Surgery Godfather

Chapter 162: Chapter 0156: Endless Waiting

“Doctor Yang, I will keep an eye on things here; you should go and eat. If anything happens, we will call you immediately!” Dr. Cheng, who had been watching over the patient’s bed, returned from his lunch break.

Miss Ning’s eyes were still swollen red. Indeed, they had not yet eaten lunch because of the earlier rescue effort. “Doctor Yang, we truly appreciate everything you’re doing. Please go, we will call you if anything happens.”

“In that case, I’ll step out for a bit, only for about ten minutes.” Yang Ping prepared to leave for his meal.

It was necessary to eat when time allowed to stay energized for future emergency rescues.

Yang Ping carefully checked all the device parameters again, scrutinized the urine bag and took note of the recorded urine output by the bedside. The urine output was relatively low, only 150 ml/hour, even though he had administered 40mg of Furosemide for diuresis.

Renal failure was likely imminent, followed by multiple organ failure, pushing all bodily functions toward the brink of collapse.

As he exited the emergency room and walked down the corridor, he noticed Xiao Su standing not far off. Had she come to deliver food? He felt a rush of emotion.

“I tried calling and sending you messages on WeChat but you didn’t respond. I ran into Song Zimo and Tang Fei in the cafeteria, and they told me you joined the rescue operation. I was denied entry at the door, so I called Director Han, who asked Director Kong to come out and collect me,” Xiao Su explained with a smile.

“The food is still warm. Please eat quickly!” Xiao Su guided Yang Ping to the dining room.

As they sat across from each other, Yang Ping ate in a hurry without uttering a word.

Xiao Su comforted him, “I heard about the patient’s condition. Some situations are beyond our control. Just do your best.”

After finishing his meal, Yang Ping looked up, “I’ve been a doctor for many years and it’s still hard to watch a patient’s life slip away in front of my eyes.”

“I understand you!” Xiao Su handed him a tissue.

“I might have to stay here today; the patient requested that I remain on standby.” Yang Ping said softly.

Xiao Su cleared away the dishes and chopsticks, “Alright, I’ll bring you dinner later and even make a late-night snack if need be.”

Director Han exited Director Kong’s office and called for Yang Ping. As Yang Ping stepped out from the dining room to answer the call, he saw Director Han waiting by the nurse’s station.

“Yang, you’ve been working hard today. Mr. Ning specifically asked you to lead the rescue efforts. Don’t worry, the department is being managed by me and Song Zimo. You don’t need to stay in the emergency room constantly, take a rest in the duty room if needed. They will call you if anything happens. If you have any questions, contact me anytime. Remember, your health is the most important. Got that?” After Director Han finished advising Yang Ping, he turned and instructed Director Kong to ensure Yang Ping got some rest, hinting that he wouldn’t lend his staff for overworking if it were to happen again.

Over in the Overseas Chinese Building’s office, the atmosphere was bustling. Department directors gathered for interdisciplinary consultations on the rescue operation. Director Zhao from the Medical Department had stopped by several times, as did Dean Xia to keep apprised of the patient’s condition. To prevent disrupting the rescue efforts, anyone not directly involved in the clinical emergency effort were staying in the office.

Mr. Ning, a major entrepreneur in G City, had assets nearing one trillion in his conglomerate, a genuinely behemoth enterprise.

News of his hospitalisation was kept a secret, especially the news of his worsening condition. Any negative news could cause fluctuations in his companies’ share prices and trigger a steep personnel upheaval.

The hospital strengthened security measures in the Overseas Chinese Building. The entrance to the floor was secured, with additional security personnel stationed upstairs and downstairs to keep reporters and strangers out.

Private bodyguards from the Ning Family were also allowed to station inside the hospital in cooperation with hospital security. Any hospital staff that wanted to enter had to get approval from Director Kong, while any of Ning’s family members had to receive approval from Miss Ning’s secretary.

“The hemoglobin level has started to improve, reaching 60. However, his coagulation function is not looking optimistic. The D-dimer level is unusually high as well. We’ve increased the anticoagulant dosage, but there’s a risk of disseminated intravascular coagulation at any moment. If microthrombi develop in the brain, it could cause extensive brain infarction.”

Director Wei, who had rich ICU experience and was responsible for the emergency ward in the Overseas Chinese Building, was showing Yang Ping the latest test results. Multiple organ failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and extensive cerebral infarction were all immediate problems they were facing.

In such a desperate situation, all they could do was hold on, for as long as possible. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Director Wei’s team, along with Yang Ping and Dr. Cheng, constituted a total of nine people guarding the emergency ward.

“Doctor Yang, please have a seat.” said Director Wei.

Everyone, whether doctors or nurses, showed great respect to Yang Ping.

The fact that he had been the chief surgeon on a five-section replantation procedure might not be known to outsiders, but it was well known amongst the hospital staff.

From the first nerve root block analgesia, the second placing of the extracorporeal lung device to the recent endoscopy for hemostasis, Yang Ping seemingly could do everything. His exceptional performance with the endoscope earned him the respect of everyone calling him the epitome of a skilled doctor.

“Qiqi, check the time.”

“It’s just a little past three.”

“Is time moving this slowly?” As Mr. Ning spoke, one could see through his skin to the outline of the muscles in his neck. His forehead, face, and neck were all sweating. Miss Ning had wiped his sweat several times; it was thick and greasy.

Yet, his spirit seemed to be improving, in stark contradiction to his worsening condition.

“When you were young, I was busy with business. I didn’t spend enough time with you. Now, if I try to recall your brother’s face back then, I wouldn’t be able to get a clear image without any photos. I am sorry, my children. If only I’d spent more time with you, more time with your brother, perhaps things wouldn’t have turned out this way.” Mr. Ning spoke the words clearly and effortlessly.

“Dad, don’t say anymore. I know everything – that everything you did was for us–” Miss Ning tried to suppress her emotions.

“Raise the bed a bit higher; give me the picture to look at again.” Mr. Ning tried sitting up.

Miss Ning gave Mr. Ning a small framed picture from the head of the bed. It was a photo of his son, likely from high school. The boy, still in his teens, was playing a violin.

Miss Ning raised the bed, padded the pillows behind Mr. Ning for him to lean against, semi-reclining. As he looked at the photo, with moist eyes and touching the image tenderly, he said, “This child–”

“D-dimer continues to rise, going beyond ten thousand! His hourly urine output is decreasing, now only amounting to 90 milliliters – anuria. Blood potassium reached 6.2mmmol/l!” Director Wei discussed with Yang Ping.

“Acute renal failure!” Yang Ping exclaimed.

“Dialysis?” Director Wei suggested before quickly rejecting his own proposition, “It’s pointless to do dialysis at this point. The DIC panel results have come in; disseminated intravascular coagulation has already begun.”

Still, Director Wei went ahead and connected the bedside hemofiltration machine, in order to prevent hyperkalemia from causing cardiac arrest.

“We can’t increase the dosage of anticoagulants anymore. Increase it further and any part of the body, the cranial cavity? The chest cavity? Or the abdominal cavity? You name it. It could start hemorrhaging.” Yang Ping said, looking at the lab results on the computer screen.

“Shall we switch the ECMO to V-A mode?” Director Wei suggested.

After a moment of consideration, Yang Ping responded, “In V-A mode, blood in the heart could stagnate, which makes it more likely to form clots. Let’s keep it in V-V mode!”

Miss Ning kept looking at the clock, anxious and flustered, without any resolution at hand. All she could do was to wait.

The state of Mr. Ning, however, continued to improve, his dim eyes unusually sparkled with intent.

“Everyone has been troubled during these times, especially you, Doctor Yang. When there’s something on a person’s mind, it affects everything else they do.” Mr. Ning spoke to Yang Ping, who was at his side monitoring the heart monitor.

Yang Ping smiled at him, “Don’t mention it!”

“Qiqi, bring out the list!” Mr. Ning instructed his daughter.

Miss Ning pulled out the list from her document bag, “Dad, we’ve gone over this several times already.”

Mr. Ning said seriously, “I will go over it one last time, you must listen carefully. The people crossed out on this list are those whom I have permanently removed for you; never rehire them. The ones circled are loyal, but because your qualifications didn’t hold up, I’ve had to sideline them. Eventually, you should restore them to their original positions gradually. In this way, they will be forever grateful to you and aid you wholeheartedly. Uncle Nong is the most trustworthy, but do not overly trust anyone; people change. In our position, we cannot afford to let emotions cloud our judgement. My dear, you are too kind-hearted; that’s what I’m most worried about.”

“Don’t worry, father; I know what I’m doing.” Miss Ning put the list away.

Mr. Ning stroke his daughter’s hair gently, “From now on, the Ning family depends on you–”

The whole afternoon was calm. Though his condition continued to worsen, his spirits remained inexplicably high – like the last gleam of sunshine before an avalanche.

In the evening, Xiao Su brought over dinner. She had made it herself. She ate with Yang Ping, and after they finished, she wanted to stay with him. But worried about the implications it might have, she decided against it.

Mr. Ning lay back against the pillows at the head of the bed, eyes shut, mumbling and muttering about past experiences, memories spilling out of him in bits and pieces. Time slipped away with the hum and whir of the machines.

“Qiqi, what time is it?”

“It’s eleven o’clock.”