The green emergency surgery bag was opened, and soft white gauze was placed on the tray. Various silver surgical tools made clashing sounds as the nurse arranged them neatly on a green sheet.
After confirming that the anesthesia had worked, Zhang Yun's stomach was opened, and sterile towels were spread out, leaving only the surgical area exposed.
The clock in the operating room was ticking, and time passed quickly.
With a high probability of fetal respiratory distress, one second sooner could mean more hope for life.
Time ticked by as Zhang Yun's body was sharply sliced open with a scalpel, the silver willow blade looking cold under the white light of the shadowless lamp. Jiang Xu's movements were sharp and fast, and with Shen Fangyu's cooperation, every surgical step was performed precisely. Shen Fangyu would take the next step without making a sound.
Performing a caesarean section is not a complicated operation, but when extreme speed and precision are required, very high mental strength and meticulous surgical skills are necessary.
Jiang Xu's technique was extremely sharp, every movement was fast and precise. His forehead was already covered in a thin layer of sweat, and his fingers were slightly sweaty beneath the latex gloves.
The operating room was very quiet, and Chen Qi didn't know what the two main doctors were thinking. From his perspective, he could only see that the two doctors were working very quickly and in perfect harmony, and there were no signs of panic on their faces. However, he felt like his heart was going to jump out of his throat. He had never been this nervous even when he was writing reports in English for his graduation exams.
Chen Qi often looked at the fetal heart monitor, as if he was looking at a guillotine every time he raised his eyes. He felt nervous and suffocated because of the tension. If he, as a junior assistant, felt tremendous pressure from a tight schedule, then the pressure Jiang Xu and Shen Fang Yu had to face was only greater.
Everyone in the room wore grim expressions, and there was no sound in the quiet ICU operating room except for the sound of instruments tapping.
Before long, a weak cry rang through the air of the operating room, and Jiang Xu took out the shriveled baby. Shen Fangyu cut the umbilical cord, removed the placenta, and began to prepare sutures.
The operation was completed in one fluid motion.
The tense atmosphere in the entire operating room instantly faded, and everyone's faces were filled with uncontrollable smiles.
The mask covering his face was wet and a little stuffy. Jiang Xu took a deep breath, glanced at the clock in the operating room, and said indifferently, "An amazing record."
"See who the first assistant is." Shen Fangyu smiled while sewing, saying, "It's hard not to break the record if I'm your assistant." When he smiled, the silkworm [1] lying under his eyes was so clear that Jiang Xu was stunned for a moment.
The child's condition was not good, but fortunately, the operation was done quickly enough so that her respiratory system was not completely damaged and she could still make crying sounds.
Maybe it was because the mother and son were connected, but Zhang Yun, who had been in a coma, suddenly half opened her eyes.
Jiang Xu's peripheral vision never left Zhang Yun, and at a glance he caught her waking up.
"2.1 kg, she's a girl." Jiang Xu said this to Zhang Yun without using complicated terms. Zhang Yun still had a tracheal tube in her body and couldn't make a sound. Jiang Xu held the baby in front of Zhang Yun for her to see, and tears suddenly fell from the corner of Zhang Yun's eyes.
However, the race against death is not over yet. The most time-consuming part of a caesarean section is not the opening, but the suturing.
The neonatologist took over the weak baby and immediately performed an APGAR assessment while Jiang Xu re-sterilized his hand, took the surgical needle from Shen Fangyu and continued to sew the stitches in a race against time. From the myometrium to the skin, there are a total of seven layers. His hands moved so fast that it was almost impossible to see his movements, only after-images remained.
For better treatment, Shen Fangyu followed the neonatologist and immediately transferred the baby to a new resuscitation room. When she saw her baby being pushed away, Zhang Yun lowered her already red eyes.
And after the stitches were done, she was once again pushed towards the ICU with the speed of an arrow.
The ICU doctors and nurses were already waiting at the door, and the moment they saw them, and the moment he saw them, the main doctor's eyes immediately lit up, "Yes! Amazing!" He couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect you guys to be so fast!"
They took Zhang Yun from Jiang Xu's hands and immediately began testing for allergic reactions and preparing tubes and instruments for hemoperfusion.
In an instant, Zhang Yun was moved from the emergency room to the operating room and then to the ICU with one foot in the grave.
Jiang Xu looked at the woman on the bed. There was a catheter tied to her leg, a bottle of anti-inflammatory rehydration fluid hanging from her hand, various catheters and monitors all over her body, and bruises all over her bare legs and arms.
While hemoperfusion was taking place, almost all the medical staff in the operating room watched the changes in the indicators on the monitor and the color of the dialysis fluid in silence.
Zhang Yun suddenly twitched her mouth.
She had recovered from her coma, and nurses regularly cleared mucus from her mouth. Fortunately, she did not suffer from severe toxic vomiting.
Due to the limitations of intubation, she could not make a sound, but everyone present could read her lips.
"Help me."
Many patients who were between life and death had said this to Jiang Xu, so after lip reading many times, Jiang Xu was able to read it at a glance.
Jiang Xu's gaze fell on her arm, then he grasped the hand, which was filled with various catheter instruments and had little space left, and saw her close her eyes once again, falling asleep in a sleepy state.
"It was hard work, you guys can rest." The ICU doctor said, "Now it's our turn."
In order to provide better treatment conditions for patients, it is not appropriate for the ICU to accommodate so many people at the same time, and besides, Jiang Xu has done everything he can do in his field of expertise. He nodded and walked out of the ICU with unsteady steps before falling heavily onto a chair in the corridor.
"Teacher Jiang, what's wrong with you?" Chen Qi looked at him in panic. Jiang Xu was still wearing his green surgical gown, his lips extremely pale and bloodless.
Jiang Xu shook his head.
He ate irregularly and often stayed up late, and his stomach problems had been a long-standing problem. Especially when resting after long periods of anxiety and concentration, he would easily get a stomach ache.
He had just performed a caesarean section, which required high speed, and he had to control the precision of his movements while pursuing such speed. He was in a state of intense concentration, like a bow stretched to its utmost limit, his nerves stretched into a thin line, oblivious to what was happening around him.
When he was tense, he didn't feel it, but when he suddenly relaxed, his autonomic nervous function was suddenly disturbed, and, along with spasm of gastric smooth muscles, Jiang Xu was immediately disoriented because of the pain.
"How is the patient? Have you sent her here?" Shen Fangyu rushed over from the neonatal unit after handing over the baby. He had just asked when he saw that Jiang Xu looked unwell and asked, "Stomach ache?"
"They've sent him in; they've done hemoperfusion." Chen Qi was afraid that Jiang Xu would not have the strength to speak, so he answered.
"I have a box of omeprazole on my desk, Xiao Chen," Jiang Xu said to Chen Qi, "Please help me-" He suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence.
Chen Qi looked at Jiang Xu in doubt, and Jiang Xu bit his lower lip to brace himself and said, "Forget it, no need."
Shen Fangyu's eyes fell on him.
He knew why Jiang Xu changed his mind in the middle of his sentence – omeprazole is a drug that is not recommended as a first-line treatment for pregnant women [2][1].
Jiang Xu's face was pale under the light, and he barely looked up to say to the two of them, "I'll sit for a while, you guys go and work."
"Is everything okay, Teacher Jiang?" Chen Qi looked at him, his eyes filled with worry.
"I'm fine." Jiang Xu waved his hand, motioning Chen Qi and Shen Fangyu to leave.
Hearing the footsteps around him recede, Jiang Xu finally exhausted his remaining strength to support his body. He bent and arched his body, repeatedly taking deep breaths and exhaling slowly to ease the discomfort in his stomach.
In his stomach it felt as if a large, dark, heavy stone had been thrust into it, weighing down the mucous membranes and soft muscles of his stomach, making him gasp in pain. However, the suffocating and heavy pressure grew heavier and heavier, the stone becoming a rusty steel blade eroding his internal organs.
Suddenly, a pink pig-shaped hot water bag appeared before his eyes. He couldn't straighten up to see who it was, so he could only lower his gaze and stare at the piglet's innocent smile.
"I borrowed it from Xiao Ting at the nurse's station, so just return it to her when you're done." Shen Fangyu's voice came from above Jiang Xu's head: "I have adjusted the water temperature so that it is not too hot; you can use it for a while."
Jiang Xu took the hot water bag silently and pressed it to his upper abdomen through a layer of clothing.
He really didn't have the strength to lift his head, cold sweat was pouring out, and he could only see that the pair of feet on the floor did not move.
He wanted to say, "Why aren't you leaving?" But Shen Fangyu spoke before him, "Don't be a hero."
Jiang Xu chuckled and moved to take out his cell phone.
"If you want to call the police," said Shen Fangyu, "I already did when I filled the hot water bag for you. The police will be here soon."
Jiang Xu didn't ask how Shen Fangyu could guess what he wanted to do. Even though they were rivals and hated each other, Jiang Xu had to admit that Shen Fangyu understood him best when it came to work.
"Go," Jiang Xu said, "I will return the hot water bag."
"When are you going to stop chasing me away?" Shen Fangyu asked.
The warmth of the hot water bag slowly spread throughout Jiang Xu's stomach, warm and soothing, like the flow of hot spring water, gradually reducing the pain he felt.
Hence, he also gave Shen Fangyu a rare friendly expression, "In another life."
Shen Fangyu: "..."
"Ok, I'll go." Shen Fangyu didn't have the habit of acting warm towards people who treats him coldly, and his relationship with Jiang Xu had never improved over the years. He brought a hot water bag only because Jiang Xu seemed to be in a lot of pain. There was also the matter of the child, he felt very guilty when he calmed down.
He wanted to make amends to Jiang Xu, but that didn't mean he was happy to listen to Jiang Xu's cold words.
The pair of shoes walked right out of his field of view, and Jiang Xu heard Shen Fangyu's footsteps fade.
He didn't know how long it took before the burning pain in his stomach faded and the hot water bag became much warmer, not as warm as before.
He stood up while carrying the hot water bag in his hand and walked step by step down the corridor and stairs towards the department. He had just reached the hallway when he heard a noise in the lobby on the ground floor.
No matter what time the hospital closed, the lobby was much quieter than during the day, so the noise was especially loud.
Jiang Xu turned his head and saw a man passing by in front of him. Zhang Yun's husband cursed and argued while the police detained him and dragged him to a police car.
He remembered the bruises on Zhang Yun's body, and how her condition was nearly missed because her husband refused to admit to her history of pesticide consumption, and how she uttered the words "help me."
As Doctor Jiang, he had to save Zhang Yun in the hospital bed, and as Jiang Xu, he had to save Zhang Yun in general.
When the hot water bag was returned to Xiao Ting, the other party's already big and watery eyes widened. It was as if she couldn't understand why the hot water bag borrowed by Dr. Shen was given to Dr. Jiang, who was the person with the worst relationship to him in his department.
But Jiang Xu didn't explain to satisfy her curiosity; he just said thank you politely.
After returning home and taking a shower, Jiang Xu turned on the bedroom light and opened the document he had only half read. The night was getting late, but he had no intention of sleeping until the neonatal department and ICU sent him message after message to report that the patient was safe.
Zhang Yun and his daughter were both out of danger for now.
Only then did Jiang Xu put down his tablet and turn off the soft nightlight.
The Zhang Yun couple may not care about his life and death, but Dr. Jiang will care about the well-being of each of his patients.
Translator's Note
[1] Okk, soo, Shen Fangyu doesn't actually have a silkworm under his eye (I'm pretty sure no one casually carries silkworms under their eyes). This "silkworm" refers to a small puffy fat pocket under the lower eyelashes which looks like a baby silkworm and is more prominent when smiling. It's called Aegyo-sal or 'charming fat' (I think a lot of Kpop idols have this if you want a reference)
[2] That sentence might be confusing, but it means pregnant women should first see if changes such as eating lighter meals or massaging their stomach helps before taking omeprazole. The original translation said omeprazole is a prohibited drug, which is NOT true. I don't want to spread misinformation with that translation error, cause omeprazole is actually recommended as a treatment for pregnant women. Please talk to your doctors if you are unsure of taking any medication, don't rely on a danmei T^T
(btw, I did get this info from researching academic journals, not AI. Don't use AI to diagnose urselves!)
* Also, question, do you fellow readers want me to explain the medical jargon in the story as well? I kinda get what theyre saying as a med student, but idk if its ok for you guys, so let me know if you want an itty bitty explanation at the end. Also also, is the translation notes being at the bottom ok? (im new to this)
[1] More info at the bottom; !!Please consult with medical professionals on medication!!