"This is a very good start."
"Keep it up, Mr. Lu."
Seeing Zhou Minjun and the other two entering with the child, Lu Xuan silently encouraged himself.
However, when the three of them walked in and saw a young man in a white coat sitting in the consultation room, they were all a bit taken aback.
So young?
Minjun's mother-in-law and Qi Wei hesitated upon seeing that the doctor was a young man in his twenties. In their impression, a competent Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor should be gray-haired, gaining wisdom with age. What kind of skills could such a young person possibly have?
However, Zhou Minjun couldn't afford to worry about that. She approached Lu Xuan with the child in her arms. They were already here; they couldn't just leave without even trying.
Upon hearing the child wailing in apparent distress, Lu Xuan stood up quickly and asked, "What's wrong with the child?"
"A few days ago, the child accidentally swallowed a screw. We went to the City Women and Children Hospital, stayed for three days, but because the child is only ten months old, they didn't dare to perform surgery. We were told that after two days, the child started having convulsions, and we urgently needed to transfer to the Provincial Women and Children's Hospital..."
Zhou Minjun tried her best to explain the child's condition as quickly as possible. For a helpless mother, Lu Xuan, despite his youth, was now her best hope.
She looked at Lu Xuan with anticipation, hoping for some good news from this young doctor.
So they wouldn't have to travel over 200 kilometers to the Provincial Women and Children's Hospital.
But at this moment, Lu Xuan was taken aback too.
What?
A ten-month-old baby swallowed a hex-shaped screw?
And had multiple convulsions?
Even the City Women and Children's Hospital didn't dare perform surgery and suggested going to the provincial hospital?
What a catastrophic start!
At that moment, Lu Xuan was dumbfounded.
He had been at the Health Center for two days, finally seeing a patient registered under him, feeling lucky and ready to show his skills, only to face a huge challenge right off the bat.
If it were an adult swallowing a screw, he could have some advice. After all, accidentally ingesting metal isn't unheard of, and in most cases, surgery isn't needed; it can pass through stool, perhaps with the help of laxatives to speed up the process.
But facing a ten-month-old baby? He hadn't even heard of it, let alone treated it.
For such a small infant, the possibility of passing it naturally was too low, or they wouldn't have had convulsions at the City Women and Children's Hospital.
As for surgical removal, the City's recommendation was clear.
Most hospitals probably wouldn't dare perform such surgery.
The child is too small, and the surgical risk is too high.
Lu Xuan even suspected that the Provincial Women and Children's Hospital might also avoid such surgery, and going to Beijing would be more feasible.
As for himself, forget it, any ambition he had instantly vanished.
This was something his skills couldn't handle; trying would just harm the child and himself.
Thinking of this, Lu Xuan had already decided to suggest they go directly to Beijing instead of the provincial hospital.
Beijing has the best medical resources; if they can't handle it, then the provincial hospital cannot either.
[How did this unlucky child swallow a screw? It's easier to treat adults; she's too small.]
[You didn't see how quickly Dr. Lu's face changed. He probably thought he finally had a chance to shine, but then this happened—what a catastrophic start.]
[A seasoned Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor might have some confidence, but this Mr. Lu is too young and inexperienced, probably with no solution at all!]
[I was just happy that there finally was a patient, but listening to this seems like there's nothing we can do?]
[Too young; if we follow him, we'll end up with nothing.]
Just as Lu Xuan was about to suggest taking the child to Beijing directly, a series of grumbling voices suddenly echoed in his mind, causing his face to twitch and making him retract his words.
He glanced at the Chinese herbal specimens; he was inexperienced, but wasn't there a group of chatterboxes here?
Maybe they could provide a treatment plan?
Although he felt it was unlikely, there was still hope. Lu Xuan thought he'd give it a try since it wouldn't take much time anyway.
Thinking of this, Lu Xuan attentively listened to the chatter while asking about the child's condition: "The child's convulsions are likely due to the screw reaching the intestine, but being too small, compounded with the irregular screw shape, the intestinal space is insufficient to allow it to pass smoothly."
"Yes, yes, that's what the doctor at the City Women and Children Hospital said."
Like a drowning person grasping the last straw, Zhou Minjun quickly brought out all the child's examinations: "These are the CT scans and ultrasounds done there, Doctor, please have a look."
Having learned some Western medical diagnostics at the Traditional Chinese Medicine University, Lu Xuan found these two tests, which aren't hard to read, something even non-medical people could understand.
Accepting the examination sheets from Zhou Minjun, Lu Xuan gave them a glance and knew he hadn't misunderstood.
A hex-shaped screw being expelled naturally from a ten-month-old child was a daunting task.
He couldn't think of any good solutions, but to try and glean more information, Lu Xuan continued to bravely read on.