Chapter 265: Appendicitis? That's Not Important (League Leader: Father of Chou Guoguo)

A middle-aged woman walked in, followed by a girl of fifteen or sixteen, who was hunched over with a pained expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" Meng Qingfei asked.

"Stomach pain, Doctor, please take a look," the woman said.

Meng Qingfei had the patient lie on the bed and performed a simple physical examination.

Acute Appendicitis; after the examination, Ji Xiang already had a judgment.

It was a very typical presentation: tenderness at McBurney's Point in the lower right abdomen, accompanied by rebound tenderness. Whether there was muscle guarding was unknown, but Ji Xiang figured there probably wasn't.

Meng Qingfei wrote out the order for tests and had the patient go to get them done.

"Doctor, what is the illness?"

"Currently, we suspect Acute Appendicitis," Meng Qingfei said. "Once the test results are back, we'll rule out other diseases, then admit her for surgery."

"Surgery? There's no time for that," the woman said without hesitation.

"..." Meng Qingfei frowned.

"My child is going to the United States tomorrow; it cannot be delayed," the woman said. "Doctor, can you just prescribe some painkillers?"

"If Acute Appendicitis isn't treated with surgery, there is a risk of Appendiceal Perforation. I don't recommend it," Meng Qingfei said very firmly.

"That won't do. I worked so hard to get her into the Bronx Science High School in the United States, you have no idea how much trouble it was! It was so hard to finally get this opportunity, it absolutely cannot be delayed."

"No matter how much trouble it was, you have to treat the illness first." Meng Qingfei was displeased and shot the woman a glare.

"No, she must attend the Bronx Science High School. Once you graduate from this high school, the only thing you worry about is which Ivy League school to go to, not whether you can get into an Ivy League school." The woman was very firm and resolute.

"But what about the Acute Appendicitis?" Meng Qingfei's tone was already somewhat unfriendly, showing no restraint. "Once it perforates, will you have emergency surgery in the United States? What if it perforates on the plane, and she goes into Infection-induced Toxic Shock by the time she gets off?"

"Let's just take some medicine and see," the woman hesitated for a moment, but still returned to her original line of thinking.

Getting sick was absolutely not as important as the Bronx Science High School; she was perfectly clear about that in her heart.

"Go get the tests done; we need a definitive diagnosis first." Seeing that he couldn't persuade the woman, Meng Qingfei decided to first confirm if it was indeed Acute Appendicitis.

Without tests, it was too early to say anything.

The woman took the young girl to get the tests, and Zhao Zhe asked in confusion, "What's an Ivy League school?"

"Simply put, it's a good university in the United States," Meng Qingfei said. "Being able to go to the Bronx Science High School is amazing! No wonder she's risking everything to go."

"Bronx Science High School..." Zhao Zhe couldn't join the conversation.

"Zhao Ge, let's put it this way." Ji Xiang knew that Zhao Zhe's life had nothing to do with these things, so he explained, "In our mindset, getting into Tsinghua University or Peking University after high school is the best possible outcome, right?"

"That's right, Tsinghua or Peking University. If my child could get into those, the ancestral graves would be smoking with blue smoke."

"Some people don't see it that way," Ji Xiang said. "For example, going to the Bronx Science High School—if you do well, you go straight to an Ivy League school. The patient's mother was exaggerating a bit, but it's not entirely wrong; it's not like she can pick any Ivy League school she wants. If things really don't work out and her grades are particularly poor, she can still come back and attend Tsinghua or Peking University."

"!!!"

"It requires some paperwork, but it's not difficult."

Hearing Ji Xiang's explanation, Zhao Zhe suddenly understood.

If what Ji Xiang said was true, the child's lowest safety net was Tsinghua or Peking University.

In an instant, Zhao Zhe understood the woman's persistence.

But faced with Acute Appendicitis and some Bronx Science High School, how would he choose if it were him? Zhao Zhe felt a bit lost for a moment.

"Nonsense," Meng Qingfei curled his lip. "Betting that the inflammation from Acute Appendicitis will subside? Once it perforates, and you're in New York for emergency care, who knows how much it will cost. Without insurance, an average family's life savings probably wouldn't be enough to cover the treatment."

"Right!" Zhao Zhe remembered something. "When I was working in the Emergency Department in Yuanliao City, I met a patient who was working in Dubai—probably a construction worker, working overseas.

When he was pushed in, he was already nearly dying, heart rate at 150, with mild symptoms of Infection-induced Toxic Shock. As soon as I put my hand on him, I had never felt such a hard stomach in my life; it was a classic Board-like Abdomen. I suspect even a real wooden board might not be that hard."

"Intestinal Perforation or Gastric Perforation?" Meng Qingfei asked.

"Later it was diagnosed as Gastric Perforation, and I sent him straight to General Surgery for a Laparotomy," Zhao Zhe said. "That guy's expression relaxed a lot after he saw me; you have to say, ordinary people are still willing to trust doctors. After I examined him and explained the situation, he said that having surgery in Dubai was too expensive and he couldn't afford it.

So he had the doctors there prescribe a bunch of painkillers and took medicine all the way back to the country for surgery. When I admitted him, he threw the medicine boxes into the trash can; I felt terrible at that moment."

"You..." Meng Qingfei smiled, about to say something unpleasant, but immediately realized he wasn't familiar enough with Zhao Zhe, so he stopped himself.

"Meng Laoshi, what should we do about this patient?" Ji Xiang asked.

"Xiao Ji, what would you do if it were you?" Meng Qingfei asked back.

Ji Xiang thought for a moment and shook his head.

"You definitely have to respect the opinions of the patient's family and the patient. They are the guardians, the patient's mother, and we are just doctors," Meng Qingfei said. "The diagnosis is correct; if they want to leave, they sign the papers and leave. All we can do is pray."

"What if they don't sign?" Zhao Zhe asked. "I've encountered people who said they wouldn't sign even if they died, and when pushed, they'd start hitting people."

"That's why you two are here," Meng Qingfei laughed. "If they don't sign, I'll keep everything documented, write the Medical Record clearly, and if you two weren't here, I'd bring a Nurse in to listen and act as a witness.

If it really comes to it, they can fire me. Is being an Emergency Department Doctor really that great?"

"It's not easy for anyone," Zhao Zhe understood the deeper meaning behind Meng Qingfei's words.

"Doctor Xiao Ji, in the future, if you encounter something like this, never try to be a hero. What we think is right is not the same as what the patient thinks is right," Meng Qingfei cautioned.

Ji Xiang nodded; this could probably be considered clinical experience.

After waiting for a long time and helping Meng Qingfei handle three trauma cases, the woman and the patient still hadn't returned.

Meng Qingfei found the lab reports on the computer, ruled out Kidney Stone and Ectopic Pregnancy, and confirmed it was Acute Appendicitis.

Because the patient kept delaying her return, Meng Qingfei finally wrote an extremely detailed Medical Record, printed it out, wrote the time and signed it himself, and carefully placed it in the locker in the Duty Room.

Ji Xiang followed him to take a look and saw that there were at least twenty similar medical records in Meng Qingfei's locker.

"Meng Laoshi, so many?" Ji Xiang was somewhat surprised.

"Actually, I know some of them will be fine, but as a doctor, you still have to be careful. If you run into an unreasonable patient or family member, you won't be able to defend yourself."

(End of chapter)