"Don't rush away in the future. Teacher Chen invited everyone to eat cake. " The nurse told me with a smile.
I walked into the ward earlier than usual. My task is to finish my daily work as soon as possible so that the nurses and nurses can freshen up Mrs. Chen before the birthday party begins.
Through the gas cutting pipe and oxygen delivery system, we can clearly hear the patient's breathing. She was lying on the bed, her chest rising and falling with her breathing. For twelve years, she has been lying in this bed and never woke up. Due to long-term bed rest, she looks rather weak and her skin has lost its normal luster and elasticity.
Every day after work, I always see Mr. Chen coming with flowers. It is said that the bottle of Margaret/kloc-on the table has not been thanked for 0/2 years. The man is very silent, rarely hears his voice, and whispers when discussing something with the nurse. He gently fed Mrs. Chen with a feeding syringe and liquid food, with an elegant expression like a man and a woman sitting opposite each other in a coffee shop. Sometimes, he sits in a chair beside the hospital bed, holds her hand and mumbles some trivial things to her.
Today, my routine physical examination is not as smooth as before. The patient's breathing and heartbeat are faster than usual, and his mood is restless. I suspect that he is infected.
Most patients who stay in bed for a long time have weak resistance. So once an infection occurs, it will soon spread and evolve into bacteremia. This kind of infection will cause pneumonia, urethritis, vascular inflammation or any slight inflammation at first, so I must find out the source of infection at once, and the sooner I solve this problem, the better.
I met Mr. Chen and his two children in the corridor back to the nursing station. The children are all dressed in beautiful clothes.
Girls are already in high school, clear soup and noodles, and they look unhappy. The boy is a junior high school student with big eyes and looks naughty and active.
"Children grow so fast." I said.
"Please ask the doctor to come and eat the cake later." He said with a smile.
He took the child to the ward and listened to the slow and steady footsteps, which suddenly made me feel a lot.
Once, we stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Taipei City. He pointed to one house after another with lights out and told me which one he designed. An architect in his forties should be the pinnacle of his career, but he doesn't look like that at all. It seems that he is just silently bearing everything imposed on him and walking slowly step by step. One afternoon twelve years ago, he took his beautiful wife to the flower shop by motorcycle to buy flowers. At that time, he was still a young man, and the construction firm had just opened. They want to buy some Margaret flowers for decoration. Unfortunately, on the way back, a taxi took a sharp turn and knocked the bunch of Margaret flowers all over the floor. ...
12 years have passed, all the taxi drivers have been released from prison, and Mrs. Chen is still in a coma.
"I wish I had stopped for a while." He once told me that. Sometimes I wonder what kind of strong will has supported him through these twelve years.
I walked back to the nursing station and took out some thick medical records. Turning to the latest inspection report, a higher value indicates the possibility of bacterial infection. But urine test, sputum test and X-ray examination can't find the symptoms of infection, so where is the problem?
Finally, I thought of the bedsore behind her because of long-term bed rest. Usually, these superficial infections rarely cause fever unless the tissue has festered quite badly. I have to go and see it anyway.
"Come on, uncle doctor, we're going to start." The boy told me skipping.
"Ok, it will start soon." The nurse coaxed him for me. "Why don't you go out first, the doctor uncle help my mother dressing. Shall we start at once? "
After the child walked out of the ward, the nurse helped me rip Mrs. Chen's clothes open, turned over, took off the gauze, and a stench came to my face.
I tried to remove the festering part with instruments. When pus came out from the depths of the tissue, I immediately understood what caused the fever. That bedsore is as big as a small washbasin, and my instruments are digging deeper and deeper. When I touch something hard, I can't help shivering-it has spread to my spine. ...
Soon, everyone happily inserted candles on the cake and lit warm candles. The nurse dressed her again, and the head nurse and several doctors who used to take care of Mrs. Chen came.
"Thank you for your meticulous care over the years." Mr. Chen delivered a speech on behalf of the whole family. "Today we are very happy to get together to celebrate her birthday and wish her a speedy recovery ..."
I looked at the blooming Margaret flowers on the table and kept thinking about the bedsore. I wonder if the plastic surgery department is willing to do a thorough wound expansion for her and then do muscle skin transplantation and reconstruction. I doubt whether the patient can stand such an operation. But there seems to be no better way. Bedsore, fever, terrible bone marrow inflammation, systemic bacterial blood, shock ... all these predictable results are chilling.
I got through to the director of plastic surgery, and he thought my idea was a little crazy.
"We have never done such a big bedsore operation! Why can't you take care of a bedsore? "
"I know, but she has been suffering from bedsore for twelve years. The third bed in ward 25, Mrs. Chen ... "
"Wait a minute," he suddenly interrupted me. "You mean the vegetables in ward 25?"
I was silent. I think I already know his answer.
"Help, man, we just don't have time to do surgery on the living, let alone in a vegetative state. What do you think you can do? "
Hang up the phone, I'm starting to feel a little sad.
The birthday party in the ward continued, and some laughter and applause broke out from time to time. Then I heard everyone singing the familiar song.
I walked into the ward and saw hot faces. The yellow glow of candlelight falls on everyone's face and dances happily. I found myself inexplicably picking up a tune and singing with everyone.
When we passed the ward at dusk, the crowd celebrating the birthday had dispersed and the children had gone home. Leaving the man with his back to me and looking at Taipei outside the landing window, I think I need to talk to him about Mrs. Chen.
When I approached, I found tears hanging on his face. Seeing me coming, he seemed to blush a little, but he was not in a hurry to wipe away his tears.
"Can you help me move her down? I think she would like to sit here and look at those houses. In case she really opens her eyes and wakes up, she will find that many of our previous dreams and designs have now become a reality. "
We moved those pipes carefully, and finally brought Mrs. Chen down and let her sit comfortably in the chair. I followed her line of sight, and there were marguerite flowers, French windows and towering buildings on the table. ...
"I found this on her," he sighed, showed me a silvery white hair, and then smiled to himself. "I didn't expect her to be old."
Standing there quietly, I knew it was a solemn and beautiful moment, and I shouldn't say anything more. I saw a faint blue in the night, and the lights in the distance lit up in succession.