Chapter 196: Apologizing to You

Just as Joshua Sawyer had feared, the controversy snowballed online. Many patients who had already made appointments with Amanda Vance canceled. The only ones who showed up were a few for follow-up visits, and they all looked at her, hesitating to speak.

They knew how skilled Dr. Vance was, but with everyone saying those things...

’Oh, well. Forget it. The medicine Dr. Vance prescribed is clearly working for us. Everything else is none of our business.’

Amanda Vance saw their expressions but offered no explanation. The only thing that proves a doctor’s skill is her ability to treat patients and save lives, not empty words.

To her surprise, Paddy’s Mother was there too. Paddy’s condition was so severe that he needed to stay in the hospital for over half a year to recover. As a mother caring for a child, she was always busy and rarely had time to come down to the clinic.

Amanda Vance smiled when she saw the worried look on the woman’s face. She shook her head and said, "I’m fine."

Paddy’s Mother studied her for a moment. Seeing that her calm expression wasn’t an act and she showed no signs of panic, she finally relaxed. "That’s the spirit!" she said happily. "The innocent have nothing to hide. If you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear. Dr. Vance, your skills are incredible. Those people must be blind to say such things about you. Don’t listen to them."

"Mm," Amanda Vance agreed with a smiling nod.

Due to the mass cancellations, it was barely ten o’clock and the waiting room was empty. Worried that Amanda might be upset, Paddy’s Mother stayed to keep her company.

With two mothers together, just talking about their children gave them plenty to discuss, so the atmosphere wasn’t too awkward.

As they were chatting, a middle-aged woman suddenly ran in from outside. Her face was pale, but the moment she saw Amanda Vance, her eyes lit up with a spark of hope. She rushed forward, crying out, "Dr. Vance, please, help!"

Her voice was so shrill it seemed to shake the very floor.

She was so overwhelmed with emotion that her legs gave out. The moment she saw Amanda Vance, a wave of relief washed over her, causing her to stumble and fall. Fortunately, Amanda’s quick reflexes allowed her to catch the woman and keep her from hitting the ground.

Remembering her son, she said frantically, "Dr. Vance, I’m begging you, please save my son."

Amanda had a suspicion, but she asked, "And your son is...?"

The woman realized she hadn’t introduced herself. "My son’s name is Howard King," she said hastily. "He’s the one... that..."

As she spoke, she blushed with embarrassment, fumbling for her phone. She pulled up a video and whispered, "This... this is my son."

After she said it, she looked so embarrassed she wished the ground would swallow her whole.

Paddy’s Mother glanced at the screen and understood immediately. Her brow furrowed. "So it’s him," she snapped. "You have the nerve to come here? Do you have any idea what they’re saying about Dr. Vance because of your son?"

The man on the screen was none other than the reporter who had posed as a patient. The story of Amanda Vance telling him he was sick had been blown completely out of proportion, with new waves of people online hurling abuse every day. If the hospital hadn’t recently increased security, some might have even shown up to cause trouble in person.

The woman looked even more mortified.

Seeing that Paddy’s Mother was about to say more, Amanda Vance held up a hand to stop her. She turned to the woman. "Let’s go see the patient first."

"Yes, yes, of course." The woman breathed a sigh of relief at her friendly tone, which only made her feel more guilty. She kept apologizing, but Amanda Vance just waved her hand. "It’s alright. First, tell me what happened."

At that, the woman quickly began to explain.

When Dr. Vance told him he was sick that day, of course, no one took it seriously. He was a strong, healthy young man. Even if he felt a little off, it was probably nothing major—just a bit run-down. It started with dizzy spells, but he didn’t think much of it, figuring it was just from working late and not getting enough sleep. Naturally, he wouldn’t feel his best, so he didn’t worry about it.

But then the dizzy spells became more and more frequent. The last time, he was out on assignment, writing up a story in his hotel room. When he stood up, he was hit by a sudden wave of dizziness and passed out. Fortunately, his roommate was there and called an ambulance to take him to the hospital.

As it turned out, they took him to Central Hospital.

The hospital uses electronic medical records, so anyone who has had a consultation has a file. And in his file, appended to the record, was Amanda Vance’s diagnosis.

And her diagnosis was spot-on.

She had, of course, seen the video. At first, she’d been furious to hear someone say her son was sick. Only now did she realize that Dr. Vance had simply been stating a medical fact. It was their own negligence that had allowed his condition to deteriorate.

At this thought, her expression became even more guilt-ridden. Thinking of her son lying in the hospital bed, she pleaded, "Dr. Vance, you could diagnose my son’s condition with just a glance. Your medical skills must be incredible. Please, help us. If you can save Howard, I’ll make sure he apologizes to you the moment he wakes up!"

As she spoke, they arrived at the hospital room. Howard King was awake.

Seeing this, his mother immediately ran to his side. "Howard, you’re awake!"

But the young man on the bed had a vacant look in his eyes. He raised a hand and waved it in front of his face, asking in confusion, "Mom? Why are you here? And why aren’t the lights on? It’s the middle of the night."

The moment he said that, the joy that had appeared on his mother’s face vanished, replaced by a deathly pallor.

Amanda glanced over, not looking surprised in the slightest, and walked over to the two other doctors in the room.

When the two doctors saw her, their faces lit up. "Dr. Vance, you’re here! Come take a look at the scans."

"This is Howard King’s brain CT scan."

Amanda Vance took the scan and glanced at it. She nodded. "I see."

The two doctors exchanged a look. Recalling the videos they’d seen online, one of them asked tentatively, "Dr. Vance, is it true? Can you really diagnose a condition with just a glance?"

Hearing this, Amanda Vance let out a small laugh. "It’s not that miraculous. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes four methods of diagnosis: observation, listening, questioning, and palpation. I merely had a suspicion based on my initial observation of his features. It’s only now, after seeing your scans, that I can confirm it."

She was being modest, but the two doctors couldn’t help but look at her with expressions of pure admiration.

’Simply put, Howard King had a brain tumor. But these things are usually asymptomatic, and this was his first episode. He seemed perfectly normal when he met Dr. Vance, yet she still managed to diagnose him. How incredible is that?’

’To know just from a glance... she’s like a walking CT scanner.’

Unaware of their thoughts, Amanda Vance had already walked over to Howard’s mother and showed her the scan. When she heard that her son had a brain tumor, the woman was so terrified her legs went weak and she nearly collapsed. Amanda quickly hooked a nearby chair with her foot and slid it over. The mother sank into it, sitting there for a long moment, unable to process the news.

Howard King had heard everything as well and was terrified. He’d already sensed something was terribly wrong from his mother’s sudden silence.

’So, it isn’t nighttime?’

’Then why can’t I see anything? Am I... blind?’

An immense panic surged through him. "Dr. Vance, please save me!" he cried out desperately. "I apologize. I’m so sorry! I never should have tried to discredit you! It was all my fault!"