Treating a Patient and Saving a Life
“Don’t spout nonsense!” The person glared, “Our madam is quite blessed. There’s no room for you to spout your nonsense!” After saying this, he paused for a moment but did not continue to vent his anger. It was not easy to get a doctor into the mountains. Those that had come in the past were some that they had forcefully kidnapped. After a few treatments, the illness remained untreated. Later on, they analyzed that it might be that those kidnapped felt unreconciled and unwilling, thus they did not treat the illness properly. Even if they were beaten and cursed, it was ineffective because their leader did not want to hurt good people for no reason. Moreover, the doctors were all men, and it was not very convenient for treating the madam. Now that there was one that came of their own volition, and it was a female doctor, he could not chase her away in a huff.
Thinking of this, his tone became gentler, as he took the initiative to cup his hands to Feng Yu Heng, “The people of the mountains are rough and speak more directly. Would the female doctor please not mind it. Come with me into the residence! Let’s go and see our leader first. Going to see the madam after that would not be late.” After saying this, he partially turned and gave a very courteous gesture, which caused Feng Yu Heng’s group to once again question their identity.
From the entrance to the middle of the residence, they walked for roughly one stick of incense in time. Along the way, they saw a number of bandits training, and Ban Zou rubbed his nose, muttering in confusion: “Why do these bandits look like they’re being trained as soldiers?”
What Ban Zou had said was correct. They were being trained as soldiers. Feng Yu Heng was very familiar with these training methods and could immediately recognize them at a glance. She did not respond to Ban Zou’s question; however, she was thinking about the origins of the people here in the mountains. Or was it just that there was someone that had a military background that the leader had taken a liking to, allowing them to train these people like soldiers? But after some more thought, that felt incorrect. People that could become bandits did not have much self-restraint. Even if there was someone that had a military background as a leader, it was impossible for them to all become so orderly. It was even more impossible for all the people to willingly follow these orders.
Silently, she pondered to herself. When she raised her head, she had already arrived at the leader’s room. Someone went inside to report, and a man that looked to be around 25 quickly came out. That person’s expression was a bit emotional, as he repeatedly wrung his hands while asking the person that had gone to report: “Is there really a female doctor?” The person’s voice was very loud, and his back was very straight. Standing there, he was like a small mountain, and he appeared very steady.
The person that had gone to report was the one that had led Feng Yu Heng’s group over. Hearing his leader ask, he quickly pointed at Feng Yu Heng and said: “It’s this miss. She says that she is a doctor, and her maidservant is carrying a medical kit. They said that it was old third that went down the mountain to find someone, and old third did indeed go down at the crack of dawn. Who knew that he really managed to find a female doctor.”
Before the leader even finished hearing the rest of the report, he walked over to Feng Yu Heng and performed a salute without saying a single word. His etiquette and positioning were accurate. It was a military salute.
Feng Yu Heng looked at him through squinted eyes. There was a scar on his chin that was the result of a cut. His skin was dark and rough, and it seemed to have been exposed to the sun for a long time. The military salute was also performed very naturally rather than forced. It was clear that he had already become accustomed to performing this sort of salute. It was just that he never thought that a female doctor that had come into the mountains would understand this sort of action.
After performing the salute, he said: “Many thanks doctor for coming up the mountain. Not to hide the truth, but my madam has been sick for a long time, and it has gotten worse over the past half of a year. In the past, we had brought in some doctors, but they all said that it was consumption and could not be treated, but my madam and I are a married couple in love. I can’t just watch her die like this. That’s why I sent people to find doctors. Since a female doctor has come, please put in some effort. As long as you can treat my madam, you can ask for as much money as you want. Even if you take away the entire residence, as long as you leave some food for my comrades to eat, I am willing to part with it.” While he spoke, he patted his chest as a guarantee. For some reason, Feng Yu Heng chose to trust this person. Although he was a bandit, she never doubted her ability to judge a person. This person was a good man that was straightforward and would keep his word.
“Whether or not she can be treated, that can only be seen after you take me to see her.” She did not ask anything extra, as she directly brought up going to see the sick.
The leader was naturally very happy, personally bringing them to the backyard. Arriving in front of a bamboo room, they stopped, and he looked at Ban Zou with a troubled expression and said: “Little brother, I’m sorry. I know that you should be protecting the female doctor, but it’s not convenient for you to enter a woman’s room. Look…”
“It’s fine.” Feng Yu Heng waved her hand and said to Ban Zou: “You just need to wait for me outside.” After saying this, she received the medicine kit from Wang Chuan, “You guys also wait for me out here.” After saying this, she held the medicine kit and pushed the door open. Without bringing a single servant, she entered.
The leader held Feng Yu Heng in high esteem and said to the three people outside: “Please do not worry.” He then followed her in, leaving the three that had accompanied her outside.
The air inside the patient’s room was not good. At the same time that Feng Yu Heng entered the room, she had already pulled out a mask from her space and put it on. Seeing the confused look on the leader’s face, she did not explain too much, only telling him that this was something that she was accustomed to doing when working on patients. Just after she finished speaking, the sound of coughing came from the patient. Feng Yu Heng listened for a while and took her first step toward making a judgment.
If correct, it should be pulmonary tuberculosis. The people of the ancient world did not understand what pulmonary tuberculosis was. When these sorts of symptoms appeared, they would simply call it consumption. In the ancient word, consumption was basically untreatable. It was not easy for this madam to have survived for half a year. She stepped forward and saw the woman laying on the bed. She was in her early 20s, but because she had been stuck in bed, she looked very old and worn out. The sockets of her eyes were sunken, and her eyes, though open, were lifeless. Even when looking at her own husband, she had a thick aura of death surrounding her.
“What are you calling another doctor for?” The woman heard their exchange in the middle of the room and knew that it was a female doctor that had come, but she felt that she did not have any hope left. Even after seeing so many doctors, she had not shown any signs of improving. She had already given up. She complained to her husband: “Don’t keep kidnapping people and bringing them up the mountain. There’s no treatment for my illness. It’s better to just wait for death.” After saying this, she looked toward Feng Yu Heng and apologetically said: “Miss, I’m sorry. You must have been kidnapped and brought up here, right? Don’t be scared. Although they’re bandits, they have never harmed people for no reason. Kidnapping you was also to treat my illness. Don’t worry. I will have him send you back down the mountain. The treatment fee will also be paid to you.” After saying this, she coughed for a while, which also saw some blood coughed up.
“Dear!” The leader stomped his foot anxiously and stepped forward to support the woman. While helping by patting her back, he said: “This time, this one was not kidnapped. This female doctor came up the mountain on her own to treat your illness. You must not spout nonsense. What do you mean it can’t be treated? I, Li Zhu, do not believe that I cannot have my wife treated!”
Feng Yu Heng had no desire to watch the two put on a public display of affection. Turning around, she placed the medicine kit on a table and began to search through her space.
Although she had not really been told about the situation of this place, she was able to roughly guess it. If her guess was correct, this should be a group of soldiers that had become bandits. Also, these were not soldiers with injuries. Based on their ages, they should be active soldiers. She was a little unable to understand. How did these soldiers end up becoming bandits?
Normally speaking, pulmonary tuberculosis should be determined through tests and chest x-rays. But these methods were not possible to carry out given the circumstances. She could only use the most primitive methods, check the pulse and listen with a stethoscope.
In regards to verifying this illness, there was not much difficulty. Feng Yu heng was very certain that this was a typical case of tuberculosis. It was just that she could not be entirely certain about the size of the tuberculosis infection, and she had no way of telling if it had developed into lung cancer. But based on the patient’s condition, it should not be cancer. At the very least, the illness had lasted for half a year. To be able to remain conscious and alive meant that the likelihood of cancer was lower.
“Is it really consumption?” The leader very anxiously asked Feng Yu Heng: “Can it be treated?”
Feng Yu Heng pulled out a needle, and filled it with a few different kinds of medicine then said to them: “I will be giving her an injection. This sort of method is different from what other doctors will use. This should be the first time that you are seeing it. It will hurt a bit, but it should be tolerable. You can call this illness consumption, and though I may call it something different, they are roughly the same.” She had the leader flip the patient over then injected the medicine into the buttocks. To the people of the ancient world, it was a very embarrassing place, and the patient was a bit embarrassed.
But the leader let out a sigh and said: “It’s thankful that you’re a female doctor. It’s fortunate that you’re a female doctor.”
Injections into the buttocks were very painful, and even Feng Yu Heng had to admit that they were very painful; however, it was also a very effective method. The main component of the medicine was streptomycin. It was a type of antibiotic. It was a mixture of antibiotic and sugar. It had the effect of combining with proteins in the bacteria to disrupt further production of proteins. From there, it would eliminate or stop the propagation of the bacteria.
It sounded very exhausting, but it was very effective. At the same time, the streptomycin injection was far less painful than a penicillin injection. It was more suitable for repeated injections, especially after adding in the other two types of medicine. Feng Yu Heng could guarantee that the patient could make a full recovery within two months. It was just a pity that this patient might not be able to be cured within two months. Also, it was not as though there were no female doctors in the group; however, she could not leave them behind with a group of bandits.
She did not hide it and told this reality to the leader. At the same time, she brought out some medicine and told them: “The effectiveness of eating the medicine is slightly lower, but it’s not useless. Pay more attention to recovering and ensure that there is air always circulating through the room. The patient must not remain cooped up all the time. When the weather is good, take her out into the yard to sit for a while. There is a benefit to recovering like this.” After she finished speaking, she gave the patient another infusion. Because the patient had been stuck in bed for too long, there was more than just a lung infection. There were also other illnesses. She was even running a low fever. These were all problems that needed to be resolved.
The leader and his wife were a bit stunned. The leader stared at Feng Yu Heng as she slowly pulled the needle out of his wife’s body. Now, the two watched her place something that was like an embroidery needle into the back of the patient’s hand. Something that was filled with liquid and made of an unknown material was hung up next to the bed. The leader suddenly recalled a piece of folklore…
TN: Consumption is an old name for tuberculosis