Acute Appendicitis

Just then, Mother An called.

An Zhiwu was taken aback. Usually, when Mother An needed something, she would send her a WeChat message or make a WeChat voice call. This seemed to be the first time she had called her phone.

An Zhiwu answered.

"An'an, I don't know what's wrong with your brother today. He told me this morning that his stomach hurt, so I gave him some stomach medicine granules, but he didn't get any better. He's gotten worse instead. Now he can't even stand up, he keeps breaking out in a cold sweat, and he's vomiting." Mother An's anxious voice came through the phone.

An Zhiwu stopped eating her noodles and began to worry too. Although she and An Zhiheng had never gotten along since childhood, he was still her own brother. Hearing out of the blue that he was ill made her very worried.

"Mom, did he eat something he shouldn't have? Could it be food poisoning?"

"That's impossible. He hasn't gone out since last night. I cooked his meals, and he hasn't eaten anything else."

Having ruled out food poisoning, An Zhiwu made an immediate decision. "Mom, don't panic. Call an ambulance first."

"I already did. It should be here soon."

An Zhiwu threw the braised noodles on the table into the trash. "Then just wait for the ambulance. When it gets there, tell them to go to Zhikang Hospital. I'll head over right away."

"Okay, okay. Come over soon, then. I'm afraid I can't manage on my own."

"Okay."

After the call with Mother An, An Zhiwu didn't stop to tidy up. She grabbed her bag and got ready to go to the hospital, remembering to bring her bank card before she left.

By the time she arrived at Zhikang, An Zhiheng's ambulance still hadn't arrived.

She stood at the entrance to the hospital lobby, waiting anxiously.

Her phone chimed with a WeChat notification. An Zhiwu took it out and glanced at it. Song Yihe had replied to her message: [Let's go with this one. It's pretty good.]

But An Zhiwu was in no mood to discuss the video with Song Yihe now.

Her thoughts were entirely on An Zhiheng.

A little over ten minutes later, an ambulance drove into the hospital, its red and green lights flashing and its siren going "wee-woo, wee-woo."

An Zhiwu hurried over to meet it.

The doors opened, and Mother An got out first, looking anxious. An Zhiheng was already on an IV, curled up and sweating all over from the pain.

It was the first time An Zhiwu had ever seen him like this.

Back in middle school, An Zhiheng had gotten into a fight and needed several stitches in his arm, yet he hadn't made a sound.

An Zhiwu and Mother An followed the emergency stretcher into the emergency department.

The last time An Zhiwu had come to the emergency department, it had been to watch Song Yihe save someone.

She hadn't expected to return so soon as a patient's family member.

"Mom, what happened? Does An Zhiheng's stomach hurt?"

Mother An looked distraught. "I don't know either. At first he said his stomach hurt, then his whole abdomen started hurting. The doctor pressed on it just now and said he suspected appendicitis. We won't know until he's been examined, and he might need surgery."

Because An Zhiheng was an emergency patient, he was quickly sent in for a CT scan.

While An Zhiwu waited outside, she suddenly thought of Song Yihe. In her eyes, he was a very conscientious doctor.

So she swallowed her pride and sent him a WeChat message: [Dr. Song, are you at the hospital right now?]

This time, Song Yihe replied promptly.

Song Yihe: [Yes. What's wrong?]

An Zhiwu: [My brother's abdomen has been hurting nonstop since this morning. He's in the CT room now, and it might be appendicitis. Dr. Song, if it's convenient, could you take a look?]

Song Yihe: [Wait for me. I'm coming over.]

An Zhiwu hadn't expected him to come in person. She had thought she would take the report to him.

She hadn't expected that one day she would use the back door at a hospital too~~~

Within a few minutes, Song Yihe arrived outside the CT room.

He greeted Mother An first. "Hello, Auntie. My name is Song Yihe. I'm a doctor at this hospital."

It was the first time a doctor had ever come to see her of his own accord, and Mother An was taken aback for a moment. "Hello, hello."

She then glanced at An Zhiwu, asking with her eyes: What's going on? Do you know each other?

An Zhiwu explained from the side, "Mom, Dr. Song is a very skilled doctor. He was the one who treated me when my stomach hurt last time."

Mother An looked as though it had suddenly dawned on her, then gave her a strange look.

Doctors saw so many patients every day. Why would he come all this way especially for her?

Mother An's stare made An Zhiwu uncomfortable. "Well, I thought Dr. Song was a better doctor, so I wanted him to take a look at An Zhiheng."

Mother An didn't dwell on her daughter's relationship with the doctor.

She gave Song Yihe a warm smile. "Xiaohe, I'm so sorry to trouble you to come all this way. Come have a meal at my place when you have time."

An Zhiwu felt even more embarrassed. Mom, you've only just met him. Is it really appropriate to invite him home for a meal already?

Song Yihe, however, remained perfectly calm. "It's no trouble. Thank you, Auntie. I'll come if I get the chance."

While the three of them were talking, An Zhiheng finished his scan and came out.

Song Yihe spoke to the staff in the CT room.

Before long, the CT report came out.

Song Yihe glanced at it. "Acute appendicitis, and it's fairly serious. He needs surgery immediately."

Mother An immediately asked from the side, "Xiaohe, will you be the one operating on him?"

Song Yihe was taken aback.

An appendectomy could be called a stepping stone into surgery; it was one of the simplest open abdominal operations.

He had performed a few appendectomies at the very beginning of his surgical career. Later, after he began performing stomach and liver resections, he had long since stopped doing the most basic operations, like appendectomies.

Seeing the expectant looks on Mother An's and An Zhiwu's faces, he thought for a moment and nodded. "I can."

The more Mother An looked at him, the more pleased she was. "Thank you so much!"

Song Yihe nodded. "You're welcome. Go take care of the admission paperwork first. He'll stay on an IV today, and the operation will be tomorrow morning. I'll go arrange a time for it."

"Okay, okay. We'll do as you say, Xiaohe."

An Zhiwu was embarrassed by Mother An's enthusiasm. "Dr. Song, thank you."

Song Yihe looked at An Zhiwu. "You're welcome."

After completing An Zhiheng's admission paperwork, An Zhiwu went to stay in his ward.

Beds were in short supply at Zhikang, so he was assigned to a three-person ward.

When she reached the ward, An Zhiheng was on an IV and, for once, quiet.

Mother An pulled An Zhiwu aside and whispered, "Come out with me for a moment."

In the hospital corridor, Mother An stared at An Zhiwu. "Tell me honestly, what's your relationship with that Dr. Song?"

"There's no relationship. He just treated me for my stomach trouble last time."

Mother An looked unconvinced. "No relationship? If there's nothing between you, would he have come all this way?"

"Uh... Dr. Song is a very good doctor. I specifically asked him to come."