July 24, at the entrance of consultation room 7 in the outpatient department of Long County People's Hospital.
The fluorescent lights in the corridor were dazzling, reflecting elongated shadows and casts of numerous people against the shatterproof white ceramic floor tiles...
Zhou Miguo patiently sat in the number-issuing hall, waiting for the nursing department to call his number. When he turned around about forty-five degrees to the left, he saw someone by the side performing functional exercises...
"Uncle, did you also injure your hand earlier?" Zhou Miguo asked with a smile, his tone courteous, slightly raising his right hand as he turned sideways to start the conversation.
Appearing to be around fifty years old, with slightly scorched black hair, the middle-aged man spoke with a helpless tone, "I cut my hand while cutting grass for the cows a few months ago, couldn't sow the seeds, lost the harvest of several acres... How did you get injured?"
"I scraped it accidentally... It's been about two weeks since the surgery," Zhou Miguo replied.
"You only had surgery two weeks ago? Why are you here for a follow-up? Didn't Director Liu ask you to go to the State People's Hospital for a check-up?" The middle-aged man seemed puzzled.
"He specifically instructed me before to have a follow-up in the State, and I've been doing follow-ups for four months already." After recalling for a while, he seriously informed Zhou Miguo.
"Uncle, my surgery was done in the county, but the doctor who performed it was too young, so I decided to come to the orthopedics department to see a director..." Zhou Miguo explained with a naïve smile.
The middle-aged man said, "Impossible?"
"I have been injured before. Such surgeries aren't done in the county. Did you go to En City for the surgery?"
"En City isn't too far, and early check-ups are crucial. Poor recovery can lead to a lame hand."
"For the initial follow-up, it's best to consult the director who performed the surgery." The middle-aged man seriously advised, then looked around and lowered his voice:
"Director Liu from the State said that our county's Director Peng and others can't perform such surgeries, only handle long-term functional rehabilitation follow-ups. Since they don't do surgeries, their guidance for precise rehabilitation training is not meticulous or professional enough..."
While the two were chatting, a quarrel broke out from the consultation room: "Director Peng, isn't this situation caused by you?"
"If you can't do it, you should have told me you couldn't handle it and let me transfer. Now that something went wrong, you're not taking responsibility?"
The patient raised their voice again: "Don't talk to me about probabilities. A problem is a rare event, yet three patients post-surgery in a month had issues. You're calling this a surgery probability?"
"Aren't you treating us patients like puppets?"
The patient cut off the doctor's response with a loud voice: "Why shouldn't I be upset? What I'm saying is the truth, not a personal attack. Going through procedures is fine, but I still filed a complaint, and now my condition is delayed. Who else should I find..."
The middle-aged man shrugged his lips at Zhou Miguo and said, "Did you hear that? Many doctors in our county lack skills; it's just half-hearted."
"But I see your flexion exercises are quite good. Are you really only injured for half a month?"
"Is the technical level of En Central Hospital really so much higher than our Xiangzhou People's Hospital?"
The middle-aged man did not believe his recovery was less diligent than Zhou Miguo's; he insisted it was the surgeon's skill difference.
The commotion earlier made Zhou Miguo's expression a bit tense, but upon hearing the middle-aged man's praise, he smiled slightly: "I didn't have surgery in En City. It was Dr. Lu Cheng from the ER who operated on me."
"But Dr. Lu was an orthopedic doctor before."
The middle-aged man looked shocked: "Peng Haibo, who's the head of orthopedics, couldn't do it, but Dr. Lu, even if he used to be an orthopedic doctor, can do it?"
"You were quite reckless... Just think about it. Previously, Director Peng from orthopedics would also take patients to try and practice. I guess you also encountered Dr. Lu trying you out."
"You'd better go to other places and have a thorough check, feel whether anything is uncomfortable, whether it's painful, or if there's a pinching feeling during movement." The middle-aged man shared the medical advice he got from the superior hospital freely with Zhou Miguo.
Zhou Miguo followed Lu Cheng's guidance for rehabilitation exercises and then shook his head: "Luckily, I've hardly felt any pain after the surgery."
"Only a bit of minor pain when moving..."
"Just a little pain? Really? Rehabilitation training for tendons is very painful. When I was at the State Hospital, some of the patients who couldn't endure pain would wail miserably..." The middle-aged man showed a curious expression.
"You're quite lucky."
"Someone like you, even us laymen think your recovery looks good. I've been post-surgery for over four months now, and I'm only slightly better than you."
...
Inside the consultation room.
After Peng Haibo conducted professional examinations on finger extension, flexion muscle strength, and paper pinch test for Zhou Miguo, he fell silent, his eyes fixed on Zhou Miguo.
"Director Peng? Please don't scare me, is there a problem?" Zhou Miguo stood still, his Adam's apple nervously sliding up and down twice.
Peng Haibo scratched his head with his right hand and then gathered the medical records in front of him: "I don't see any problem, but since Dr. Lu Cheng was the surgeon, and your recovery is good, you should go to him for follow-up."
"He would be more professional and precise..."
What Peng Haibo didn't like was that 'Lu Cheng' might suppress his son to the point of being unable to rise, nor was he being 'dismissive' just to 'dismiss Lu Cheng'!
If you can't perform surgery, you can't; opportunities must be earned by yourself.
Peng Haibo would never go for high or low gestures; everyone is mixed within the system, and no one is truly 'noble' compared to the other.
"So there's no problem, right? Director Peng?" Zhou Miguo became relieved, collecting his tense expression and smiling.
"I didn't conduct your surgery, so I can only state from the surface examination results that there seems to be no issue for now. As for the final recovery, it depends on the facts."
"You should still find Dr. Lu Cheng for follow-up. I don't have X-ray vision to see what's inside clearly."
"Here's your medical record..." Peng Haibo's thirty years of Tai Chi skills were enough to handle most situations. For surgeries not performed by him, he was too lazy to talk much...
Only then did Zhou Miguo leave the orthopedics consultation room, discarding his recent medical records and registration slips, heading down to the emergency department, and then took out a new medical record book.
Upon pushing the door open, he sincerely smiled: "Dr. Lu, morning, troubling you again... I came to find you as soon as I could."
What Zhou Miguo didn't know was that Lu Cheng could see his consultation records on the computer system and also view Director Peng Haibo's outpatient records.
Of course, Lu Cheng kept it discreetly: "Thank you for trusting me... I just finished rounds, let's do a follow-up check first."
"Now that there's no wound, what's left is to persistently do rehabilitation training. How are you feeling now? Any pain? Any numbness?"
Zhou Miguo shook his head: "No, only occasional minor pain... not numb."
"Thank you, Dr. Lu, not to mention the greater picture, at least you saved me a lot of running around and expenses."
"People without illness truly don't realize the actual benefits of meeting a good doctor..." Zhou Miguo expressed his gratitude with a slightly flattering look, as if encountering a 'treasure girl'.