Chapter 233 - 232: I Want to Be a Doctor

Chapter 233: Chapter 232: I Want to Be a Doctor

Following Yan Ling’s lead, Yu Zhiming ran toward the medical room she had mentioned.

"Just now, a colleague was taking some guests to see the water source at the cliff when they found a child who had fallen to the bottom. They brought him back as fast as they could."

Yan Ling explained, panting, as she led the way.

"The child is covered in injuries, with bones exposed. He’s lost so much blood, and Doctor Chu in the medical room can’t handle it..."

Behind the jogging Yu Zhiming and Yan Ling, Gu Qingning, Zeng Yan, Fu Xiaoxue, and Yu Xiangwan also scrambled to follow, their faces filled with morbid curiosity...

The medical room was a small building at the rear left of the main complex, connected by a covered walkway.

A minute or two later, Yu Zhiming burst into the medical room.

Inside, a middle-aged man in a white coat was clumsily trying to bandage a motionless, blood-soaked child lying on an examination bed.

Yu Zhiming noticed the middle-aged man’s hands were trembling. He could tell the man rarely encountered situations like this and was completely frozen with panic.

To Yu Zhiming’s relief, the child already had two IV lines started, administering saline and glucose.

Yu Zhiming immediately cranked the IV drip rate to maximum, then unhesitatingly took charge of the treatment.

As soon as he began his examination, he was shocked by what he found.

The child, who looked to be about twelve or thirteen, was far more severely injured than he’d expected.

A fractured skull at the back of the head, and redness at the base of the eyes—a sign of excessive intracranial pressure.

Open fractures of the left forearm and left thigh.

A fractured sternum and four broken ribs.

A compound fracture of the right lower leg.

A weak heartbeat.

Ruptured liver and kidneys, with over five hundred milliliters of fluid in the abdominal cavity...

Among all the poor kid’s injuries, Yu Zhiming determined there were two immediately life-threatening conditions.

First, massive blood loss.

Second, intracranial bleeding, leading to dangerously high cranial pressure.

Yu Zhiming moved quickly to stop the bleeding.

His method was simple and crude: find the ruptured blood vessels in the external wounds and tie or ligate them directly.

"What’s the child’s blood type? He needs an emergency transfusion."

Another woman in the medical room, who looked like a housekeeper, replied in a tearful voice, "We don’t know his blood type."

"We haven’t found his family yet. He might not be the child of one of the resort’s guests."

Just then, a clear voice rang out.

"Uncle, Uncle! I’m type O, a universal donor! Take my blood."

Yu Zhiming glanced over to see Zeng Yan stepping into the medical room, her right arm already extended.

As for Gu Qingning, Yu Xiangwan, and Fu Xiaoxue, the three of them were hiding outside the medical room, peeking in with a mixture of wanting to see and being afraid to look.

"Dr. Yu, I’m also type O. Take mine." The one who spoke was the middle-aged doctor in the white coat.

Yu Zhiming chose the middle-aged doctor as the donor.

As he inserted the needle into the doctor’s arm vein, he warned, "The blood type isn’t a perfect match. Even though type O is called the universal donor, you can’t transfuse too much of it."

"Five hundred ccs at most. Keep an eye on it yourself."

Yu Zhiming then instructed Yan Ling, "Housekeeper Yan, the child’s injuries are too severe. We have to get him to a major hospital as soon as possible."

"Go contact that helicopter."

"Okay, I’ll contact them right now!" Yan Ling, who was waiting outside the medical room, called back loudly.

After establishing the transfusion line, Yu Zhiming quickly staunched the major bleeding points on the child’s external wounds.

Next, he moved to the child’s head, preparing to deal with the intracranial bleeding.

Zeng Yan brought over an aluminum box containing syringes, forceps, and other tools, along with a smaller aluminum box of needles, holding them out to Yu Zhiming.

Yu Zhiming glanced at Zeng Yan, took a syringe needle, and warned her.

"Stand back a bit."

Before the words had even left his mouth, he inserted the needle into the fracture line on the back of the boy’s skull.

In the next second, a stream of blood shot out from the needle’s hub, splattering all over Yu Zhiming.

This elicited a series of sharp screams.

The cries came from the housekeeper in the medical room, as well as Fu Xiaoxue and Gu Qingning outside...

Having released the accumulated blood and lowered the intracranial pressure, Yu Zhiming began to bandage the boy’s wounds.

As for the boy’s internal organ damage, there was nothing Yu Zhiming could do with the limited facilities in the medical room.

He could only hope the boy was strong enough to hold on until they reached a major hospital.

The good news came a short while later when Yan Ling called out to Yu Zhiming that the helicopter had been contacted and was ready for takeoff at a moment’s notice.

Yu Zhiming quickly finished bandaging the boy, then gently placed him on a stretcher. Four male staff members from the resort carefully carried him out.

As for the middle-aged doctor, since he was donating blood to the boy, he had no choice but to go with them...

Watching the helicopter fly higher and disappear into the distance, Yu Zhiming turned to Gu Qingning, Fourth Sister, and the others beside him.

He asked with a smile, "Anyone still have an appetite for dinner?"

At Yu Zhiming’s question, Fu Xiaoxue immediately covered her mouth, letting out a "GAG... GAG..." and nearly threw up.

Gu Qingning and Yu Xiangwan were also pale.

Yu Xiangwan smacked Yu Zhiming’s shoulder hard and said indignantly, "You did that on purpose, didn’t you? After seeing such a bloody scene, who could possibly have an appetite?"

"And look at you! You’re covered in blood. You look horrifying, and you smell horrifying."

"Hurry up and go change your clothes and take a shower."

Yu Zhiming chuckled. "Well, who told you all to be so curious and follow me over to watch?"

"So curious, yet so squeamish!"

He had barely finished speaking when he was pelted with a few light punches from Fourth Sister, Xiaoxue, and Gu Qingning.

They declined Housekeeper Yan’s offer to drive them back in a sightseeing cart, saying they wanted to walk back slowly to calm their unsettled feelings.

On the way back, Yu Zhiming called over Zeng Yan, whose expression was as calm as ever.

"You don’t seem scared at all, do you?"

Zeng Yan said, a bit embarrassed, "I don’t know why I wasn’t scared either."

"I just felt like it was about saving someone’s life, so what’s there to be afraid of?"

"Or maybe I’m just what people would call... recklessly brave?"

Yu Zhiming chuckled softly. "That’s not being recklessly brave. That’s the quality of a surgeon."

"Sigh, why did you choose to major in aquaculture back then?"

Zeng Yan pouted. "My dad loves raising fish, and we have a lot of ornamental fish at home. I quite like them too."

"At the time, I thought that with this major, I could open an ornamental fish shop back home after graduation, or get into breeding them. Turn my hobby into a career."

"But it’s been over a month since school started, and I’ve found the major to be pretty boring. It’s not as great as I imagined."

Pausing for a moment, Zeng Yan changed the subject. "Uncle, isn’t type O the universal blood type?"

"Why can’t you transfuse too much of it?"

Yu Zhiming explained patiently, "While type O blood doesn’t contain A or B antigens, its plasma still contains anti-A and anti-B antibodies. In large transfusions, these can bind with the patient’s antigens and cause a hemolytic reaction."

"Of course, in an emergency where a patient’s life is at risk from blood loss and a matching blood type can’t be found, type O can be used to transfuse people with type A, type B, or type AB blood to save their life."

"Using type O blood in these situations is just a stopgap measure. The best and safest option is always to transfuse the same blood type."

Zeng Yan let out an "Oh," then asked, "Uncle, what’s your blood type? Are you type O?"

"I’m type AB!" Yu Zhiming replied.

Fu Xiaoxue, who had recovered some of her spirits, chimed in excitedly, "I’m type AB too."

She added smugly, "Zeng Yan, type O is the universal donor, but type AB is the universal recipient."

"Only 9% of the world’s population has type AB blood. It’s the rarest type, so it’s also called the ’noble blood type’."

Yu Zhiming reached out and flicked Xiaoxue on the forehead. "What’s there to show off about a blood type?"

"No matter what your blood type is, the best-case scenario is never needing a transfusion in your entire life."

He then turned to Gu Qingning and asked, "What’s your blood type?"

Gu Qingning raised an eyebrow and retorted, "You just finished saying the best thing is to never need a transfusion, and now you’re asking for my blood type?"

Yu Zhiming said frankly, "That’s the ideal wish, but we should always be prepared for the worst."

"Accidents are something nobody wants, but they always happen when you least expect them. You never know."

Gu Qingning huffed softly. "I’m type A."

She then turned her head and asked, "Fourth Sister, what’s your blood type?"

"Also type A!" Yu Xiangwan replied simply.

Gu Qingning asked in surprise, "Fourth Sister, aren’t you and Zhiming twins? How come your blood types are different?"

Yu Zhiming rolled his eyes and said disdainfully, "Gu Qingning, you’re a real testament to the failures of our education system. Allow me to enlighten you on the difference between identical and fraternal twins..."

Chatting and laughing, the group made their way back to the mountain villa.

Yu Zhiming first took a long, hot shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes.

Hearing some noise, he went out to the large third-floor terrace and joined Gu Qingning, Xiaoxue, and the others. They sat on wicker chairs, admiring the evening view of the valley while chatting idly...

"Uncle..."

Zeng Yan said tentatively, "What if... what if I said I wanted to change my major to medicine? I want to be a doctor, just like you."

"Is that... is that even possible?"

Yu Zhiming was taken aback for a moment. "Zeng Yan, there’s a saying: ’Convince someone to study medicine, and you’ll be struck by lightning.’ The medical field is tedious and incredibly difficult. It takes at least seven or eight years to even get through school."

"Even if you graduate successfully and get a job at a hospital, it’ll take another five or six years, or even longer, of practice and grinding before you can be considered capable of working independently."

"My situation is a special case."

Zeng Yan nodded emphatically. "Uncle, I know your situation can’t be replicated. I wouldn’t dare hope for that."

"But that experience just now, and what you said about me having the qualities of a surgeon... it was like a massive bell, a wake-up call for me."

"I feel like I’ve been muddling through life in a daze, and I’ve finally found my meaning and direction."

"Uncle, I want to be a doctor. I’m serious."

Yu Zhiming exchanged a look with Fourth Sister and Gu Qingning, seeing the amusement in their eyes!

Yu Zhiming said, slightly exasperated, "Zeng Yan, let’s not even talk about how difficult it would be to make that happen."

"Suddenly switching from ornamental fish breeding to being a doctor... that’s a bit of a huge leap."

"This is a major life decision. You can’t just act on a whim. It needs serious consideration."

Zeng Yan said with a determined expression, "Uncle, you might think I’m being childish about this."

"But I know, deep down, that I’m absolutely certain. I’m really suited to be a doctor, and I want to be one."

"Uncle, you can test me."

Of course, Yu Zhiming didn’t believe her, but he decided to play along.

"First test: think hard for the next two or three days about whether you really want to be a doctor."

"If you’re still dead set on this idea when we leave, I’ll give you the next test."

"Uncle, is that a promise?"

"It’s a promise."

Yu Zhiming gave a perfunctory reply, his gaze shifting toward the mountain road obscured by the trees.

"Someone’s coming..."