Chapter 442: Chapter 404: Returning Home Chapter 442: Chapter 404: Returning Home The Bao family finally settled into a period of quiet, Bao Yulou returned home, his mind constantly elsewhere.
He was seated on the living room sofa, a cup held up by his lips, his entire body as rigid as a statue for several minutes.
Mrs. Bao was worried, her hand waving in front of her husband’s eyes: “Bao, Bao?”
Bao Yulou gave no reaction, so Mrs. Bao called out: “Junhao, your dad’s not okay, hurry!”
Bao Junhao hobbled downstairs and saw his father’s condition. He thought his father had suffered a stroke: “Dad! Stroke! I’ll call 911, and you quickly contact Manager Qian.”
Bao Junhao took his phone to make a call, when Bao Yulou finally came to his senses: “It’s nothing, it’s nothing.”
“You scared us. We thought you’d had a stroke.” Mrs. Bao was frightened, she kept patting her chest.
Bao Junhao was also a bit shaken: “Dad, can you not scare us ? I’m not even married yet, haven’t had a kid and you want to kick the bucket?.”
“Watch your mouth!” Mrs. Bao scolded Junhao, as she lightly patted Bao Yulou’s back.
Bao Yulou didn’t mind: “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere for now.”
“Old He’s child is gone!” Bao Yulou took a sip of his tea, his eyes vacant.
“Isn’t his son about the same age as Junhao?” Mrs. Bao thought there must be some mistake.
Bao Junhao also thought his father had got it wrong: “We had dinner together just two months ago.”
“It happened last month. I just visited Old He and his wife, and got to know. There was a car accident. The car ran over him from the lower abdomen. His pelvis was crushed. He was sent to the nearest Trauma Emergency Center, a second-tier one. The luck was not on his side, the doctor, who was best at these types of emergency surgeries, was on vacation abroad. He did not make it through the surgery.”
“A person – is just gone, just like that.” Mrs. Bao mumbled, her heart aching.
Bao Junhao paled. Two months ago, he was alive and well. How could he be just gone?
“Accidents and tomorrow, you never know which comes first.” Bao Yulou remarked deeply.
“Sometimes, if you’re lucky enough to get a good doctor, there’s a great chance of survival but if you get a less skilled doctor, then the chance of survival is much lesser. Life and death hang by a thread.” Bao Yulou took another sip of tea.
Mrs. Bao seemed to sense something and felt a creeping fear.
After a while, she said: “Bao, why don’t we go and apologize to Doctor Yang?”
It was not that they had suddenly become civil and polite. The thought of death and the unknowing future frightened Mrs. Bao. She suddenly found herself inexplicably dependent on doctors.
“Doctor Yang is returning to China this Saturday; we don’t have much time. I’m thinking about what kind of gift to give him. The gift cannot be too trivial but also not too extravagant; it should still show our sincerity.” Bao Yulou mused, squinting his eyes.
“Why not give him a house? One with a rooftop garden, you’ve still got some left unsold.” Young Master Bao blurted out.
Bao Yulou waved his hand: “No, he would refuse.”
Bao Yulou closed his eyes to rest for a while and then said: “Having the surgery these few days is not realistic, it can only be done in China. I will contact Sanbo Hospital and help them establish an aid fund, specifically for assisting impoverished patients with their medical expenses; Next, we will write a formal written apology for the incident with Doctor Yang and submit it directly to Sanbo Hospital; Finally, I will arrange for us to personally apologize to Doctor Yang through the hospital’s assistance.”
“Junhao, maintaining a good relationship with Doctor Yang is not a one-time deal. As you play soccer, injuries are inevitable. Having a good doctor at hand is reassuring. Also, we’re getting old and will likely need help at some point. In crucial times, a good doctor can potentially save your life.”
“Does it really have to be ?” Mrs. Bao begrudgingly found the situation more bothersome than she thought.
“It can only be this way!” Bao Yulou couldn’t think of a better solution.
Submitting, Mrs. Bao said: “Alright, we’ll listen to you. Let’s find a time to go back to China?”
“I don’t want to stay here anymore, let’s go back!” Bao Junhao had been holding it in for too long.
Bao Yulou raised his head and said: “People shouldn’t see the United States as a paradise. We are considered wealthy people and can live carefree lives here. People without money can hardly move a step. In China, even in the top-tier Xiehe Hospital, ordinary people are still able to register and see the doctor. But in the US, these top-tier hospitals charge 20,000 dollars just for making an appointment – how many can afford it? Without high-end private insurance, people can only dream of getting treated here. Basic medical insurance at most covers one-third of the hospitalization fee, the rest have to be covered by commercial insurance. Who can afford high-end private insurance? Thus, in the United States, top-tier hospitals aren’t intended for ordinary people.”
“I feel like I can hardly move a step here either, completely out of place with the life here.” Bao Junhao was full of grievances.
“I told you to learn English well all along, but after all these years, you’re still stuck with those few words. It’s no wonder you’re struggling. I have quite a few friends whose children have made it to prestigious schools.” Bao Yulou was exasperatedly disappointed in his son.
“Everyone has their strengths, Junhao’s talent is playing football, he is in no way inferior to them now.” Mrs. Bao became upset again.
“Fine, as long as you are happy.” Bao Yulou had no other options.
“Junhao, listen to your dad, we will head back in a few days.” Mrs. Bao felt a sudden chill in her heart for some reason.
The meeting room in the administration area of the New York Special Orthopaedics Hospital was packed to the brim.
All the doctors in the hospital, who were available, attended, numerous orthopedic doctors from other hospitals in New York also rushed over.
The fact alone that the New York Special Orthopaedics Hospital had invited a professor to guide the surgery was enough to draw attention.
The United States has always been a country fond of debate and carries no overbearing concept of authority, such academic conferences could not avoid pointed questions.
However, all those who raised questions were refuted by Yang Ping, among them were a few professors, whom Robert labeled as arrogant and prejudiced stones. They were in the meeting room, currently sweating profusely, and whispering to each other.
In the history of the New York Special Orthopaedics Hospital, it was breaking precedence to invite a Chinese man to perform, let alone guide a teaching surgery.
Being in first place for a long time, it’s inevitable that some people grow arrogant, these conservative hard-liners were not pleased and were hoping to refute Yang Ping, but now they’re left battered and bruised by his rebuttal.
This Chinese man, who appears gentle and refined, shows no mercy when it comes to debating, and now no one dares to question him.
“Now you understand why I didn’t make a fuss about it, right? If it was a few months ago, Rongge, you’d also be a stone,” Robert said to Professor Rongge from the first row.
Rongge did not deny Robert’s statement: “At least I’m not one now.”
“Which is why you are not the hardest one, look at those few, they are the hardest ones, but they have been completely shattered by Dr. Yang,” Robert smirked, he was very satisfied with the result of this academic lecture.
The complacency of holding the top position for a prolonged period gave rise to laziness, the passionate era of their elders seemingly never to return. In the days of his grandparents and parents, while researching artificial knee joint prostheses with John N. Insall, that was truly exciting.
Now such epoch-making innovations are hard to come by, the dean had instructed Robert to invite Dr. Yang to lecture and awaken a sense of crisis in everyone, Robert agreed with the dean’s words.
“Any more questions? If so, continue to ask. If not, Dr. Yang needs to rest.”
Robert approached the podium and asked the crowd.
The audience remained silent, no one could ask any more questions.
Robert ended the academic lecture with satisfaction and sent Yang Ping back to his hotel to rest. In the evening, he arranged a grand dinner.
He invited all the Chinese doctors studying in New York. Most of the doctors from the New York Special Orthopaedics Hospital would attend, and Professor Rongge’s seat was right next to Yang Ping.
As a result of four years of friendship at Harvard Medical School, Rongge really wanted to invite Yang Ping to visit his department’s wards, so he painstakingly selected a few difficult cases, hoping to pique Yang Ping’s interest.
John Ansen, unable to visit New York due to an emergency issue and meet with Yang Ping, apologized profusely over the phone.
Being fellow doctors, they understood, an unplanned surgery could shatter any previous beautifully laid-out personal plans.
Finally, it was 3 pm for John Ansen.
The medical team at the Johnson Space Center called almost all its specially appointed experts to discuss Steven’s slowing heart rate.
In twenty days, Steven would return to Earth, he would ride the Dragon Spaceship by SpaceX back to the ground.
“Finally, no need to buy those high-priced tickets from the Russians, 81 million US dollars per seat, that’s just too expensive.”
Steven received news that the Dragon Spaceship from SpaceX would be coming to pick them up, he joked with himself.
In order to ensure his successful return, he doubled the amount of exercise he performed daily. He needed to maintain the strength of his skeleton and muscles to adapt to future life on Earth.