Emergency Hall

An Zhiwu was a little confused.

What was going on? Wasn't he a gastroenterologist?

Why did he have to perform CPR too?

Wasn't CPR supposed to be done by a cardiac surgeon?

Besides, if he went to the emergency hall, what would happen to her?

Seeing that Song Yihe was about to step out of the office, An Zhiwu mustered the courage to call out to him. "Wait!"

Song Yihe stopped and looked at her. "Sorry, something urgent has come up, and I have to go. If you can't wait, you can see Doctor Zhao in consultation room one. The nurse will transfer all the patients I haven't seen yet to Doctor Zhao shortly."

Earlier, in the waiting hall, An Zhiwu had seen the queue for consultation room one. There were well over a hundred people in it.

She had wondered why so many people had registered for consultation room one, while room two only had a dozen or so.

Now it seemed that perhaps Song Yihe only worked part-time in gastroenterology? Or were his appointments so expensive that no one registered for them?

The more she thought about it, the more likely the latter seemed!

So if she transferred to consultation room one, would she have to wait for the hundred-odd people ahead of her to be seen before it was her turn?

How could that be? She'd paid a hundred yuan for her appointment!

An Zhiwu looked at Song Yihe. "I can wait for you."

Song Yihe paused in surprise. "All right."

With that, he hurried off.

For some reason, An Zhiwu picked up her little purse and followed him to the emergency hall.

Song Yihe had taken the stairs, and by the time An Zhiwu came out with her purse, he was already nowhere to be seen in the corridor.

Fortunately, she wasn't in a hurry, so she took her time waiting for the elevator.

The emergency hall was as noisy as a wet market.

Besides the medical staff and injured patients hurrying back and forth, there were also many patients' family members.

Because of the factory explosion, many of the injured had still been bleeding when they were brought in, leaving bloodstains on the emergency hall floor.

The patients' clothes had also been burned and stuck to their bodies, making for a somewhat harrowing sight.

Arguments, urgent calls and crying all mingled together.

An Zhiwu found a relatively secluded corner to stand in, trying not to get in anyone's way.

Before long, her gaze began to search for Song Yihe without her realizing it.

Among the crowd, people in white coats stood out particularly clearly.

She spotted Song Yihe at once, kneeling on an emergency bed and performing CPR on a patient.

There were two other medical staff beside him, along with a few scattered onlookers.

An Zhiwu decided to move closer for a better look. CPR was, after all, a first-aid skill worth learning, and she rarely had the chance to see it. She could learn something today in case she ever needed it.

The man on the emergency bed appeared to be in his thirties, with dark skin. His eyes were tightly shut, and his shirt had been torn open and was covered in bloodstains.

His wife and son had accompanied him. His wife was already choking on her sobs. "Old Wang, please don't let anything happen to you. Qiangqiang just started elementary school. If anything happens to you, how are the two of us supposed to go on?"

She pulled the child closer and cried, "Qiangqiang, quick, look at your dad. He's hurt. Look how much blood he's lost. This all happened because he was working to pay for your schooling. You have to study hard and get into college. Then you can work in an office when you grow up, and you won't face this kind of danger. Do you understand?"

Listening to her cries, An Zhiwu felt her heart clench.

The child called Qiangqiang was still too young to understand what working in an office meant, but seeing his father lying there, he nodded.

Song Yihe had his hands stacked on the injured man's chest, pressing down rhythmically, again and again.

"Defibrillate. 150 joules."

The nurse beside him immediately handed him the defibrillator she had prepared.

Song Yihe held the large electrode paddles against the man's chest, applied a little pressure, and delivered the shock.

The man's body twitched on the emergency bed. To An Zhiwu, it looked much like what she had seen on television.

But the reaction lasted only 0.1 seconds before his body fell still again.

It was An Zhiwu's first time seeing defibrillation in real life. Caught up in the moment, her heart was in her throat.

"Continue compressions."

Within a meter of Song Yihe, it was as though a small space had formed. Unlike the noisy emergency hall, everyone here kept silent in unspoken agreement, apart from the occasional order from Song Yihe. They were all waiting for a miracle.

"Artificial respiration."

"Defibrillate."

Song Yihe continued pressing down rapidly, again and again, like a machine, counting aloud as he worked.

An Zhiwu watched and saw that for every thirty compressions he performed, the nurse beside him used a resuscitator to give the patient two breaths.

It was July, and even with the air conditioning running in the emergency hall, beads of sweat formed on Song Yihe's forehead as he kept up the intense physical exertion under such pressure.

But his attention was clearly elsewhere. Like a tireless robot, he continued repeating the procedure.

"Beep..."

The cardiac monitor sounded.

The people in the crowd cried out in delight.

"His heartbeat's back! He's alive, he's alive!"

"Dr. Song is amazing!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Dr. Song!"

An Zhiwu also breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, she had thought he wouldn't survive.

The injured man's wife was already weeping with joy, her palms pressed together as she repeated, "Amitabha, heaven bless us."

Song Yihe jumped down from the emergency bed and moved his aching arms. "Get him to the operating room immediately. Notify Director Li!"

The nurse beside him replied, "Director Li is already on the way. The doctors in the operating room will be ready in two minutes."

Song Yihe nodded.

A young nurse thoughtfully took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Song Yihe's forehead, then handed him a bottle of mineral water. "Dr. Song, you're amazing. There aren't any particularly critical patients in the emergency hall for now, and the burn patients have all been assigned doctors. You still have appointments this morning. Will you be going back to the clinic?"

Song Yihe opened the bottle and took several large gulps. "Yes, I'll go back to the clinic. Call me anytime if anything urgent comes up."

The young nurse nodded like a chick pecking at grain.

Even from two meters away, An Zhiwu could see the hearts in the young nurse's eyes.

Ah...

It sure was nice to be handsome~

Especially when you were handsome and could save lives too~

Song Yihe caught his breath and finally noticed An Zhiwu standing off to the side. He raised an eyebrow, seemingly wondering why she was still there.

Then he remembered that the girl had said she would wait for him, and understood. He took a few steps toward her and stopped. "Let's go back to the clinic. I'll write up your orders."

[The medical details might not be entirely professional~ Please bear with me.]