Today we finished work rather early, with all the surgeries done by five o’clock. Everyone was planning to go out for dinner to welcome Takahashi.
Once the location was decided, Little Five and Fatty accompanied Zhang Lin to draw lots for the basketball match.
Song Zimo, Xu Zhiliang, and Takahashi all examined the patients who were to have surgery tomorrow.
Yang Ping had a habit of checking on some key patients before getting off work, especially those who had surgery that day.
Li Jun was the first patient to have surgery today, and he could start eating six hours post-operation.
Qin Xiaowei attended to Li Jun by his bedside and fed him porridge. He always had a fanny pack around his waist, and there seemed to always be cuts on his fingers, wrapped in adhesive tape.
"It’s too dangerous, don’t go, you can wait for the surgery."
"It’s okay, I’ve already signed the contract, took the deposit, I just need to be careful."
"Listen to me, don’t go."
"The porridge is a bit hot, go slow."
Qin Xiaowei would blow on each spoonful of porridge, then taste a bit of it.
The door was open, the two of them seemed very happy, and only stopped to chat when Yang Ping knocked on the door.
Qin Xiaowei put down the porridge bowl and stood up: "Professor Yang is here."
"Professor Yang, hello, I’ve been very well since returning, I just ate some porridge, and haven’t vomited." Qin Xiaowei stood with his hands folded over his abdomen, looking rather restrained.
"The anaesthetic has worn off, you can eat some food, anything easy to digest. Porridge is good. How do the anus and perineum feel?" Yang Ping knew that the nerve wouldn’t recover so quickly, but still asked.
Li Jun answered with a smile on his face.
The handsome features of this young man seemed rather pale; the dark face typical of kidney disease patients didn’t seem to exist for him.
"Don’t worry too much, the sacral nerve that was compressed is a peripheral nerve and is more resilient to pressure. Moreover, you haven’t had symptoms for long, so there’s a high possibility of recovery." Yang Ping encouraged Li Jun.
"Thank you, Professor Yang!"
Li Jun always spoke with a hint of shyness.
Yang Ping’s peripheral vision caught sight of a guitar in the room. Li Jun was a guitarist. When he wasn’t in the hospital, he would sing in bars or busy places for people, charging ten yuan a song.
Qin Xiaowei used to be a rock climbing coach. Now he’s quit his job to shoot some short videos for money.
"The negative pressure drainage tube needs to be worn for a few more days." Yang Ping looked at the drainage volume on the ball, which was quite little, barely a few milliliters.
The purpose of the drainage tube is to channel potential bleeding in the surgical area, so it doesn’t accumulate in the body.
Blood is a conducive medium for bacteria, and accumulation can easily lead to infections.
Generally, the negative pressure drainage tube can be removed when the 24-hour drainage volume drops below 15 milliliters.
Normal film drainage and semi-tube drainage must be removed within 24 hours, otherwise it could lead to upward infection.
This means that bacteria from outside could enter the surgical area along the drainage film.
But the duration for negative pressure drainage is a bit longer, extending up to 72 hours in some special cases.
Negative pressure drainage involves a kind of suction on the drainage area inside the body which, while drawing out the body’s seeping blood, also prevents bacteria from the outside from entering.
"Get plenty of rest, if there’s anything you need let the attending doctor or nurse know, or you can tell me directly. Don’t disturb yourselves, keep the porridge light, without a trace of greasiness." Yang Ping advised.
Qin Xiaowei picked up the bowl of porridge and showed it to Yang Ping. "Red date and lotus seed porridge!"
Qin Xiaowei had bought the ingredients and found a small restaurant. He paid them to use their kitchen to make the porridge.
After Yang Ping finished checking the wards, he met up with Song Zimo, Xu Zhiliang and Takahashi at the doctors’ office.
They decided to go check out the draw for the basketball match in person and take a look at the court. The annual basketball match, reflecting the spirit of the department, should be taken seriously.
At Sanbo Hospital’s basketball court, the girls from the Human Resources Office had set up a table. The head of the office, an older woman, sat next to the table to supervise the event personally.
Zhang Lin was in line waiting, flanked by Little Five and Fatty.
Zhang Lin looked very imposing, as if he was about to march forward, forgetting all his relatives.
"Dude, is your luck any good? Why do I feel uneasy, you’ve been in the firing line quite often recently?"
Liang Fatty has doubts about Zhang Lin’s claim of good luck.
Zhang Lin puffed out his chest: "Lately whenever I buy Wong Lo Kat, I often win another bottle. With this kind of luck, who else should draw lots? This lot will determine the honor of the department."
The fact is, drawing lots to determine who will face whom in the first game often has a big impact on team morale.
"Unlucky in love, lucky in gambling, Fatty is actually more suitable." Little Five recommended Liang Fatty.
Zhang Lin glanced at Fatty dismissively and said, "A bachelor like him, how good can his luck be?"
Fatty, red-faced and neck flushed, was about to grab and wring his neck.
"It’s our turn next!"
Yang Ping looked on amused, these guys can’t seem to get through a day without messing around.
"You’ll represent your department?"
A clerk from the Human Resources Department looked around as if looking for Song Zimo.
"Are you questioning my identity? I’ll let you know, I’ve officially accepted Professor Yang’s authorization to represent the Comprehensive Surgery Department in this year’s..."
"Enough, hurry up and draw, the professor is waiting." Little Five urged him.
Pretentious bastard - timing is everything! No one was more deserving of the title ’Pretentious Zhang’.
Zhang Lin fixed his hair, adjusted his posture, and prepared to draw the lot.
The HR clerk didn’t see Song Zimo, so she had no choice but to say, "Fine, remember, you only have one chance."
Zhang Lin rubbed his hands together and inserted his hand into the ballot box, fumbling around for quite awhile.
The HR clerk was getting impatient: "Dr. Zhang, what’s the matter? Is your hand stuck?"
"It’s not rush, the moment isn’t right yet. Given the importance of this, we mustn’t be hasty."
Slowly, Zhang Lin drew his hand from the box, gave the drawn lot to the clerk who opened it, handed it to the director, who gave it to another clerk to record in the book, and then asked Zhang Lin to sign for confirmation.
"Who are we up against?"
Zhang Lin took a glance but didn’t get any clues.
The HR director took a look and said, "Little Zhang, you’re lucky! You drew the top lot!"
Zhang Lin immediately beamed with joy, his recent good luck streak continued. He must be up against some weak-kneed department, like the Ophthalmology Department, Dermatology Department, or the Otolaryngology Department, perennial underdogs fighting for last place.
"Which department?" Yang Ping and Song Zimo came over and Song Zimo asked.
"Administration Office!" the clerk immediately answered.
I really want to kick the shit out of you!
Yang Ping nearly raised his foot as Zhang bolted.
The Administration Department, filled with deans, deputy deans, and the director of medical affairs, that brute, Dean Xia, charges around the field like a bull.
Competing with them, even if you have skills, it’s hard to show it.
Takahashi and Xu Zhiliang cornered Zhang Lin, each holding one side, leading him to Yang Ping for punishment.
"I told you, you’ve had terrible luck recently, always being bombarded, could you have good luck?"
This was Fatty’s chance for revenge.
"Professor, have mercy! They must be deceiving, it’s definitely a conspiracy, a definite conspiracy!"
"The department’s honor is entrusted to you, given this glorious task to you, and you drew the Administration Department? How are you going to make it right?" Yang Ping was fuming at this draw.
"On the field, I’ll---I’ll take on Dean Xia!" Zhang Lin, whose arms were twisted behind his back, said by Xu Zhiliang and Takahashi.
"You said it yourself. So on the field, you strictly mark Dean Xia for us. If he scores, you’ll be in charge of all the department’s medical records for three months." Only then did Yang Ping let him go.
Three months of medical records, you might as well kill me!