Chapter 391: A Day in the Emergency Department: Hope and Healing

Back in the Emergency Department, Zhou Can steadied his emotions and dove right back into surgery.

For him now, nothing mattered more than performing every operation perfectly, building up the surgical team, and expanding their foundation as fast as possible.

The Emergency Department didn’t have any unique features or specialties to its name. For now, it just relied on Tuyu Hospital’s reputation, acting as a catch-all for anyone who couldn’t get into a different department.

People who couldn’t get a specialist appointment, didn’t know what department they needed, thought their situation was urgent or serious, or who were truly in critical condition—all of them would just rush to the Emergency Department for help.

They all had one goal: to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Even though the Emergency Department handled huge numbers every day, almost none of the patients were coming specifically for its name or reputation.

It was an entirely different story for the powerful specialty departments.

Those departments boasted famous experts, respected chief physicians and a great reputation. Even if you pulled them out of Tuyu Hospital entirely, they’d still draw crowds and praise on their own.

The Emergency Department had nothing. Survival alone was a problem.

So, the top priority was to build their reputation quickly with successful surgeries, expand their foundation and get things off the ground.

First survive, then develop, and only after that aim higher.

…

After finishing the last surgery and getting ready to clock out, Zhou Can sought out Dr. Xu. “Teacher, tomorrow’s Wednesday, so I’ll be in Pediatrics for outpatient duty. What should I do about my surgeries?”

He’d been doing Pediatric outpatient clinics for nearly a year now.

By this point, Zhou Can had built up some popularity. His name was starting to get around.

Nowadays, word spread that there was a young Dr. Zhou in Pediatrics at Tuyu Hospital—his consultations were affordable and he could handle all sorts of tricky conditions.

Working outpatient in Pediatrics was something the hospital had decided for him.

It benefitted Tuyu, the Pediatric Department and Zhou Can himself—a win for all three parties. There was no way they’d give it up lightly.

Even if Zhou Can had wanted to quit, neither the hospital nor the Pediatrics Department would have agreed.

“Outpatient duty in Pediatrics can’t be delayed. Just go as scheduled,” Dr. Xu agreed without hesitation.

“Thank you, Teacher!”

Zhou Can honestly hadn’t expected Dr. Xu to say yes so easily.

“Don’t celebrate just yet. After you finish outpatient duty, come straight back to the OR for the night shift. Anything important, I’ll save for you,” Dr. Xu added, making Zhou Can grimace.

That meant every Wednesday, he’d be working sixteen-hour shifts.

“Alright!” he agreed through gritted teeth.

Dr. Xu glanced at Qiao Yu and Luo Shishen.

“You two, adjust your schedules to match Zhou Can’s tomorrow—night shift for everyone.”

“No problem!”

Luo Shishen looked overjoyed.

A night shift meant he’d have the whole day free. For a young intern like him, that meant the chance to go out and have some fun before work.

Qiao Yu had no objection either.

After all, there wasn’t a huge difference between day and night shifts.

Lots of hospitals do A and B shifts instead of three shifts—it’s really just two long ones.

Each shift lasted twelve hours. Doctors and nurses were used to overtime; the real hours usually went far beyond twelve anyway.

After his shift, Zhou Can received a file from Mu Qing on his phone about the child with leukemia.

After reading the file, he sat quietly in his office for a long moment, brow furrowed.

The child was just over seven. His father had died in a mine disaster, and his mother—overwhelmed with grief—accidentally fell into a mixing pool at the paper factory.

Now, the only ones left at home were his elderly grandparents and this seven-year-old grandson.

Misfortune always seems to seek out those who’ve already suffered.

But fate hadn’t stopped there. The child kept bleeding from his nose for no reason—not long ago, they found out it was leukemia.

Medically, leukemia comes in two forms.

One is aplastic anemia and the other is leukemia—they’re entirely different diseases.

Aplastic anemia is a syndrome caused by bone marrow failure.

Leukemia, on the other hand, is a blood disease that leads to bleeding all over the body, a drop in platelets, and compromised platelet function.

Both types are serious, but aplastic anemia often gets overlooked.

Without timely treatment, the disease quickly leads to distress due to anemia.

Judging by the tests, this poor little boy was diagnosed with aplastic anemia.

No one fully understands the cause yet. Typical symptoms: weak bone marrow, low blood counts, anemia, bleeding, infections.

Treatment plans depend on the patient’s case, bloodwork, and bone marrow test results.

It can be split into severe aplastic anemia and non-severe forms.

County hospitals had limited resources and skill—they’d never be able to run all the ideal tests.

Zhou Can thought it was crucial to bring the child to a major hospital like Tuyu for better tests, properly diagnose the condition, and then make an appropriate treatment plan.

Tuyu also ran some charity programs every year.

But they couldn’t compare to the Red Cross’s pure charity.

“Reporter Mu, would you be able to bring the child to Tuyu Hospital for tests tomorrow? I’ll be in Pediatrics clinic—I can see the child directly if you book with me.”

He left her a message.

“Ok!”

She just replied with an emoji.

Reporters spent their days writing articles, doing interviews—sometimes even appearing on-camera. Someone as attractive as her would often be asked to accompany her station manager to social events. She was busy all the time.

There was no question she was extra busy right now.

Once things were set, Zhou Can immediately called Tang Fei, the Pediatrics Department director.

Helping this child shouldn’t just be short term—it needed to go on till he was grown. He’d need long-term support with daily life, school and more.

If hospital charity could cover the treatment, Zhou Can could redirect the funds he’d planned to donate for treatment to help with the child’s living and school costs.

“Hello, Director Tang!”

“Dr. Zhou, what’s going on?”

“A female reporter asked me to help a seven-year-old boy who lost both parents. He most likely has aplastic anemia…”

Zhou Can was honest and explained the whole situation.

“So what do you need from me?”

Director Tang Fei was direct.

As director of Pediatrics, she managed several sub-departments and had seen her share of heartbreaking cases.

After hearing the boy’s story, she remained calm.

“I’d like your help applying for charity treatment at the hospital for him. Reporter Mu could help raise donations for treatment, the hospital charity could cover part, and I’ll pay for his ongoing living and education expenses out of pocket.”

When faced with things like this, Zhou Can always did what he could to help.

Covering everything himself was possible, but that wouldn’t help more people in need.

Charitable work only goes so far—without some strategy, you can only help a few, and sometimes even get blamed or insulted for your efforts.

“Send me the child’s file first. If he qualifies, I’ll submit the application right away.”

Looks like Tang Fei was willing to help.

“Thank you! Thank you, Director Tang!”

Zhou Can was truly grateful.

The arrangements were practically settled.

For Zhou Can, it was just a small thing—but for that boy, it was like a ray of light in the darkness. It could change the whole course of his life.

…

The next day, Zhou Can began his Pediatrics clinic shift.

“Good morning, Dr. Zhou!”

“If only Dr. Zhou could work in Pediatrics all the time! We get patients asking for you by name every day!”

“Dr. Zhou, you look extra handsome today!”

The pediatric doctors and nurses all greeted him enthusiastically.

Most of the doctors in Pediatrics were women. Some were female interns or unmarried trainees and residents—potential risers like Zhou Can caught their attention.

They were always especially warm whenever they met.

He reached Clinic Room 17, where triage nurse Zhou Yanqing was still on duty outside.

They had a very close working relationship.

“Dr. Zhou, all these patients are here for you—looks like you’ll have your hands full today!”

Zhou Yanqing had gathered all the patients’ medical record books in a thick stack—well over thirty.

“I’m honored the patients and families trust me. No worries, just call names one by one as usual. And as always, keep an eye out in the waiting area—if anyone looks seriously ill, let them jump the queue,” Zhou Can instructed.

He gave her his routine directions.

“You got it!”

She’d worked with him many times and already knew his style inside out.

Zhou Can hadn’t even sat down before the first patient’s family came in, carrying a toddler.

“Dr. Zhou, I came on my cousin’s recommendation. She said you’re really skilled, so I rushed over to get in line for you.”

The woman was in her mid-thirties and looked anxious.

She spoke with a bit of a lisp and had worry written all over her face.

The little girl in her arms looked miserable.

“Just have a seat, don’t worry.”

Noting the child’s pale face, Zhou Can used his stethoscope to check her heartbeat, then moved it to her abdomen.

“Is she having stomach pain?”

“Yes, yes! You really are an expert—my daughter’s been complaining her belly hurts for days. Last night she was rolling around in pain, it scared us so much.”

The woman looked at Zhou Can with respect and awe.

Zhou Can hadn’t even asked what was wrong—she thought he must be a miracle worker for guessing right away.

“You should have come to the hospital earlier. Stomach pain in kids that only lasts a short while and goes away after a nap or bathroom break usually isn’t serious. But look—your little girl’s face is pale, her forehead is drenched in sweat, she’s in a lot of pain. I’ll order three tests—go get them done, and once you have the results, bring them straight back here without lining up.”

After a quick physical exam, Zhou Can didn’t grill them for details, just urged them to hurry with the tests.

He had enough experience now to go straight to the essentials—he wasn’t a rookie anymore.

With most children, just a glance or two as they entered the room and he could make a rough judgment about their symptoms and likely cause.

Still, the necessary tests had to be done—it was critical.

That helped avoid wrong or missed diagnoses and was the basis for prescribing medicine or proposing surgery.

Treating patients wasn’t as simple as writing whatever prescription you wanted. Surgery was even stricter, needing thorough evaluation and clear indicators.

If he was right, this little girl probably had acute gastroenteritis.

When he pressed her belly earlier, it was sunken in—she likely hadn’t eaten for a day or two. Some parents were really laid-back; for something this serious, she should have seen a doctor sooner.

Zhou Can didn’t buy the idea that patients would wait a couple days just to get his appointment.

If someone had an emergency and waited two or three days for a specific doctor, it just didn’t happen. Good luck getting them to wait half a day, let alone more.

If anything urgent happened, almost every family would act like the house was on fire—rushing headlong to the hospital.

The only thing on their mind was saving their child—who cared which doctor they saw?

As long as they could see someone fast, that was all that mattered.

The first patient left and the next one came in.

This time it was a chubby five- or six-year-old boy, though his face was streaked with tears from crying.

“Is it your right arm that got hurt?”

After looking him over, Zhou Can asked the anxious parents.

They looked worried sick.

“Yes, yes! My son climbed up on the car roof to play, then fell off. Afterwards, he couldn’t lift his right arm at all,” his mom said, her voice shaking with tears.

“Try not to worry—kids have flexible bones, it’s usually not as bad as it looks.”

Zhou Can squatted down in front of the boy.

“Little one, let uncle check you. If something hurts where I touch, just nod or tell me.”

He checked the boy’s head and back—the important parts.

Head and spine injuries were much more serious than arms or legs.

Luckily, this rascal had a nice thick layer of fat and no major injuries. Just some scrapes on his right forehead, but nothing serious.

“Let’s get an X-ray. From my initial exam, I suspect his right shoulder joint is dislocated.”

Zhou Can didn’t rush to treat it with bone alignment techniques just yet.

With the test slip in hand, the parents took their son out for X-rays.

Zhou Can’s eyes followed the child’s mother as they left the consultation room.

…

That was a typical day for Zhou Can in the clinic.

Unlike most pediatricians, he sometimes did simple treatments in his own office—especially bone alignment.

Not long after, the injured little boy was back, his X-ray done.

An X-ray doesn’t take long.

“Take a look—the joint’s completely out of the socket. That’s a pretty serious injury. Don’t let him play on the car roof anymore! If he’d hit his head, it could’ve been a disaster,” Zhou Can lectured the family.

He spoke with gravitas.

“Doctor, what about my son’s right hand? Does he need surgery or hospitalization?”

The boy’s mother looked nicely dressed and carried herself well, but as soon as her son’s injury came up, she was on the verge of tears. You could tell the boy was absolutely treasured at home.

Lots of families only have one child these days.

They’re as precious as gold—parents hover over them in fear of any harm.

The smallest illness or injury had them frantic.

“Surgery would be tough on him and disrupt his studies—not to mention the scars. I’ll try to set the bone manually. If I can fix his arm by hand, that’s ideal.”

Zhou Can was actually more than ninety percent sure of success.

Still, he chose his words carefully. If something went wrong, angry parents could scream at you—and some might even get physical.

With more experience, he’d gotten downright skillful at communicating with families.

First, you describe the condition as serious, then highlight the benefits of your treatment plan. That way, most families will naturally prefer the treatment you intended from the start.

Otherwise, some families always think the most expensive option has to be the best.