Chapter 3062: 2860 If It Doesn't Work, Pull the Tube

Besides shortness of breath, everything else is fine; he eats more and has a bit more energy for activity. Xiao Shitou said with a smile.

Seeing him smiling brightly, Zheng Ren felt somewhat complicated.

"Doctor Zheng, just say what you have to say; I've already talked with Xiao Shitou." Wen Xiaonuan said, "Recently we've been happy; when the sun is good at noon, we walk in the courtyard and we'll talk about you and Doctor Su."

Wen Xiaonuan's words were a bit awkward, but Zheng Ren understood.

A doctor's concern for illness is one form; the concern of patients and their families is another form.

Who most wants health? Certainly the patient himself. As for the attending doctor and the patient's family, it depends on the specific situation.

"That's right; after treatment in Bota, the overall condition has improved, but complications are also fairly serious." Zheng Ren pondered then said, "The lung transplant surgery we mentioned before is very likely to be tried."

Wen Xiaonuan held Xiao Shitou's hand, looked at Zheng Ren and said, "Is the danger great?"

"Because Xiao Shitou cannot use conventional immunosuppressants, otherwise I worry the tumor will erupt massively, so we must use a technique still under research." Zheng Ren said softly, "Whether it will work has no precedent… no one has done it before, and nobody knows what will happen afterward."

Wen Xiaonuan said nothing; she suppressed her anxiety and turned to look at Xiao Shitou.

"Brother, after you told me last time I looked up some information." Xiao Shitou said with a chuckle, not sounding like he was talking about himself but like an intern discussing the condition with a teacher.

"What did you find?" Zheng Ren asked with a chuckle.

"There's all kinds of material; the stuff on professional sites is too dry and boring. But with current technology, the survival rate for lung transplants is over 90% at one year, around 60% at three years, and about 50% at five years. Actually I think many of the other complications are due to immunosuppressants; overall the surgery isn't that difficult."

"……"

Zheng Ren laughed.

Xiao Shitou really dares to say that lung transplant isn't difficult.

Although Zheng Ren thinks the same, the difficulty of organ transplant surgery is far less than that of separating the hearts of conjoined twins. No matter how you say it, this procedure is still high difficulty, just depending on what you compare it to.

"Let's do it; I've been feeling chest tightness and shortness of breath getting worse lately." Xiao Shitou said firmly, "But you have to promise me one thing."

"What thing?"

"If the surgery succeeds, there's certainly nothing to say; if it fails and you can't even get off the operating table, there's also nothing to say. If you can get off the table but don't wake up, you must rely on machines to sustain life, like a ventilator or ECMO; please help me pull the tubes."

"At such a young age, thinking so much—do you know how much ECMO costs per day?" Su Yun said disdainfully.

"Yun Ge'er, you're talking as if you don't have a backache from standing." Xiao Shitou said, "Having tubes inserted is uncomfortable; when I was in Bota I had tubes put in and felt like I was drifting in boundless universe, with no beginning or end."

Zheng Ren listened quietly; he saw Wen Xiaonuan's grip tightening, but Xiao Shitou gently patted the back of her hand like an adult, comforting his mother.

"If that's the case, it would be awful; I calculated that I've already lived an extra month. If we prepare for a lung transplant, even if it's the experimental stage 3D-printed autologous cloned cell lung transplant, we still need at least half a month of preparation."

"This is all I've earned."

Zheng Ren saw Xiao Shitou speaking lightly and nodded slightly.

"Well then, what do you say medicine means?" Xiao Shitou glanced at Zheng Ren, then at Su Yun, and asked seriously.

"Meaning…" Zheng Ren recalled yesterday's trip to Jinhai Shi and drifted off slightly.

"People are bound to die; from a macroscopic view, what doctors do has basically no meaning." Xiao Shitou said with a smiling sophistry.

Zheng Ren knew Xiao Shitou was joking to lighten the mood, but Su Yun was unhappy and started arguing with him.

Xiao Shitou shook his head, not taking Su Yun's words: "Yun Ge'er, let's not argue. Whether I'm alive or dead, to the whole world it has no meaning, but to me it has infinite meaning. I really enjoy every day in this world—for instance, being able to chat with my mom, waiting each day for you to come on rounds."

"I think, no matter what you do, you shouldn't think too much." Xiao Shitou said, "As long as I don't go back into that drifting-in-the-universe state, living one more day means one more day of happiness; if it's that kind of confined state, there's no point."

"The meaning for you guys and for me are different; to my mom I am everything. But if she knew I lay there, alive is worse than dead, she'd probably agree too."

Speaking, Xiao Shitou looked at Wen Xiaonuan, his other hand holding hers.

Wen Xiaonuan nodded, having cried too much, her tears dried; she now accepts everything.

Not accepting it is also no option; she dares not look at Zheng Ren, nor face his white hair.

"Brother, will you agree or not?" Xiao Shitou smiled at Zheng Ren and asked.

"Hmm." Zheng Ren nodded, "If I judge the hope to be very small, I will pull the tubes."

"That's right; also don't be so solemn." Xiao Shitou laughed, "Have you ever failed a surgery?"

"Not yet."

"So I have plenty of reason to believe you can succeed, right?" Xiao Shitou continued with a smiling squint, "As long as you promise what I just said. For you guys, if I die, all that's left is remembrance; but for me, it means an easy release."

"Let's try, anyway I'm having trouble breathing now, my blood oxygen saturation is probably around 90%."

"Okay." Zheng Ren and Xiao Shitou locked eyes; seeing his seriousness, it seemed he had already figured it out.

Now the confused one is me.

What is the meaning of survival? Just like Xiao Shitou facing a dilemma and still having to make a decision.

Zheng Ren suddenly chuckled; thinking too much doesn't make you grow. This kind of ultimate philosophical problem is too hard for me; being the best surgeon seems much easier by comparison.

Moreover, I once again dumped the problem on Xiao Shitou; subconsciously I still define our relationship in terms of doctor and patient.

"Then it's settled; I'll take the 7th flight to go accept an award. After returning, we'll wait for the 3D-printed lung to arrive and then do the surgery." Zheng Ren said without room for doubt, his words steady and sincere, his gaze clear as he looked into Xiao Shitou's eyes.

Xiao Shitou laughed, like a wildflower blooming from a crack in the stone.