Chapter 670: Was Buried
“Remove the suppository?” The orthopedic doctor who was disinfecting was stunned. He looked at the twisted and deformed ankle joint of the patient. There was also a necrotic indentation on the skin.
However, the strange thing was that although the swelling of the patient’s wound was more obvious, it was much lighter than expected. Moreover, there was no black necrotic tissue spreading.
Only the front half of the foot was completely necrotic. The other parts seemed to be preserved.
For the same patient, the best amputation was below the knee joint.
Which G.o.d-level figure was at the front line? The orthopedic doctor pondered for a long time. He heard that on the day of the earthquake, all the people in Huaxi Hospital were directly brought to the frontline to partic.i.p.ate in the rescue.
It was very likely that the person came from there.
Chief Jing stood up and went to the front of the stage to observe the patient’s condition.
He carefully considered for a long time before he said, “Preserve the ankle joint and prepare for internal fixation.”
This was undoubtedly the best choice. Although the complexity of the surgery had now multiplied, it involved the patient being able to recover properly afterward so who wouldn’t be willing to do such a small task?
Even though they had already stood there for 24 hours…
Even though everyone was almost exhausted…
Even though there were still countless patients behind them…
“Tell the others to look at the medical records if they come across another patient with such a plastic bag,” Chief Jing said in a hoa.r.s.e voice.
The circulating nurse immediately ran out and informed the people in the other operating rooms. She also called the person in charge of triage in front of them to explain the reason why.
Unfortunately, there was only one such patient. Because his condition was relatively mild, he was sent to the Second Provincial Hospital. The heavily injured patients were all piled up in Huaxi and the Provincial Hospital. It was busier there than here.
Chief Jing’s surgery was done in a very meticulous manner, and he performed at the highest level since the prime of his medical career.
The doctors at the frontline had to endure some kind of terrible situation to perform the first stage of emergency treatment. If something happened to him, he would feel sorry toward the patient and also to the doctors at the front line.
“Doctor, do you need to do an amputation?” the patient asked as he lay on the hospital bed.
Because it was continuous epidural anesthesia, he could hear the conversation between the doctors and nurses in the operating theater. He could see the change in Chief Jing’s expression.
It was not until half an hour after the operation began that he mustered up the courage to ask.
“You require one but half of the sole of the foot is enough.” Chief Jing told the truth. At this moment, there was no need to hide anything from the patient.
“Half of your foot is fine.” The first a.s.sistant across from him comforted the patient. “If you want to install a prosthetic limb, it’s very simple. If you don’t want to, you just need to walk slowly and get used to it. Maybe after a year, you can still run and jump.”
Hearing the doctor’s explanation, the patient finally felt at ease.
“Thank you,” he muttered.
“Where are you from? Who performed the surgery on you?” Chief Jing asked.
“Nanchuan Town. Two People’s Liberation Army soldiers performed the surgery on me.” The patient grinned. He wanted to laugh but in the end, his entire face became sad. “The surgery seemed to be performed in the ruins. In the ruins of our town’s hospital, there was a machine that was still functional.”
Chief Jing’s hand paused for a moment, but he immediately began the surgery.
“At that time, an aftershock happened right after I was sent out after the surgery,” the patient said. “The person who carried me lost balance and fell.”
“What about the ruins?”
“They were buried…” the patient said. “Later, I was sent to a tent where only the severely injured could lie down. I fell asleep in a daze. After that, when I woke up, I was already on the helicopter.”
Buried…
Chief Jing lowered his head and widened his eyes as he performed the surgery in a more meticulous manner.
He had heard that the rescue workers at the frontline suffered heavy casualties, but he did not expect it to reach such a level.
The soldiers at the frontline had risked their lives to perform a surgery. There was absolutely no reason for him to perform in a subpar manner.
Chief Jing abandoned all distracting thoughts. He no longer thought about the doctor who insisted on performing the surgery on a rainy night in the ruins despite the risk of aftershocks.
He no longer thought about the long-distance soldiers who braved the wind and rain, going forward into the night and advancing without fear of sacrifice.
He had to do his job well, he had to!
“Wipe my sweat,” Chief Jing turned his head and whispered.
A piece of sterile gauze brushed past his forehead. He took the opportunity to rub the corner of his eye before continuing the surgery.
..
..
All the operating theaters in Chengdu were lit up all night. In all the operating theaters, there were people going about.
They did not sleep or rest. They did not even have much time to eat or drink. The patients transported from the frontline received professional treatment at the first opportunity.
As the army marched into the mountains, batches of lightly and severely injured people were sent down from the frontline. All the hospitals in Chengdu were full.
In the orthopedic ward of Huaxi, an old man who had just had a double hip replacement was angry with his family.
The old man, who was already in his eighties, did not even have silvery white hair anymore. His body was not in good condition, and his heart and lungs were not functioning properly.
Originally, the Huaxi orthopedic doctor had specially reserved a quiet ward for him. However, after the old man heard and saw the situation outside, he refused to stay there no matter what.
Usually, whenever there were children who dared to disturb his sleep at home, he would get up and scold them. He would even beat them with crutches.
However, in the messy hospital, he refused the advice of his children and the nurse. He insisted on living in the corridor where the extra beds were and gave his bed to the people who came out of surgery.
The old man was so stubborn that he did not listen to anyone and was very angry.
In the end, Huaxi’s nurse asked the bed doctor at the operating table to move the old man out of the ward and into the corridor with extra beds.
Faced with a large number of patients, Huaxi and the major hospitals in Chengdu were already overwhelmed. The corridor was full of extra beds, which were all patients who had been hospitalized beforehand. The seriously injured patients who were sent down from the front were all living in standard beds in the ward, with volunteers to accompany the patients.
All the problems did not need to be solved as a solution would naturally occur.
Many of the difficulties that the medical administration division had antic.i.p.ated did not happen at all.
There was no need to explain, nor was there a need to. Even if they wanted to explain, they could not find anyone. Usually, people would quarrel over trivial matters. Those who complained to the medical administration division would quiet down and do their part to help the survivors who had lost their homes and were seriously injured.
There was a small fast food restaurant in a row of small restaurants in the northeast corner of Huaxi Hospital.
This place was neither beautiful nor cheap.
The boss was a disabled person. He was a cook and his cooking was average. Usually, there was rarely even meat in his dishes.
At this time, he was carrying two huge burdens. One side was rice, and the other side was vegetables. He was walking from ward to ward.
A full meal was placed at each bedside for free. The fragrance of the dishes a.s.sailed the nose. It was the standard of a first-cla.s.s chef. The dishes were full of meat, and he did not look as stingy as usual.
He insisted on preparing three meals a day, including meals for 100 patients in a single ward.
There were other people who came to deliver food but when they b.u.mped into each other, they almost got into a fight over it.