Chapter 174: Air Ambulance
The captain deliberately lowered his voice to ensure the patient remained undisturbed.
Even so, both Su Yun and Xia Hua heard the good news clearly.
The muscles on Su Yun’s beautiful face spasmed involuntarily. He then lowered his head and allowed his black bangs to dance in the air.
The captain’s words repeatedly swirled through Xia Hua’s mind, stunning him for a few seconds.
He could not believe it.
The Second Affiliated Hospital of Provincial Capital Medical University was the largest hospital with the highest annual income and the total number of patients treated—ordinary and difficult cases included—in the province.
However…
Xia Hua had never encountered the use of an air ambulance to transport emergency patients. In fact, apart from movies and TV dramas, he had never seen an air ambulance despite having worked in the medical field for almost twenty years.
The astronomical cost of deploying a helicopter aside, the hospital’s helipad alone required a great deal of land.
It would be faster to directly send the patient to the hospital via regular ambulance than to convert a parking lot to a temporary helipad.
Xia Hua believed that few Cla.s.s Three Grade A Hospitals in Imperial Capital had air ambulances.
However, where did this guy order its deployment?
Requesting one alone was a huge favor.
What the f*ck!
“That’s good.” Zheng Ren smiled at the captain and went to monitor the patient’s condition, still whispering, “Thank you.”
The captain did not disturb Zheng Ren, who remained beside the patient to keep a close eye on him.
Suppressing the doubts in his mind, the captain returned to the c.o.c.kpit.
It was a completely different world once the c.o.c.kpit door closed.
The first officer asked curiously, “Brother Lin, who is that young man?”
The captain shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“That young man has really wide social connections. This is the first time I’ve seen a request for an air ambulance; perhaps I’ve not had enough time in civil aviation.”
“I’ve worked in commercial aviation for eleven years and flown over a thousand flights, but this is a first for me as well.” The captain recalled the plain-looking man’s dignified and determined demeanor and said, “Doctor Zheng said that the patient’s blood pressure has to remain stable, so we need to be slower and more careful during landing and touchdown. Hopefully, he will survive until he reaches the hospital.”
…
…
Flight N2992 arrived at Imperial Capital International Airport in less than an hour as it was only a few hundred kilometers between Sea City and Imperial Capital.
In order to prevent a death, the captain tried his very best to land the plane in the most stable manner possible.
The flight attendants repeatedly advised the pa.s.sengers to remain calm and allow the critically ill patient to get off the plane first.
A few of them grumbled, but everyone tried to be understanding and tolerant under such circ.u.mstances.
Instead of taxiing to the terminal, the plane landed on a wide, open area at one corner of Imperial Capital International Airport as instructed by air traffic control.
A helicopter was standing by,
Like a soldier awaiting orders.
Quiet, alert and fearless.
The cabin door opened as soon as the plane taxied to a halt, allowing two paramedics and two stretcher-bearers in dark green uniforms aboard the plane.
Even though the flight attendants had been informed of the situation, they had not expected an air ambulance standing by at Imperial Capital International Airport. Staring at the helicopter with its blades whirring through the air and the medical personnel rushing aboard to transfer the patient, they were surprised and excited at the same time.
Despite their intense desire to gossip, they prioritized resuscitation and helped the stretcher-bearers to transport the patient steadily.
“Do you have a pump?” Zheng Ren’s expression had relaxed slightly after the smooth landing.
“Yes.” A paramedic took an infusion pump and antihypertensive drugs out of the first-aid kit.
Since Zheng Ren had informed Professor Pei about the patient’s condition and diagnosis, the necessary resuscitation materials had been brought onto the air ambulance before its departure.
The infusion pump was activated and a small ECG monitor attached to the patient. After a few minutes, the drugs took effect and his blood pressure dropped to 150/90mmHg. Zheng Ren then nodded and a.s.sisted the Imperial Capital medical personnel in transferring the patient into the helicopter.
The slowly vanishing helicopter somewhat soothed Zheng Ren’s nerves.
As for the surgery’s success… That would depend on fate.
Type I aortic dissection was surgically treated with an aortic arch replacement, a complicated and dangerous surgery.
The mortality rate could be as high as ten percent.
However, there was at least hope for recovery. Zheng Ren, a mere general surgeon, had no desire to a.s.sist in a surgery as advanced as aortic arch replacement.
One had to know their limitations.
He had done his best by safely escorting the patient from the airplane to the air ambulance. There was nothing else he could possibly do.
“Little Zheng, you’re good.” Xia Hua watched the helicopter disappear before returning to the airplane with Zheng Ren. As soon as the cabin door closed, the plane began to taxi to the terminal.
“It was fortunate that you were here,” Zheng Ren said honestly, “The patient was really lucky; it’s usually difficult to find a.n.a.lgesics on a plane.”
It was a fact, not a show of courtesy.
There was a chance that someone would bring antihypertensive drugs on board a plane, but a.n.a.lgesics? That was all luck.
Reducing one’s blood pressure was simply inadequate in Cui Heming’s case as the severe tearing pain would give him a sense of impending doom.
His blood pressure could not have been lowered as smoothly had his pain not been well-controlled.
“That’s true,” Xia Hua agreed. They were both experienced doctors, so there was no need for formalities.
Naturally, Xia Hua knew that it was extremely difficult to diagnose an emergency case on a plane.
He was a deputy senior consultant of the cardiothoracic surgery department, but would he be confident enough to diagnose such an emergency case alone?
The answer was no. That was beyond question.
Xia Hua shook his head and added, “Little Zheng, you’re skilled in making diagnoses.”
“I’ve seen it, so I know the signs,” replied Zheng Ren politely.
“Where did you even find an air ambulance? There is no way an ordinary person could get ahold of such high-end goods.” This was what piqued Xia Hua’s interest the most.
In all honesty, even if he had diagnosed the condition correctly and provided appropriate first-aid measures, medical resources on the airplane were still limited. In addition, the most the control tower could do was to mobilize an emergency vehicle on duty to stand by as they could not demand the deployment of an air ambulance.
Their type of emergency vehicle could only handle minor emergency issues, as well as having to face traffic congestion in Imperial Capital. Thus, it would take at least one to two hours for the patient to be admitted to a hospital.
Every second counted in an emergency situation.
An air ambulance was indeed a rare mode of transportation.
“I’m attending a research project in Imperial Capital and happened to know a professor there. I don’t know the specifics, but I think the professor was the one who did it.”
Ten thousand alpacas broke into a furious gallop in Xia Hua’s heart. ‘What the f*ck… Are you even thirty years old? Attending a research project in Imperial Capital? And you even know a professor who can mobilize an air ambulance?’
All his years in the medical field had been wasted…
He suddenly felt deeply hurt.