Chapter 3173

2968 Sunshine, and Me

Early the next morning, Zheng Ren arrived at the Hospital with full Energy Value.

In preparation for this day, he had been ready for a long time; Zheng Ren felt as if at least a year had passed.

If we count the time spent training in the System Operating Room, it indeed gives a feeling of having crossed worlds. All foreseeable complications during Shou Bing have been practiced countless times; Zheng Ren feels he could perform Shou Bing with his eyes closed.

Arriving at the VIP ward, Zheng Ren saw a gaunt-faced man. He was tall and thin, with dark eye sockets.

"Doctor Zheng." The man, seeing Zheng Ren appear, immediately enthusiastically came forward, smiling and asking, "I am..."

"Are you Xiao Shitou's father?" Zheng Ren was actually surprised that Xiao Shitou's father had never appeared before; there had been some gossip. But seeing him now, he could sense some unusual emotion from the man.

"Doctor Zheng, you've been taking care of Xiao Shitou this whole time; thank you for your hard work." Xiao Shitou's father said, "I've been running trade, going to Feizhou, where money is easier to make."

"Feizhou?"

In Zheng Ren's impression, Feizhou is a barren land; is it really profitable there?

"Hmm." Xiao Shitou's father nodded, "Doctor Zheng, I really don't know how to thank you."

"No need, is Xiao Shitou ready?"

"Ready, the red string you braided for him is also wrapped around his wrist. Your hands are skilled; the red string has nine knots—is that a custom from your hometown?"

Zheng Ren wasn't very interested in this topic; he casually nodded and walked in.

Xiao Shitou's father probably rushed back hastily; this Shou Bing carries great risk, and he wants to see his child one last time.

Entering the ward, Zheng Ren saw Xiao Shitou sitting on the bed, struggling to breathe.

Because his pulmonary fibrosis is severe and progressing quickly, his blood oxygen saturation has recently been less than ideal.

Shou Bing cannot be delayed any longer; these days of round-the-clock training, rushing to undergo Shou Bing, the condition is a major reason.

Xiao Shitou's condition hasn't given Zheng Ren enough time; if following normal speed, Xiao Shitou probably wouldn't make it to that point.

"Brother, you've come." Xiao Shitou saw Zheng Ren enter, smiled and said. After just a few words, he gasped a few rough breaths.

"Hmm." Zheng Ren nodded, "Everything's ready, right?"

"Ready." Xiao Shitou raised his right hand; his wrist had a patient's wristband, plus a red string.

"Then let's go." Su Yun said behind Zheng Ren, he pushed the wheelchair, but with a chuckle asked, "Can you move?"

"Just go in the wheelchair." Zheng Ren showed no interest in Su Yun's joke, he said directly.

Preoperatively protecting cardiopulmonary function, trying to consume as little cardiac energy reserve as possible, this is still quite important.

Xiao Shitou wanted to jump off the bed, but after moving just a little, he was panting and took several seconds to ease a bit.

"Take it easy, don't rush." Zheng Ren wanted to help Xiao Shitou.

"No need, I'll do it myself." Xiao Shitou held onto the bed and step by step walked to the wheelchair and sat down.

Zheng Ren took the wheelchair handles from Su Yun's hands and pushed Xiao Shitou out of the ward.

"Brother, you look energetic; you said you did pre‑op training—does that count as last‑minute cramming?" Xiao Shitou asked.

"No." Zheng Ren said solemnly, "Many details have already been perfected; from a probability standpoint, the chance of postoperative complications has been reduced to about 10%."

"Yesterday, a patient next door died." Xiao Shitou suddenly said.

"Oh? What illness?"

"Heart disease." Xiao Shitou said, "It's said that when he arrived his heart had already stopped, and he was revived with ECMO. I heard from the nurse sister that it seemed to be fulminant myocarditis."

"Oh? I remember that patient." Su Yun suddenly said.

"Which patient?"

"Manager Zhou said it was a patient with fulminant myocarditis who, after arriving at the Emergency Department, had no breathing; multiple rounds of CPR were ineffective, and later, at the strong request of the family, he was placed on ECMO. Manager Zhou also said it was pointless, but he was still sent to the EICU."

"Oh, what happened then?"

"They said that after being put on ECMO, his ECG Monitor remained a flat line, but his consciousness had recovered." Su Yun said, "The family thought there was still hope, but the doctors repeatedly warned of various critical condition notices, while the family felt it was nothing serious. To prevent conflict, in the end even the department head went."

Cardiac arrest but clear consciousness—this kind of thing, which used to be like a miracle, is nothing in the face of ECMO. Yet ECMO is a device that can bring the dead back to life, but it also depends on the patient's condition.

Some patients are so severely ill that even with ECMO, showing a flat line on the ECG Monitor while being conscious and able to speak is pointless. The underlying disease cannot be cured; ECMO can only sustain vital signs. It cannot be withdrawn—if withdrawn, the person cannot survive.

Xiao Shitou said this, and Zheng Ren understood what he meant.

"Don't worry." Zheng Ren patted Xiao Shitou's head.

"I heard from the nurse sister that later the patient's both legs turned black; if not giving up, the only option would be Amputation. At that point those uncles discussed, the family cried outside for a long time, and yesterday evening they pulled the tubes." Xiao Shitou said, panting.

"Well, according to ELSO data, the in‑hospital survival rate for ECMO treatment of severe cardiopulmonary failure is 41.4%. The median duration of treatment is four days, and if weaning is done at four days, the chance of recovery is relatively higher."

Xiao Shitou didn't speak, but he strained to turn his head and glanced at Zheng Ren.

"Rest assured, I estimate you'll wake up one day after surgery. But then you need to stay calm, so you don't get agitated. At that point your feeling should be like being in a void, drifting." Zheng Ren said calmly, "Then after another 24 hours, if things go ideally, the ECMO can be withdrawn."

"That fast?" Xiao Shitou was a bit surprised.

"You said all that, but sharpening the spear before battle—there has to be some use." Su Yun said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, just that fast." Zheng Ren said, "We can't take off the ventilator for now; we also need to try to lessen your cardiopulmonary load."

"So, if you find yourself in that kind of space, you must stay calm, don't rush, don't panic, strive for Calm breathing. I will get you out of that state as soon as possible, as soon as I can!"

"I will." Xiao Shitou laughed, "After three tries I looked up some meditation materials, studied a bit, and feel I can do it."

"As long as you cooperate fully, the rest we'll handle."

"Brother, when I wake up I'll be able to see you, right?" Xiao Shitou asked seriously.

"Don't worry, you'll definitely be in the ICU then, I'll be guarding you. When you wake and open your eyes, you'll see sunshine and me."