further.

“Rescue according to the findings—to save his life. Decide if he needs inotropic support.”

Zhou Can added.

The nurse gave Zhou Can a surprised look, then calmly assisted Chief Cheng, showing impressive professional skill.

Anyone brought in to care for Mr. Song had to be the best of the best.

How much did it cost every month to hire people this good?

“Come take over for me, I’ll measure the central venous pressure.”

Chief Cheng was convinced.

The nurse looked at both men in astonishment.

Once Zhou Can took over, his rescue skills were immediately obvious, leaving both the nurse and Chief Cheng reeling with newfound respect.

It didn’t take long to get the central venous pressure reading.

Glancing at the result, Zhou Can didn’t hesitate. In less than half a second he said:

“Administer an inotropic agent now! Increase the dosage by 50%!”

At this point, the patient’s scvo2 had dropped to around 40 and was falling. In critical care, a number below 40 meant high mortality.

No wonder these two top professionals were so rattled and wanted the butler to arrange for hospital transfer.

When Zhou Can arrived, he’d noticed an ambulance was already parked in the garage.

No denying it—the Song family’s wealth and power were on a different level.

“Are you sure this won’t backfire?”

“If anything happens, I’ll take full responsibility.”

Zhou Can answered firmly, without hesitation.

In life-and-death emergencies, doctors and nurses have no time to second-guess.

Even a brief hesitation could cost a life.

Chief Cheng just gave the nurse a signal—prepare the medication at once.

“I’ll do it.”

Zhou Can practically snatched the syringe from the nurse.

Then he injected directly into the jugular vein.

The nurse was too stunned to stop him in time. She was in her forties, but her face had gone pale with shock.

Normally, you’d inject either into the thigh muscle or the radial vein.

Going into the jugular was not only technically challenging but seriously risky.

But the benefit was instant effect.

Thigh muscle injection is the slowest of all.

Radial vein runs to the hand, so it’s a fair distance from the heart—and in a patient with this much nerve damage, circulation in the hand is even worse.

“Critically ill patients need aggressive treatment. Without a jugular injection, he won’t make it.”

Zhou Can made it clear.

By the time he finished speaking, every drop of the agent was in. He didn’t pull out the needle right away.

Instead, he waited maybe two seconds, then removed it and pressed gently on the vein.

The entire puncture and injection took barely a second—a performance smoother than even the nurse with three consecutive championship titles.

She was utterly shaken, but more than that, she was in awe.

This young doctor was simply remarkable.

His abilities in every respect were breathtaking.

“The scvo2 is rising! It’s up!”

Chief Cheng shouted in excitement.

Zhou Can looked as calm as if he’d predicted it all.

He immediately moved to the respirator, calmly adjusting the settings according to the patient’s changing condition.

This time, surprisingly, neither Chief Cheng nor the nurse tried to stop him.

They simply watched in silence.

Skill wins trust—always.

The abilities Zhou Can had just shown left no room for doubt.

He earned their total confidence with actions alone.

With all signs stabilized, Zhou Can remained perfectly calm. Chief Cheng and the nurse, on the other hand, felt like survivors of a disaster, finally letting out a huge sigh of relief.

That’s when the butler hurried back in.

“The ambulance is ready. We can move Mr. Song now.”

“No need, he doesn’t have to be transferred anymore!”

Chief Cheng answered for him.

“Wait—does that mean… Mr. Song is…” The butler’s face lost all color, his heart plunging into his stomach.

He thought Mr. Song was gone.